THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will host Southwest Minnesota State University this Wednesday, Feb. 27 in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament. The Bulldogs (19-6; 18-4 NSIC) and the Mustangs (12-15; 9-13 NSIC) will tip off from Romano Gymnasium at 5:30 p.m. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE: The Mustangs are 12-15 overall and finished 9-13 in conference play. They are the seventh seed in the south division. SMSU closed out the regular season losing its last three and five of its last six. It is 3-9 on the road this season including dropping its previous four away from home.

The Mustangs are fourth in the NSIC in scoring with 71.2 points per game. They are 13th in the NSIC in scoring defense with 70.1 points per game. They are shooting 39.2 percent (12th in the NSIC), 32.6 percent from three (10th), and 76.7 from the free-throw line (first, 17th in the NCAA). SMSU has the most three-pointers per game in the NSIC, hitting 8.8 triples per game. In the NSIC, it ranks fourth in steals (9.0), sixth in rebounding (38.3), 11th in blocks (2.6) and 12th in assists (11.9) per game. 

Caleigh Rodning leads the Mustangs with 13.9 points per game, 10th among the NSIC. She is knocking down 40.3 percent overall from the field. Meleah Reinhart is averaging 11.9 points per game this season and is shooting 42.3 percent. Erin Baxter and Sadie Stelter are both scoring 9.7 points this season. Baxter leads the team in steals (1.4) while Stelter has a team-high 43 three-pointers and is second in assists per game with 2.0. Abuk Akoi leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game, fifth in the NSIC.

THE SERIES: UMD and Southwest Minnesota State have played 74 times overall with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series 56-18. UMD carries a three-game winning streak over the Mustangs into Wednesday's playoff match. The Bulldogs won by 21 points at home in the only meeting between the two squads this season.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and SMSU stack up with their records, in the NSIC standings, in the WBCA 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 pushed its winning streak to three and won its ninth in a row at home following a 77-49 win over the University of Minnesota Crookston and a 68-47 victory over Bemidji State University on Senior Day to wrap up the regular season. The Bulldogs received a game-high 22 points from senior guard Sammy Kozlowski on Friday and sophomore forward Sarah Grow led UMD with a game-high 18 points on Saturday. 

IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT: UMD is 17-10 all-time in the NSIC Tournament. It has won the conference tournament four times (2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004). The Bulldogs are 7-7 in the first round and have lost seven of the last eight first-round playoff games. They defeated Minnesota State at home two years ago in the first round. UMD is 3-1 against the Mustangs in the league tournament and 5-1 in the postseason overall.

HOME PLAYOFFS: UMD will host an opening-round NSIC playoff game for the third consecutive season. The Bulldogs are 7-2 at home in the NSIC Tournament. Their last home win came two seasons ago on Feb. 22, 2017 against Minnesota State University Mankato (83-73).

WINNING!: UMD has 18 wins in the NSIC this season, the most conference wins in program history. The Bulldogs eclipsed their 16-win total from the 1999-2000 season, the most by any UMD team before this season. The Bulldogs went 16-2 and captured their then-ninth NSIC championship that season.

NEW HEIGHTS: The 19 wins this season under head coach Mandy Pearson is the most under her tenure. For the program, it is the most wins in nine seasons.

20-20: The Bulldogs are one win away from posting their first 20-win season since Annette Wiles led UMD to a 20-11 record in her second season as coach in 2009-10.

20-20 II: UMD has 17 20-win seasons in its 42-year existence. However, it has recorded just one 20-win season in the last 13 years.

HOME COOKIN': At Romano Gymnasium this season, the Bulldogs are 11-1 overall and 11-0 against NSIC competition. The 11 wins at Romano is the most for the maroon-and-gold since 2009-10. UMD can clinch its first 12-win season at home since 2002-03 when that club finished 12-1.

KEEP ROLLIN': The latest stretch of basketball has been the best in a while by the Bulldogs. The last time UMD had nine wins in the last 10 games dates back to the 2004-05 season when the Bulldogs started the season 9-1.

LAY-UPS: In their last nine wins, the Bulldogs have won each of them by a margin of 15 points or more. They have 14 of their 17 wins this season by 15 points or more.

SURVEY SAYS: UMD ranked fifth in the initial NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings released last Wednesday. The winner of the NSIC Tournament and the champions of the MIAA and the GAC get automatic bids to the tournament, leaving five at-large bids following postseason tournament play. The NCAA Basketball Selection Show will be streamed online on Sunday, March 10 at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.

AGAINST THE TOP 25: The victory over No. 24 MSU Moorhead on Jan. 25 was the first time in five attempts the Bulldogs came out with a victory against a ranked opponent. The Dragon were also the last team UMD beat before that handing the then-No. 15 team a 71-59 loss on Jan. 20, 2017.

NORTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES: On three instances this season the Bulldogs have had a player named the NSIC North Division Player of the Week. Sophomore forward Sarah Grow was bestowed with the honor on Dec. 17, 2018. Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski was rewarded with the citation twice (Jan. 14 and 28).

