THE OPENING TIP: Different season. Same two teams. The University of Minnesota Duluth begins the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament with a home match against Winona State University in a rematch of last season's first round matchup this Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Bulldogs (17-9;14-8 NSIC) and the Warriors (12-16; 9-13 NSIC) will get under way from Romano Gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE: The Warriors are 12-16 overall and finished 9-13 in conference play. They are the sixth seed in the south division. Winona State ended the regular season losing five of its last seven games. The Warriors did blow out Minnesota State by 28 in the regular season finale. They are 5-9 on the road this season.

Winona State is 13th in the NSIC in scoring with 75.1 points per game. It is allowing 71.1 points per game, fourth in the NSIC in scoring defense. The Warriors are shooting 44.4 percent (15th in the NSIC), 39.5 percent from behind the arc (7th), and 78.5 percent from the free-throw line (3rd). Winona State has the second least turnovers per game (8.0) in the nation and the fourth best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.76) in the country. In the NSIC, the Warriors are sixth in assists per game (14.0), eighth in steals per game (5.5), 14th in rebounding (32.6), and last in blocks per game (1.4).

Kevion Taylor leads Winona State with 16.6 points per game. He is shooting 48.1 percent from the field and also paces the team with 69 three-pointers while shooting 43.4 percent from deep. Taylor pulls down a team-high 6.4 rebounds. Caleb Wagner is second on the team in points per game averaging 13.0 points this season. Devin Whitelow guides the offense, averaging 4.5 assists per game. Whitelow scores 8.0 points per game as well and also records a team-high 1.2 steals.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Warriors will go head-to-head for the 103rd time. UMD leads the all-time series 64-38. Winona State won the previous three battles in the regular season, however, the Bulldogs have knocked off the Warriors in the first round of the conference tournament the last two times the teams have met. 

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and Winona State stack up with its records, in the NSIC, in the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Coaches Poll and in the NCAA II Regional Rankings.

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 this weekend. The game this Wednesday can be viewed, with live stat capabilities at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd. 

LAST TIME OUT: UMD capped off the regular season with victories at home over the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University last weekend. The Bulldogs shut down the Golden Eagles 76-67 on Friday and silenced the Beavers 74-62 for its third weekend sweep of the season. Senior guard Mamadou Ngom and junior guard Logan Rohrscheib led UMD with 13 points each against Minnesota Crookston. Junior forward Brandon Myer guided the club on Sarurday with a team-high 25 points and team-high 13 rebounds for his NSIC-leading 13th double-double.

IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT: UMD is 11-11 all-time in the NSIC Tournament. It has won the conference tournament twice (2002 and 2003). The Bulldogs are 6-6 in the first round and advanced to the quarterfinals twice in the last four seasons. UMD is 2-0 against Winona State in the conference tournament and 6-0 in the postseason overall.

JUST WIN, BABY: The Bulldogs have surpassed their win total from last year, winning six more games than last season. UMD finished 12-18 in 2017-18, which previously tripled its win total from the season prior. 

JUST WIN, BABY II: UMD finished tied for third in the NSIC after being selected 10th in the preseason coaches poll. The Bulldogs had their best finish since divisions were first introduced. The 14 conference wins this season is the most for UMD in 10 seasons. 

ROAD DOGG: The Bulldogs are 9-4 this season on the road. The nine road wins is the most since the 1996-97 season. That season UMD won 10 times on the road.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: UMD is 9-3 on Saturdays this season and has won the last seven times it has played taken the court on Saturday.

WIECK-ED: Head coach Justin Wieck has the fifth-most wins among first-year head coaches among the NCAA Division II. 

WHAT A DEBUT: The 17 wins by Justin Wieck is tied for second-most by a first-year head coach at UMD. Maurice Ray went 17-9 in his first season as Bulldog coach in 1971-72. Dale Race holds the program with 23 wins in his debut season in 1984-85.

