THE OPENING TIP: A successful home stint to begin the 2018-19 campaign continues on the road as the University of Minnesota Duluth battles Northern Michigan University and the University of Wisconsin-Superior in non-conference games this week. On Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. (CST), the Wildcats host the Bulldogs at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. The Yellowjackets will host the Bulldogs in the 139th battle between the two border-battle rivals on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The Wildcats have started the season 2-0 after defeating McKendree and Lewis in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge. Northern Michigan finished 15-13 last season. Isaiah Johnson was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Johnson averaged 28.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Naba Echols averaged 18.0 points per game and tallied 6.0 assists per game. The Wildcats notched 85 points per game in the opening weekend. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON WISCONSIN SUPERIOR: The Yellowjackets opened their season at home in the Merrill Thompson Classic. They split a pair of games, winning 76-63 over Finlandia and falling 74-62 to Lawrence. Wisconsin-Superior will play Hamline on Tuesday before getting the Bulldogs. The Yellowjackets went 7-18 last season and failed to place in the postseason field. Montroy Scott is averaging a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds per game. Scott had 26 and 16 in the win over Finlandia. Mac Reykdal averages 15 points per game.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are ahead by one in the season series in 69 career meetings over the Northern Michigan. UMD defeated NMU 87-82 last season with Logan Rohrscheib, Brandon Myer and Luke Harris combined for 66 points. UMD has not won in Marquette since Dec. 7, 2003 (79-74), losing the last four games.

The Bulldogs lead the series 94-44 over Wisonsin-Superior. UMD won the 138th edition of the border battle at home last season 74-68 behind Brandon Myer's 31 points. The Bulldogs have won the last the last seven matchups, all at home. The Yellowjackets last victory over UMD came on Nov. 24, 2010 when it upset the Bulldogs 92-80. The last time UMD played in Superior, Wis., was on Nov. 21, 1998.

THE BROADCAST: The game on Tuesday against Northern Michigan can viewed at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/nmu/. 

In addition, live stats are available at: http://nmuwildcats.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/boxscores/20181113_xj6x.xml.

The game on Thursday against Wisconsin-Superior can viewed at: https://www.ifan.tv/

In addition, live stats are available at: https://uwsyellowjackets.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs trounced their crosstown rival College of St. Scholastica in their season opener 116-68. Junior guard Logan Rohrscheib finished with a game high 22 points as he was one of five players in double figures for UMD. Junior forward Brandon Myer collected 19 points and stuffed the stat sheet in just 21 minutes. Myer had 17 of his 19 points in the first half and finished with five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a pair of blocks. Senior guard Sean Burns went 6-of-7 from the field for 15 points and pulled down a game high nine boards. Senior forward Ryan Kaczynski and freshman guard Hunter Plamann each had 11 points as the Bulldogs shot a collective 63.2 percent from the floor.

DEBUTED IN STYLE: Justin Wieck's first game as the head coach was a successful one. Wieck grabbed his first win at the Division II level on Nov. 12, 2018 against St. Scholastica.

HITTING TRIPLE DIGITS: The 116 points scored Saturday is the most since a 126-124 overtime win over Bemidji State University on Feb. 25, 2009. Its the first time UMD has reached triple digits in 67 games. The Bulldogs did that 1,380 days ago on Jan. 30, 2015.

BLOWOUT BASH: The 48-point victory over the Saints was the largest margin of victory by UMD since it won by 56 points against Northland College (95-39) on Dec. 3, 2004.

HOMEGROWN AND READY TO WREAK HAVOC: An All-NSIC second team player last season, Brandon Myer is the Bulldogs NSIC Player to Watch for. Myer led the club in points, rebounds, blocks and steals. The junior forward established career single-game highs in points and rebounds. He ended the season registering 19.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals -- all career highs -- while compiling six double-doubles and a trio of 30-point games.

NSIC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: The Bulldogs were tabbed with a 10th place finish in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' poll released on Oct. 18. UMD exceeded expectations placed on them a season ago and received 103 points in the poll. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the North Division.

St. Cloud State University and Minnesota State University were selected by the NSIC coaches as the preseason favorites in the NSIC for the 2018-19 season. Both St. Cloud State and Minnesota State received 209 points with the Mavericks garnering eight first places votes and the Huskies with five. NCAA National runner-up Northern State University was picked to finish fifth overall with 177 points. 

In the divisional rankings, St. Cloud State was the unanimous choice in the north, picking up all seven first place votes. In the south, Minnesota State and Sioux Falls shared the top spot as both had 43 points and four first place votes.

St. Cloud State senior guard Gage Davis was the North Division Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight season. SMSU junior guard Ryan Bruggeman and Trevon Evans were named the South Division Co-Preseason Player of the Year. Bruggeman is the preseason favorite again for a second straight year.

NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs have three freshman at their disposal for the 2018-19 season. The local Northland product, Ethan Youso (Virginia, Minn.), provides UMD with another element of a big man with a soft shooting touch from the outside. A highly successful high school tennis player, Youso finished fourth all-time in scoring and averaged 19.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks his senior season. Guard Mason Steffen (Waunakee, Wis.) is a second generation UMD basketball player with his father, Richard Steffen, suiting up from 1990-94. Steffen collected over 1,100 points at Waunakee Community. Another freshman turning heads in the preseason is guard Hunter Plamann (Appleton, Wis.). Hunter acclimated 1,750 points and is the all-time leading scorer in Xavier history after back-to-back All-State Associated Press accolades.

THE SCOOP ON THE DOGS: UMD ushers in a new era of Bulldog basketball with Justin Wieck as the program's 17th head coach. Wieck returns all five starters from last season's lineup and nine players in total returning for the 2018-19 season. The Bulldogs welcome back junior forward Brandon Myer into the fray. Myer and junior guard Logan Rohrscheib are the top two returning scorers each registering double-figures last season. They are two of the top five scorers back from a season ago.

Senior forward Sean Burns, junior guard Trevor Entwisle and senior guard Mamadou Ngom were catalysts for the Bulldogs in the starting rotation with junior forward Luke Harris and senior wing Ryan Kaczynski earning spot starts as well for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs tripled their win total from the season prior and went 7-4 in games decided by five points or less in 2017-18. UMD will look to improve on its NSIC Quarterfinal finish from a year ago after shocking Winona State in the NSIC Tournament before bowing out to Northern State.

ON TAP: UMD is back at Romano Gymnasium on Sunday, Nov. 18 to play Michigan Tech University in the last non-conference game before the start of the NSIC schedule.