THE OPENING TIP: Having won four of its last five, the University of Minnesota Duluth will take its streaking team on the road against of pair of Northern Su Intercollegiate Conference team this weekend. The Bulldogs, who captured its first weekend sweep last weekend since Jan. 9-10, 2016, square off against Winona State University Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Upper Iowa Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE: The Warriors, who are coming off a home weekend sweep, are 10-6 overall and 5-5 in the NSIC. Winona State is in the middle of a four-game home stand and is 8-1 at McCown Gymnasium this year.  The Warriors are coached by Todd Eisner who in his third year leading the Winona State.
They split season series with both SMSU & Sioux Falls with wins this past weekend as they took the final lead in both games in the final 90 seconds of play. The Warriors are one of the hotter teams in the NSIC, having won six of their last eight games.
Kevion Taylor set career highs in points (21) and rebounds (11) vs. SMSU. He also added 14 points vs. Sioux Falls. The Warriors are a balanced scoring team with eight players ranging from 7-12 points a game. Tommy Gathje, who knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer vs. SMSU, leads the team with 12.0 points. Caleb Wagner is averaging 4.5 assists and almost 1.5 steals a contest. Corey Jeffs is the leading post threat averaging 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and the team's leading shot blocker.

SCOUTING REPORT ON UPPER IOWA: The Peacocks flock into the weekend losing their last three, falling one game under .500 and hold a 2-8 record in the NSIC. Upper Iowa is also a part of a four-game home stand. Brooks McKowenis is in his third year at the helm for the Peacocks.
They shot 52.5 percent from the floor for the weekend but lost a pair of home games last weekend.
Upper Iowa led SMSU on Saturday for 38:59 before the Mustangs hit a shot with 1.6 left to win the game 86-84.
Four players are averaging double figures with Carson Parker leading the way with 16.8 points this season. Although the Peacocks are scoring 79.2 points per game, they are allowing a NSIC-worst 80.6 points. They also are in the bottom of the rebounding margin. Munachiso Okonkwo is the team's leading rebounder (7.4) and shot blocker (1.6).

THE SERIES: UMD will meet for Winona State for the 100th time in its long-standing rivalry. The Bulldogs are 63-36 lifetime over the Warriors. The 63 wins are fourth most over any one team in school history. Winona State have won the last two battles including last season's 78-70 overtime victory over UMD. The Bulldogs last defeated the Warriors in the first round of the NSIC Tournament back on Feb. 25, 2015. 
Upper Iowa is one of only five teams in the NSIC that boast a winning record over UMD. The Peacocks hold an 9-6 advantage in the third-newest NSIC rivalry that started since 2008. Upper Iowa came away with the victory in its most recent encounter last year winning 85-78. The Bulldogs are amidst a six-game losing skid to the Peacocks having won back on Dec. 9, 2011 when they won at Fayette, Iowa 82-70.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and their opponents this weekend stack up in the NSIC standings and in the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) and the D2SIDA media polls.
TEAM        NSIC        NABC        D2SIDA
UMD           11th           NR              NR
WSU          T-7th          NR              NR
UIU           T-14th          RV              NR

THE BROADCAST: Both games this weekend will be carried live through a video stream and is available at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

LAST TIME OUT: UMD took a weekend sweep for the first time since Jan. 9-10, 2016 at Romano Gymnasium dumping the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University. It capped off its third straight win at home as it claimed its fourth victory in the last five matches. 
The Bulldogs led 63-62 on Friday night when the clock ticked under five minutes to play but the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 run to lead by six with just under three minutes. With the gritty effort of Trevor Entwisle on both ends of the court, UMD rallied back on a 12-2 run to win 75-71. The Bulldog defense allowed season lows in points and field goal percentage.

CLOSING GAMES OUT AT CRUNCH TIME: UMD has made quite the turn around when it comes to dealing with close games. The Bulldogs are 5-1 this year with games decided by two possessions or less and 5-0 when tied or ahead with five minutes remaining. In 2016-17, UMD was 1-6 in close games and 3-5 in crunch time.