FOUR-TIME NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior forward Brandon Myer was been named the NSIC North Division Player of the Week four times this season (Nov. 19, Dec. 3, Jan. 21 and Feb. 18). He has took home the award six times in his career. For his latest achievement, Myer averaged a team-leading 30.5 points, 13.5 rebounds. He shot 58 percent from the field and 93 percent from the line as he amassed two more double-doubles, bringing his league-leading total to 11.

NEW PROGRAM RECORDS: UMD broke a few single-game program records from the free-throw line this season. Junior forward Brandon Myer set the individual free throw marks in a single game going 18-for-23 at the line. He broke Ryan Rusmussen's mark of 17 made free throws (Feb. 5, 2010 vs. SCSU) and John Vaudreuil's 22 free throw attempts (Nov. 7, 2008 vs. Montevallo). 

The Bulldogs 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.

FINDING THE RHYTHM ON OFFENSE: The Bulldogs have shot at least 44 percent in 16 of the last 17 games. Before their recent stretch, UMD shot above 44 percent only three times.

FINDING THE RHYTHM ON OFFENSE II: In five of the last seven games, UMD has shot over 50 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs have shot at least 47 percent in every game during its recent stretch.

DE-FENSE: UMD is allowing 70.1 points per game this season. That is the second best scoring defense in the NSIC. Teams have scored more than 80 points only three times this season on the Bulldogs.

DE-FENSE II: Opposing teams are shooting 43.4 percent against the Bulldogs. That figure is third in the NSIC. UMD has held seven teams under 40 percent shooting on the season.

GET OUT IN FRONT: UMD is 11-1 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 14-1 when leading with five minutes remaining. That lone loss came in the 73-70 overtime defeat at Mary.

BALL CONTROL AT ITS FINEST: The Bulldogs have a team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.30. Good execution and decision-making have UMD ranked 47th in the country.

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 20th best clip in the nation. 

CLEANING UP ON THE GLASS: The Bulldogs have won the battle on the glass 19 times this season including 15 of the last 16 games. They carry a positive 4.4 rebounding margin, which is fourth in the conference.

ALPHA DOG: Junior forward Brandon Myer is leading the team is scoring with 21.6 points per game. He has the fifth best scoring average in the NSIC and is 24th in the nation.

REBOUNDING KING: It just not scoring. Junior forward Brandon Myer leads the NSIC with 10.5 rebounds per game. He has the 11th most rebounds in the nation and is fourth in the country in defensive rebounding (8.0).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Combine those successes together, junior forward Brandon Myer has compiled 13 double-doubles this season, which leads the NSIC and is 15th in the NCAA. That gives him a total of 20 career double-doubles.

IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN: Junior forward Brandon Myer is the only NSIC player to be averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season. He is one of only six players in the entire nation to average 20 points and 10 rebounds.

PICKPOCKET ARTIST: Junior forward Brandon Myer is among the leaders in the NSIC in steals per game. He has 1.4 steals per contest, third 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 14.7 points and 7.3 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 first in the conference in field-goal percentage at a robust 59.0 percent. Only 22 other qualifying players sport a better shooting percentage in the nation. His rebounding average is eighth in the NSIC but it's the work he does on the offensive glass. He notches 2.4 offensive boards, which is No. 3 in the NSIC.

FOR THREE!: Junior guard Logan Rohrscheib can spot up and get a clean look from outside. The three-point specialist has a team-high 51 baskets from long-range.

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 51 three-point baskets is eight away from tying his personal best his freshman season. Rohrscheib needs 35 more triples to ascend into the top 5 for most three-pointers by a Bulldog.

PAPER TRAIL: Sophomore forward Jake Paper has transcended into his own form the past month. Since the start of February, Paper is averaging 6.6 points (fourth among the team), 3.4 rebounds and almost a block per game in roughly 11 minutes per contest. Paper has dominated in the interior as he is shooting 81.5 percent (22-for-27) over the last seven games. 

ON TAP: The winner on Wednesday will advance on to the NSIC Quarterfinals against either Augustana University and Minnesota Crookston at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Sunday, March 3 at 2:30 p.m.