THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth welcomes St. Cloud State University for a home Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference engagement on Dec. 30. The Bulldogs look to capture the season sweep with a 4:00 p.m. opening tip at Ralph A. Romano Gymnasium. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON ST. CLOUD STATE: The Huskies are 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the NSIC. They are receiving votes in the national coaches poll. St. Cloud State was ranked as high as No. 13 earlier in the season. They have won four straight games after dropping the conference opener to UMD. St. Cloud State has not dropped a road game (3-0) this season.

UMD will once again have to contain the dangerous duo of Gage Davis and Sean Smith. Davis is scoring 21.7 points per game (fourth in the NSIC) and 8.2 rebounds. He leads the team in scoring and has put up at least 13 points in every game this season. Davis is knocking down 51.1 percent. Smith is second on the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game. He is also pulling down 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game, both team-highs. He is the No. 1 shot blocker in the nation and a serious problem in disrupting the interior. In addition, the Huskies have one the conference's deadly shooters from outside. Brindley Theisen is first in the NSIC with close to three buckets from behind the arc. Theisen is averaging 12.9 points per game and is shooting 44.4 percent from three.

St. Cloud State is No. 1 in the nation with 6.7 blocks shots per game. The Huskies are averaging 83.4 points per contest, 58th best in the country, and have the 31st best field-goal percentage in the nation at 49.6 percent. Three-pointers are hard to come by against the Huskies as teams are shooting 30.9 percent from behind the arc, the 40th lowest clip in the nation.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Huskies have played 88 times overall with St. Cloud State leading the all-time series 54-34. UMD ended a four-game drought after upsetting the Huskies in St. Cloud 91-81 on Dec. 1.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents stack up with its records, in the NSIC and in the NABC Coaches Poll.
 

TEAM	RECORD	NSIC	NABC
UMD	5-4	2-3 (T-9th)	NR
SCSU	9-2	4-0 (T-3rd)	RV

THE BROADCAST: Bulldog Productions will be carrying the game live through a web stream with Matt Johnson and Josh Wallace on the call of the action. The game on Sunday can viewed, with live stat capabilities at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD dropped both games at home to the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University back on Dec. 14-15. The Bulldogs lost 73-66 to the Cougars and 75-63 to the Mustangs. UMD fell behind early in the first half and rallied in the second half to take leads briefly  in each game. Junior forward Brandon Myer had 12 points, nine rebounds and a career high six assists the first night and backed that up 19 points, nine rebounds and a career-tying six steals. Junior guard Logan Rohrscheib collected a team-high 20 points on Friday and senior guard Mamadou Ngom posted four steals, a collegiate best, on Saturday vs. SMSU.

CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONOR: Junior forward Brandon Myer was been named the NSIC North Division Player of the Week twice already this season. He has took home the award four times in his career, winning the honor twice last season as well.

NEW PROGRAM RECORDS: In addition to junior forward Brandon Myer setting the individual free throw marks in a single game, UMD also raised the bar breaking the team records as well. The 39-for-49 effort at the line vs SCSU set the program marks for most free throw made (36 vs. Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 30, 1998) and most free throw attempts (48 vs. Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 30, 1998) in a single game. 

MAJOR UPSET: UMD knocked off St. Cloud State almost a month ago when it opened the NSIC season on the road at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud. The Bulldogs dispatched the then-No. 13 Huskies for their first win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 3, 2016 against Minnesota State University Mankato, who was ranked No. 25 at the time.  It was a span of 104 games between wins against top-25 teams.

BE THE TOP DOG: The season series between UMD and SCSU have ended in season sweeps each of the past three seasons. The Bulldogs grabbed both games in the 2015-16 season while the Huskies nabbed the next two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18).

BE THE TOP DOG II: UMD can lock up its first sweep of St. Cloud State on Sunday since the 2015-16 season with a win at home. That was the last win at home, which occurred on Nov. 28, 2015.

BRINGING HIS 'A' GAME: Junior forward Brandon Myer has had his way with the Huskies since day one. In the last outing, the 91-81 upset win earlier this year, Myer broke off 31 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and a block in the win on his way to claiming the NSIC North Division Player of the Week. For his career, Myer has averaged 25.3 points, 11.3 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and a half a steal in his four games against SCSU. 

