The four-game home stand continues for the University of Minnesota Duluth as the Bulldogs welcome Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division foes the University of Sioux Falls (R.V.) and Southwest Minnesota State University this weekend with a pair of promotions on the schedule. Friday night, UMD (5-12, 5-9 NSIC) takes on a ranked Sioux Falls squad on Coaches vs. Cancer night while fans who attend Saturday night's doubleheader of men's and women's basketball will have a chance at taking home a rally towel courtesy of American Family Insurance.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS | 16-4, 10-4 NSIC
Sioux Falls (R.V.) has won three-straight entering the weekend and four of five, defeating Minnesota State University Mankato 99-76 last time out ... the Cougars nearly upset No. 10 Winona State University on a buzzer-beating three but a postgame celebration resulted in a technical foul, drawing national coverage ... senior guard Taylor Varsho ranks second in the conference averaging 18.2 points per game ... junior forward Sam Knecht  is the only other Cougar averaging 10+ points per game in a balanced Sioux Falls offense while also grabbing 6.9 rebounds per outing ... USF ranks third in the NSIC in scoring offense at 74.5 points per game and in defense allowing 61.2 points per game ... head coach Travis Traphagen is in his eighth season leading the Cougars ... UMD owns a 2-1 record all-time against Sioux Falls, defeating the Cougars 70-65 last season on January 30, 2015.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS | 3-17, 1-13 NSIC
Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend mired in a nine-game losing streak and will meet St. Cloud State University on Friday night before heading north to Duluth ... a 78-70 loss against Concordia University, St. Paul last time out was the smallest margin of defeat during that stretch. The average margin has been -16.5 over the last nine games ... senior swing guard Hope Bonlander ranks in the top-15 of the NSIC scoring averaging 13.8 points per game ... sophomore forward Lauren Hedlund at 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds, and senior guards Annessa Rosch at 10.5 points also average double figures for the Mustangs ... SMSU has the second-worst scoring defense in the NSIC with teams shooting 44.3 percent on the season ... head coach Allison Kruger is in her sixth season leading Southwest Minnesota State ... UMD owns a 53-17 record all-time against the Mustangs, but fell 71-68 against SMSU last season on January 31, 2015.

FREE THROWS
UMD played some of its best defensive basketball of the season, allowing just 54.5 points per game on the weekend, but settled for a split against Minot State and U-Mary in its return to Romano Gym ... junior forward Kenzie Kane dropped a career-high 28 points in Friday night's victory over Minot State ... junior center Allyson Harris averaged 17.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on the weekend, shooting 62.5 percent from the floor ... Harris ranks fourth in the NSIC shooting 49.7 percent on the season ... the Bulldogs held U-Mary without a field goal for 8:56 of the first half, outscoring the Marauders 19-1 in the process, but a similar defensive run by the visitors came back to nip UMD at the end of the night ... first-year guard Sammy Kozlowski dished a season-high seven assists on Friday night against Minot State while also netting eight points herself.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Live Stats & Video (both games)

UP NEXT
UMD and Sioux Falls will get the action started at Romano Gym on Friday night. Opening tip is set for 6:00 p.m.