1K FOR KOZLOWSKI: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski reached 1,000 points for her collegiate career in the Dec. 19 game against Michigan Tech. She became the 21st Bulldog to accomplish the feat when she sunk a free-throw-line jumper in the third quarter. Taylor Meyer is last UMD player to amass 1,000 points as she reached the mark in the 2016-17 season.

CLIMBING THE SCORING RANKS: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski has 1,172 career point which ranks her 15th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list passing Mary Barker (1,164 points). She is also 53 points away from passing Kelsey Hewitt (1,225) for 14th all-time.

MASTER THIEF: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski ranks 10th among active Division II players in total steals with her 240 career takeaways.

MASTER THIEF II: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski is ranked first in the conference in steals with 2.7 per contest. She is ranked 26th in the nation on a per game basis. 

SAM I AM: Senior guard Sammy Kozlowski is approaching the top-5 in three statistical Bulldog categories -- three-point field goals, assists and steals. 

GET THAT OUTTA HERE: Sophomore forward Sarah Grow is first in the conference in blocked shots. Grow averages 2.28 blocks per game and has at least two blocks in 16 games this season.

PAINT PROTECTOR: Sophomore forward Sarah Grow is one of the best at protecting the basket. She is 28th in the NCAA with 2.28 blocks per game. She tallied a career-high six blocks in the season opener against Northern Michigan. 

MILESTONE REJECTION: Sophomore forward Sarah Grow recently amassed 100 blocks for her career. Julie Coughlin holds the UMD record with 160 career rejections. 

BURYING TREYS: Senior forward Emma Boehm leads the NSIC in three-point field-goal percentage. On the season, Boehm is 28-for-57 from outside the arc. She is hitting her outside jumpers at a 49.1 percent clip. Cassie Askvig (Mary) is next at 46.4 percent.

DE-FENSE: UMD is allowing 54.4 points per game this season. That is the best figure in the NSIC and only 10 other teams in the NCAA are holding opponents to a fewer points per game. Bowie State leads the nation at 48.1 points per game.

NO EASY BUCKETS: UMD is holding teams, on the season, to a combined 37.6 percent shooting clip. That is third in the NSIC and 67th overall in the NCAA. Six teams shot under 30 percent this season against the Bulldogs. It is the lowest shooting percentage allowed by UMD in seven seasons.

DENY THE THREE: Opposing teams are shooting 28.4 percent from behind the arc. That percentage clip is 41st-best in the nation and second in the NSIC. Teams, this season, have shot 20 percent or lower on six occasions and only once has an opponent shot above 50 percent.
FROM DOWNTOWN: The Bulldogs have the third-best shooting percentage in the NSIC for three-point range and the 57th best overall in Division II. UMD is 147-for-425 for 34.6 percent.

BLOCK IT OR TAKE IT AWAY: UMD is second in the conference in blocks per game and second in steals per game. The Bulldogs average 4.24 blocks per game and 9.76 steals per game. Nationally, they are 41st in blocks and 44th in steals.

PRESSURE COOKER: The Bulldogs force 17.6 turnovers per game this season. That average is the third highest in the NSIC. They have forced at least 20 turnovers 10 times already this season.

PRESSURE COOKER II: UMD has forced at least 11 turnovers in every game this year expect for Feb. 16 outing against MSU Moorhead. It created a season-high 25 times against Wayne State.

NO WASTED POSSESSIONS: UMD has 11.4 turnovers per game. It ranks as one of the best teams in the country in not spoiling scoring opportunities. Four other DII schools give the ball away less.

POSSESSIONS APLENTY: Stellar defense and taking care of the ball have poised the Bulldogs with one of the better turnover margins in the nation. They are 14th in the nation with a plus 6.16 turnover differential and have turned the ball over 285 times, the third fewest in the NCAA.

SHARING THE BALL: Five players register over 1.5 assists per game. UMD is first in the NSIC with 16.0 assists per game. The Bulldogs are one of two teams in the NSIC -- Augustana being the other -- to have two players dish out at least three assists per game. 

BALL CONTROL: UMD has the fourth best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation. The 1.40 A/TO ratio is No. 1 in the NSIC  while Ashland has the top ratio at 1.50.

BALL CONTROL II: Sophomore guard Ann Simonet is second in the NSIC with an assist-to-turnover ration of 2.41. Simonet has 77 assists and only 32 turnovers. 

A NEAR SHUTOUT: UMD held SMSU to two points in the entire second quarter. It would have marked to first time the Bulldogs held a team to no points in a quarter since the NCAA switched to the 10-minute quarter format in 2015-16. The Mustangs didn't attempt a shot four minutes into the quarter as they finished 1-for-8 with six turnovers.

BACK-TO-BACK NIGHTS UNDER 40: SMSU and USF didn't crack the 40-point mark against the daunted UMD defense. It was the first time the Bulldogs held consecutive opponents to under 40 points since Dec. 3 & 6, 1997. Northland College (Wis.) and the University of St. Francis (Ill.) were UMD victims on those dates.

ON TAP: The winner on Wednesday will advance to the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals held at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Saturday, March 2 at 8:00 p.m. The winner will face off against the winner between Augustana University and Northern State University.