RALLY DOGS: The last two games, identical 12-2 runs have propelled the Bulldogs into the win column. UMD overcame a six-point deficit with 2:55 left on Friday and then overcame a five-point deficit with 4:19 remaining Saturday.

LOCKED IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: The Bulldogs have been doing an excellence job at drawing contact and getting to the line. UMD is hitting 78.0 percent of its free throws, which is the 10th best percentage in the division II landscape. Colorado Christian University hold the mark with 80.4 percent. More importantly, they get better at hitting their freebies in the second half up to 82.1 percent (161-196) and 87.0 percent (80-for-92) under five minutes.
The Bulldogs have relied on three players to take the majority of its free throws. Logan Rohrscheib has the best percentage of all Bulldogs with 90.1, which places him second in the NSIC and 25th in all of Division II. Rohrscheib has made 43-straight free throws.
Brandon Myer and Trevor Entwisle are close behind knocking down 84.4 and 81.7 percent, respectively. In total, all three are in the top 10 in the NSIC in terms of free throw percentage.
UMD used its strength to the line 45 times against Northern Michigan, almost reaching the program record of 48 set back on Nov. 30, 1998. As a team, it made 35 of those attempts, which was one short of tying the school record also set on that same
date against the University of Minnesota Crookston.

MYER'S ON FIRE: The dominant sophomore breakout performance continues for Brandon Myer. He has led the team in scoring the last seven games and has achieved double figures in 12 of the games this season. The Superior, Wis. native has posted UMD's only three double-doubles this season. 
Myer set a personal collegiate best with 32 points against Northern Michigan. He is the lone Bulldog since the turn of the century to hit at least 20-plus points in seven consecutive games. During that stretch, Myer has dialed in 25.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and an assist as he's shot a blazing 55.0 percent from the field and 46.4 from three.

WEEKLY RAZZLE DAZZLE: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference bestowed Brandon Myer with NSIC North Division Player of the Week honors for his outstanding contributions the past two of the past three weeks.
In his Dec. 20, 2016 award, the Superior, Wis. native averaged 31.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and a block per game while shooting a robust 75.0 percent on the floor, hitting 21 of his 28 shots. He created new career highs in consecutive outings as his back-to-back 30-point efforts for the Bulldogs since Ryan Rasmussen posted 30 and 32 back on Jan. 20-21, 2012.
His 32 points was the most since Newton put up 42 points when he won weekly award back on Feb. 1, 2016. 
On Monday, he took home his second honor after averaging 24.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 47.6 percent on the floor including 40.0 percent from behind the arc. He came through in crunch time as he hit the go-ahead shot with 48 seconds remaining to knock off Minnesota Crookston.
Pierre Newton was the last Bulldog to earn at least two players of the week awards for UMD. He accomplished that feat back in 2015-16.

AMONG THE NSIC BESTS: In addition, Brandon Myer top the charts in most of he major categories in the NSIC.
On a per game basis, Myer is sixth in the conference in scoring (19.9) and in rebounding (7.3) and fourth in blocks (1.2). He has the fifth best field-goal percentage in the NSIC knocking down 51.8 of his attempts.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Coach Bowen for the second straight season will have to direct a very youthful squad from the sidelines. Only two seniors (Kyle Schalow and Jake Wilson) are on the roster with a combined nine freshmen and sophomores. The five sophomores tallied an average of 19 minutes during their freshmen seasons. Four sophomores pace the Bulldogs in points this season. Their outburst has accounted for 729 points on the season or 73.9 percent of the total points.

THE DISTRIBUTOR: No one last year for UMD averaged at least three assists per game but Trevor Entwisle is doing just that this season. The Neenah, Wis., native recorded a Bulldog season-high six assists versus the Cougars. Entwisle is dishing out 3.9 assists per contest and has a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has at least five assists in the last four games including matching his previously set season high last match.
His 3.9 assists per game are the most by a Bulldog in a single season since Sean Seaman averaged 5.3 assists in the 2005-06 season.