CRASH THE BOARDS: Attacking the glass has paved the way to victories this season. UMD has not won a game this season when they fail to win the rebounding battle. The Bulldogs are 5-1 when taking control of the glass.

CRASH THE BOARDS II: UMD has a 2.1 rebounding differential this season.  The last time the Bulldogs finished the season with a positive rebounding margin was four seasons ago in 2014-15.

SHOOT FOR 42: The Bulldogs face one of the better opposing offenses in terms of field-goal percentage but they don't have to exactly match SCSU's team average. UMD is undefeated this season when it shots 42 percent or better. The Bulldogs have won only once when shooting below that clip.

GET OUT IN FRONT: UMD is 4-1 this season when it carries a lead into the half. Michigan Tech was the lone team to come back after trailing going into the second half.

AND FINISH STRONG: UMD is 5-1 when leading with five minutes remaining. That lone loss came in the 73-70 overtime defeat at Mary.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: The Bulldogs, for the third consecutive season, are  getting the most out of their possessions. They are giving the ball away 10.1 times per game. That is the seventh best clip in the nation. Southwest Minnesota State forced 13 turnovers, the most UMD was allowed all season.

NO MARGIN OF ERROR: UMD is 33th in the country in turnover margin. It is No. 2 in the NSIC as well with a positive 3.8 turnover margin.  The Bulldogs have won the turnover battle seven times this season and lost that battle once.

BALL CONTROL AT ITS FINEST: The Bulldogs have a team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.34. Good execution and decision-making have UMD ranked 41st in the country.

DE-FENSE: The Bulldog defense is allowing 66.7 points per game. That equals the 38th best defense in the nation in terms of scoring defense and fourth in the NSIC.

ALPHA DOG: Junior forward Brandon Myer is leading the team is scoring with 19.9 points per game. He has the eighth best scoring average in the NSIC. 

REBOUNDING KING: It just not scoring. Junior forward Brandon Myer leads the NSIC with 9.9 rebounds per game. He has the 18th most rebounds in the nation and is 11th in the country in defensive rebounding (7.6).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Junior forward Brandon Myer has compiled three double-doubles in the last four outings. That gives him a total of 10 career double-doubles. He corralled 15 points and a career high 17 rebounds at Mary for his team-leading third time. He is two off the NSIC pace (Bryndan Matthews, Concordia- St. Paul). 

PICKPOCKET ARTIST: Junior forward Brandon Myer is first the NSIC with 2.2 steals per game. That total is also 41st in the nation. Myer amassed a collegiate high six steals in the contest against Wisconsin-Superior and repeated that feat against Southwest Minnesota State.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Junior forward Brandon Myer has 928 collegiate points. He is 72 points away from being the next Bulldog to join the 1,000-point club. He would be the 38th Bulldog to join the exclusive group. Guard Reece Zoelle was the last to hit the grand achievement back on Jan. 23, 2015.

RELENTLESS POST FINISHER: Senior forward Sean Burns is averaging 12.6 points and 7.6 rebounds this season. Burns is third in the conference in field-goal percentage at a robust 58.0 percent. Only 53 other qualifying players sport a better shooting percentage. His rebounding average is eighth in the NSIC but it's the work he does on the offensive glass. He notches 3.0 offensive boards, tied for the best player in the NSIC and 56th in the nation.

SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST: Senior forward Sean Burns is throwing up career marks this season. His 12.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game are career bests for a season. Burns established new single-game marks in points (21 at Mary 12/8) and rebounds (14 vs. Michigan Tech 11/18) this year. He has also tied his single-game collegiate high in assists.

FOR THREE!: Junior Logan Rohrscheib can spot up and get a clean look from outside. The three-point specialist has a team-high 21 baskets from long-range. Rohrscheib has 13 other buckets from inside the arc.

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. 10, 2018 against St. Scholastica.

...WHILE HITTING TRIPLE DIGITS: The 116 points scored against the Saints 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 since Jan. 30, 2015.

BLOWOUT BASH: That 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.

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.

ON TAP: UMD opens the new year at Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston next weekend in NSIC North Division action.