THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will engage in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division action this Friday and Saturday (Jan. 25-26) when the Bulldogs host Minnesota State University-Moorhead and Northern State University at Romano Gymnasium. The opening tip of Friday night's "White Out" game versus the Dragons will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's contest against the Wolves  will tip off at 5:30 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MSU MOORHEAD: The Dragons are 14-6 and 8-4 in the NSIC this season. They won seven straight before falling 87-82 at home to Augustana last Saturday. MSU Moorhead has been good at home and decent on the road with a 4-3 record. The Dragons have the top scoring offense in the NSIC at 87.2 points per game. That mark is also 25th in the nation. They also have the second best three-point shooting percentage in the conference.  They are making 41.2 percent from three which is the 12th best shooting mark in the nation as well. MSU Moorhead is also first in the NSIC in assists per game with almost 15 dimes a contest. Five scorers are posting double figures this season with Addison park and Gavin Baumgartner each dropping 15.2 points per game. Baumgarter has the highest shooting percentage among the club with a 56.5 percent from the field and 54.4 from long range. Travaun Coad leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per game and Bryce Irsfeld paces the team with 3.1 assists.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN STATE: The Wolves are 14-4 and 10-2 in the NSIC. Like the Dragons, Northern State had its five-game winning streak snapped at home on Saturday after Wayne State won 84-81. Ian Smith tallied a career high 39 points in the loss.The Wolves have the best defense in the NSIC in terms of scoring defense. Teams are scoring on average 66.4 points which is also 26th in the nation. Northern State is second in the NSIC in field-goal percentage (43.0) and second in the NSIC in rebounding margin (+8.3). Smith paces the club with 14.9 points and Parker Fox, Justin Decker, Bo Fries each scoring between 10 and 11 points per game. Fox is scoring at a 55.7 percent clip, a team high. Fries leads the team with 6.1 rebounds and Smith leads the team with 5.6 assists per game. 

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Dragons have played 122 times overall with UMD holding a sizeable 78-44 lead. MSU Moorhead has won six of the last seven meetings with UMD's lone victory coming at home last season (Jan. 19, 2018).

The Bulldogs and Wolves have played 77 times overall with UMD leading the all-time series 40-37. Northern State has won five straight games. The last Bulldog win came on Dec. 11, 2015 on the road. UMD last won at Romano on Dec. 17, 2011 and have lost the last six times the Wolves made the visit.

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

THE BROADCAST: The games this weekend will be carried live through a video stream with live stat capabilities. Bulldog Productions will be producing the broadcast with Josh Wallace and Matt Johnson providing the call of the action. The stream is available for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

LAST TIME OUT: UMD defeated Minnesota State University Mankato and Concordia University, St. Paul this past weekend on the road. The Bulldogs came back from 14 points down in the second half to upend the Mavericks 80-77. Junior forward Brandon Myer was one of four players in double figures for UMD as he led all scorers with 27 points. Junior guard Trevor Entwisle and junior guard Logan Rohrscheib sunk the final six free throws to secure the win. The Bulldogs blew out the Golden Bears the following night with a career night by freshman guard Hunter Plamann. He scored a collegiate high 31 points on 11 of 14 shooting including 9-for-10 beyond the arc. UMD shot the lights out from three, hitting a season high 16 triples in the 93-63 victory.

3X NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior forward Brandon Myer was been named the NSIC North Division Player of the Week three times already this season. He has took home the award five times in his career, winning the honor twice last season as well. His last won the citation on Monday after averaging a team-leading 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 blocks in the two games. He shot a team high 68 percent (19-for-28) overall and also 56 percent (5-for-9) from three.

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.

GOING AGAINST THEIR FORMER SQUAD: Head coach Justin Wieck and assistant coach Tanner Kretchman are going head-to-head against their former club, MSU Moorhead. Wieck and Kretchman were with the Dragons the last four seasons. 
Wieck rolled up a 96-38 overall record during his tenure as an assistant coach. The Dragons made three NCAA Tournament appearances, shared two NSIC regular titles. In 2014-15, they made it to the NCAA Division II Elite 8 for the first time ever after going 35-4.
Kretchman was a three-time All-NSIC performer and was named National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II All-District Central Region second team in 2016-17. He left as the all-time assists leader at MSUM.

ROAD SWEEP: The sweep last weekend at Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul was the first NSIC road weekend sweep since defeating Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on Dec. 5-6, 2014.