NO EXTRA POSSESSIONS: Limiting turnovers has been a specialty in the past under the direction of Matt Bowen. His teams have ranked among the best at not turning the ball over and this year is no exception. UMD is the best in the NSIC in fewest turnovers per game (9.5), which is fifth in the Division II landscape. Michigan Tech University is first with 8.2 per contest. It has recorded the 10th fewest turnovers on the year, only coughing up the ball 133 times in 14 games. No other team in the NSIC has turned the ball over fewer times than the Bulldogs.

PLAYING SMART: The Bulldogs have committed 227 fouls on the year which is the second fewest fouls by any NSIC team, trailing St. Cloud State University (211).

STRONGER IN THE SECOND HALF: In the last five games UMD has been playing better and outscoring each of its opponents. Opponents are averaging 33.4 and are being outscored by 5.2 points. The Bulldogs, who is averaging 38.6 points the last five games in the final 20 minutes, put up 48 points in the second half versus Northern Michigan, a season high for a half. The strong play late in games is one reason they have won four of their last five.

GET IN THERE, ROOK: Two freshman have cracked minutes thus far in the 2017-18 campaign. Xavier Cummings played two games and made his first appearance versus Michigan Tech on Nov. 22. Jake Paper made his collegiate debut against SCSU on Dec. 16. Paper also played against Northern Michigan and tabbed four rebounds and an assist.

CONFERENCE COACHES CORNER: The NSIC 2017-18 Preseason Coaches' Poll slated UMD to a 13th-place finish. The Bulldogs, which finished eighth in the North Division and a 15th overall a season ago, received 46 points in the poll. The Bulldogs were picked to finish sixth in the North Division ahead of Minnesota Crookston and U-Mary.
Northern State University, who claimed preseason favorites in the North Division, topped out in the overall poll with 213 points slightly edging Southwest Minnesota State University, who was picked to finish first in the south.
St. Cloud State University junior guard Gage Davis was the North Division Preseason Player of the Year. SMSU junior guard Ryan Bruggeman was named the South Division Preseason Player of the Year.

NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs bring in four freshmen (Jimmy Vollbrecht, Xavier Cummings, Adam Smith and Jake Paper) and a junior college transfer (Mamadou Ngom) to join the 2017-18 roster and the 11 returners from a season ago.

BOWEN'S BITS: Entering his sixth season in 2017, head coach Matt Bowen looks to take the next step to bringing the University of Minnesota Duluth to the top of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Armed with a lineup of experienced underclassman and vital leaders, the Bulldogs are set to improve upon the 2016-17 season.
Bowen is no stranger to turning a program around, having taken a perennial Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference underdog in Bemidji State University to a championship level that has not been repeated since he left the program to take over as UMD head coach in the summer of 2012. Bowen, just the third head coach for the Bulldogs since the mid-1980's, succeeded Gary Holquist, who stepped down in April 2012 to take the role of UMD's Athletic Development Director.
Under Bowen, UMD produced its first NABC All-Region selection since 2008-09 in Brett Ervin ('15) during the 2014-15 season as well as NABC Honors Court selection Jake Harder ('16) that season and All-NSIC guard Jordan Reetz ('14) the previous year. Along with an influx of young talent, the future seems bright for the Bulldogs under Bowen's guidance.
Bowen completed his turnaround of Bemidji State in his sixth and most productive year with the program, guiding the Beavers to a school record 22-9 overall mark which included an NSIC regular season championship and the program's second NCAA II playoff berth in the team's 91-year history. In addition to receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll for the first-time ever, Bowen also produced the 2011-12 NSIC and NCAA II Player of the Year in James Ellisor. 
Prior to his appointment in Bemidji, Bowen spent 15 years on the staffs of three NCAA I institutions, working under the likes of Homer Drew (Valparaiso University), Gene Bartow (University of Alabama-Birmingham) and Bob Knight (Indiana University). 
A native of River Falls, Wisconsin, Bowen graduated from Indiana University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in health, physical education and recreation and earned a Master's degree in health education from Alabama-Birmingham four years later. His father, Rick, was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls from 1986-2006 and retired as that school's athletic director in 2010.

ON TAP: After the short two-game road stint, the Bulldogs return home to play Minnesota State University Moorhead and nationally-ranked Northern State University at Romano Gymnasium next weekend for the first of two engagements between both squads this season.