Receiving deserved praise for extending its winning streak to a season-long six games, the University of Minnesota Duluth finds itself ranked in both national polls for the first time and boasting a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division Player of the Week, but the Bulldogs need to put the accolades behind them and focus on the upcoming weekend as the team heads out on its longest and possibly toughest road trip of the conference campaign.

UMD (13-3, 9-1 NSIC, R.V.) will face its toughest test yet as the team travels to No. 2 Augustana (S.D.) University on Saturday afternoon, but first will take the long road trip to Wayne, Nebraska to take on Wayne State (Neb.) College on Friday evening.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS | 3-12, 1-9 NSIC
Wayne State (Neb.) has lost six straight contests entering the weekend, falling 69-64 last time out against Concordia University, St. Paul ... the Wildcats do typically boast a home court advantage being the farthest travel for most conference schools and are 3-4 at home this season ... sophomore guard Matt Thomas is far and away Wayne State's best weapon, averaging 16.7 points per game ... sophomore forward Jordan Cornelius averages 9.0 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds on the season ... head coach Brian Dolan is in his third season leading a Wildcat team that boasts just one upperclassmen (senior center David Anderson) ... UMD owns a 14-6 record all-time against Wayne State, knocking off the Wildcats 94-80 last season on Jan. 16, 2015.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS | 13-1, 10-0 NSIC
No. 2 Augustana lost its season opener and has yet to taste defeat since, knocking off Minnesota State University Mankato 101-91 last time out ... Augie will host St. Cloud State University on Friday night before UMD comes to town ... senior forwards Daniel Jansen and Casey Schilling picked up where they left off a season ago, leading the Viking offense averaging 19.4 and 17.7 points per game, respectively, but senior guard Alex Richter is not far behind at 15.7 points this year ... Schilling averages nearly a double-double for Augustana, grabbing 9.4 rebounds per game while Jansen averages 7.9 boards per outing ... head coach Tom Billeter is in his 13th season at the helm of the Vikings ... Augustana owns a 13-11 all-time record against the Bulldogs, knocking off UMD 71-62 in last season's NSIC/Sanford Health Postseason Tournament on Mar. 1, 2015.

FREE THROWS
UMD stretched its winning streak to six games with three victories on the week, including a dominant weekend sweep of Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston ... senior guards Pierre Newton and Taylor Lavery produced identical 65-point efforts on the week (21.7 PPG) to lead the Bulldog offense; Newton, named hte NSIC's North Division Player of the Week, averaged a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game while Lavery matched the Bulldog single game record for free throws without a miss, hitting 14-of-14 against Bemidji State ... senior guard Junior Coleman led the UMD offense against Wisconsin Superior on Wednesday afternoon, scoring 19 points off the bench as the Bulldogs hosted the first ever "Education Day" with over 400 elementary school students in the crowd ... the average margin of victory in UMD's three wins was +19.7 points as the Bulldogs scored 91.3 points per game on the week ... Lavery was a guest on this week's NSIC Spotlight radio show, which can be heard via this link.

HOW TO FOLLOW
... vs. Wayne State (Neb.): Live Stats | Live Video
... vs. Augustana (S.D.): Live Stats & Video

UP NEXT
The teams will return to the regular NSIC schedule as UMD and Wayne State hit the court on Friday night in Wayne, Nebraska. Opening tip is set for 8:00 p.m. following the women's contest.