TAYLOR AND GANGELHOFF DROUGHTS SNAPPED: UMD ended a couple of long droughts at NSIC venues. The Bulldogs won in Mankato for the first time since Feb. 17, 2012 and won in St. Paul for the first time since Dec. 29, 2006.

ROAD DOGG: The Bulldogs are 6-3 this season on the road. The six road wins is the most since the 2014-15 season. The last time they had seven road wins in a season was seven years ago during Gary Holquist's last season as coach in 2011-12.

GIVE ME FIVE: With a pair of victories this weekend, the Bulldogs can run their winning streak to five games, a stretch they last accomplished in 2015-16 when it rattled off six consecutive.

FINDING THE RHYTHM ON OFFENSE: After shooting under 40 percent in three straight contests, the Bulldogs have shot at least 46 percent in the last seven games.

GET OUT IN FRONT: UMD is 8-1 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 also 8-1 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 10.7 times per game. That is the 18th best clip in the nation. 

BALL CONTROL AT ITS FINEST: The Bulldogs have a team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.38. Good execution and decision-making have UMD ranked 34th in the country.

DE-FENSE: The Bulldog defense is allowing 70.2 points per game. That equals the 66th best defense in the nation in terms of scoring defense and sixth in the NSIC.

GET A HAND ON IT: The Bulldogs are ranked  in the NSIC with 6.4 steals per game. They have a season high 12 steals on three occasions this season.

GIVING OUT DIMES: UMD has the third best assist per game in the NSIC. The Bulldogs are averaging 14.8 assists per game. They are assisting on 53.8 percent of their make field goals.

CLEANING THE GLASS: The Bulldogs have won the battle on the glass 11 times this season including seven of the last eight games. They carry a positive 3.5 rebounding margin, which is fourth in the conference.

ALPHA DOG: Junior forward Brandon Myer is leading the team is scoring with 22.1 points per game. He has the fifth best scoring average in the NSIC and is 18th in the nation.

REBOUNDING KING: It just not scoring. Junior forward Brandon Myer leads the NSIC with 9.6 rebounds per game. He has the 19th most rebounds in the nation and is 16th in the country in defensive rebounding (7.1).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Combine those successes together, junior forward Brandon Myer has compiled six double-doubles this season. That gives him a total of 13 career double-doubles. He is one behind the NSIC pace (Bryndan Matthews, Concordia-St. Paul) this season.

PICKPOCKET ARTIST: Junior forward Brandon Myer is among the leaders in the NSIC in steals per game. He has 1.6 steals per contest, second in the conference. Myer amassed a collegiate high six steals in the contest against Wisconsin-Superior and repeated that same feat against Southwest Minnesota State.

AND THE NEW MEMBER TO 1K CLUB: Every dog has his day and junior forward Brandon Myer had his on Jan. 11. Myer became the 38th Bulldog to join the exclusive 1,000-point club when he went off for 31 points against Mary,tying his season high. He is the last player since Reece Zoelle to hit the grand achievement back on Jan. 23, 2015.

SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST: Senior forward Sean Burns is throwing up career marks this season. His 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game are career bests for a season. Burns established new single-game marks in points (26 vs. Mary 1/11) and rebounds (15 vs. Mary 1/11) this year. He has also tied his single-game collegiate high in assists and steals.

RELENTLESS POST FINISHER: Senior forward Sean Burns is second in the conference in field-goal percentage at a robust 59.9 percent. Only 23 other qualifying players sport a better shooting percentage. His rebounding average is sixth in the NSIC but it's the work he does on the offensive glass. He notches 2.8 offensive boards, which is No. 1 in the NSIC and 71th in the nation.

FOR THREE!: Junior guard Logan Rohrscheib can spot up and get a clean look from outside. The three-point specialist has a team-high 36 baskets from long-range. Rohrscheib has 17 other buckets from inside the arc.

THE MARKSMAN: Junior guard Logan Rohrscheib has led the team in three point baskets each of the last two seasons and is on pace to do so again. His 36 three-point baskets are 11 more than the next Bulldog. At his current pace, Rohrscheib could ascend into the top five of the Bulldog three-point field goals all-time list.

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.

PULLING RANK: With UMD's 91-81 victory over then-No. 13 St. Cloud State earlier this season it was the first win over a ranked opponent on Jan. 3, 2016 against Minnesota State University Mankato, who was ranked No. 25 at the time.

ON TAP: UMD takes on Winona State University and Upper Iowa University next weekend (Feb. 1-2) at Romano Gymnasium to wrap up a four game homestand.