THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth rings in the Justin Wieck era with a cross town confrontation with the College of St. Scholastica to begin 2018-19. The 88th season of collegiate Bulldog basketball will have UMD host the Saints in the home and season opener this Saturday. The opening tip is set for 11:00 a.m. at Romano Gymnasium.

SCOUTING REPORT ON ST. SCHOLASTICA: The Saints finished 17-9 and 12-4 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference last season. They are led by 19th year head coach David Staniger. St. Scholastica had its 2017-18 season halted in the UMAC Tournament Semifinals to the University of Northwestern. The Saints have won at least 17 games each of the last three seasons, which marks the first time in program history that has occurred.

Brandon Newman is a two-time First Team All-UMAC and the 2015-16 UMAC Freshman of the Year. Newman averaged a team-high 14.4 points per game and 3.9 assists per game. Collin Anderson averaged 12.8 points per game as an Honorable Mention All-UMAC player. Jarod Wilken averaged 10.7 points per game, a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game and a team-high 1.2 blocks per game last season.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 20-1 against the Saints and haven't played the Saints since 2007-08. UMD has won the last seven meetings. St. Scholastica won by two points on Dec. 18, 1997 at Romano Gymnasium.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and St. Scholastica stack up with their records, in each other's respective preseason polls.

THE BROADCAST: The game on Saturday will be carried live through a video stream  with live stat capabilities. Bulldog Productions will be producing the broadcast with Josh Wallace on the call. The stream is available for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs had the experience of a lifetime getting the opportunity to play an exhibition contest at Williams Arena against the University of Minnesota last Thursday. The Gophers came out on top with a 103-59 victory. Junior forward Brandon Myer had 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two  steals and a block. Junior forward Luke Harris was the other Bulldog to reach double figures with 10 points.  Senior guard Mamadou Ngom had seven points and five rebounds. UMD forced 14 turnovers and had 12 second-chance points. 

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 travels to Marquette, Mich., to face Northern Michigan University in a non-conference contest on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. (CST).