THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth will hit the road for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games against South Division foes this weekend. The Bulldogs take on Augustana University on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. UMD then will battle Wayne State College on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON AUGUSTANA: The Vikings are 13-9 overall and 9-7 in the NSIC. They have dropped the last three contests and have loss five of the past seven. Augustana is averaging 77.5 points per game and giving up 75.7 points per game. The Vikings are shooting 44.3 percent, 14th in the NSIC. They are third in the league in free throw percentage (77.6). Matt Cartwright leads the Vikings with 16.0 points per game this season. Cartwright has knocked down a team-high 56 three-pointers and is shooting 42.4 percent from deep. A.J. Plitzweit is second in scoring (13.6 ppg) and leads the club in assists at 3.9 per game. Michael Schaefer leads the team in rebounding (6.3) and the best shooter on the floor (48.6).

SCOUTING REPORT ON WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats are 17-5 overall and the second best team in the NSIC with a 12-4 record. They have won the last three games including winning seven of its last nine. Wayne State is fifth in scoring in the NSIC and second defensively. It is scoring 79.5 points per game and giving up 8.8 points per game. The Wildcats have excelled at defending the basket. Teams are shooting 43.3 percent against Wayne State. The Wildcats are third in opposing field-goal percentage. They are first in steals (7.8) per game and second in blocks (4.6) per game. The block figure is ranked 16th in the nation. Wayne State also has the best turnover margin with four turnovers per game better than its opponents. It forces 14.7 turnovers per game, tops in the NSIC. Trevin Joseph is the leader scorer for the Wildcats. He averages 17.1 points per game and has the most three-pointers for the Wildcats. Kendall Jacks is second on the team with 15.7 points per game. Jordan Janssen is fourth in the NSIC with 7.9 rebounds per game. Janssen has almost three offensive rebounds per game, which leads the league. 

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Vikings have matched up 27 times with Augustana leading the series 16-11. The Vikings have won seven straight games against UMD including's last season's 85-65 win in Sioux Falls. The Bulldogs last defeated Augustana in Sioux Falls 101-99 on Jan. 8, 2012.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats have played 23 times overall with UMD leading the all-time series 14-9. Wayne State has won the last three meetings including the previous two by two points. The Bulldogs took the Wildcats to overtime on the road but fell 88-86. UMD last tamed Wayne State on Jan. 16, 2015.

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.

LAST TIME OUT: UMD split at home for the second straight week. The Bulldogs lost to Winona State 65-53 Friday night and they came back the next night with a 79-64 win over Upper Iowa. The Warriors forced 16 turnovers and held UMD to 44 percent shooting and 30 percent from three. Senior forward Sean Burns led the Bulldogs Friday with 16 points and seven boards. UMD emerged Saturday with a better performance and an early second-half burst (9-0 run) was the difference against the Peacocks. Burns (19), junior forward Brandon Myer (21), and junior guard Logan Rohrscheib (17) combined for 57 points.

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. He last won the citation on Jan. 21 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: 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.

JUST WIN, BABY: The Bulldogs have already tied their win total from last year with six regular season contests to go. Last season UMD finished 12-18, which previously tripled its win total from 2016-17. 

JUST WIN, BABY II: The improvement continues with the Bulldogs already eclipsing its conference win total this season. UMD went 7-15 in NSIC action in 2017-18 and now the Bulldogs have nine NSIC wins with six left.

ROAD SWEEP: The road sweep 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.

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.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: UMD is 6-3 on Saturdays this season but it has won the last four times it has played on Saturday.

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER II: The Bulldogs have won the last three Saturday games after having a setback on the previous night. 

FINDING THE RHYTHM ON OFFENSE: After shooting under 40 percent in three straight contests, the Bulldogs have shot at least 44 percent in 10 of the last 11 games. 

FINDING THE RHYTHM ON OFFENSE II: During that span, UMD has shot over 50 percent four times (St. Cloud State- 12/1, Minnesota Crookston- 1/5, Concordia-St. Paul- 1/19 and Upper Iowa- 2/2).

GET OUT IN FRONT: UMD is 9-1 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 9-1 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 10.4 times per game. That is the 13th best clip in the nation. 

BALL CONTROL AT ITS FINEST: The Bulldogs have a team assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35. Good execution and decision-making have UMD ranked 31st in the country.

GIVING OUT DIMES: UMD has the fifth best assists per game in the NSIC. The Bulldogs are averaging 14.3 assists per game and they are assisting on 53.4 percent of their make field goals.

CLEANING UP ON THE GLASS: The Bulldogs have won the battle on the glass 13 times this season including nine of the last 10 games. They carry a positive 3.2 rebounding margin, which is fourth in the conference.

ALPHA DOG: Junior forward Brandon Myer is leading the team is scoring with 21.2 points per game. He has the fifth best scoring average in the NSIC and is 33rd in the nation.

REBOUNDING KING: It just not scoring. Junior forward Brandon Myer leads the NSIC with 10.1 rebounds per game. He has the 13th most rebounds in the nation and is 11th in the country in defensive rebounding (7.2).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Combine those successes together, junior forward Brandon Myer has compiled eight double-doubles this season. That gives him a total of 15 career double-doubles. He is tied for the NSIC pace (Bryndan Matthews, Concordia-St. Paul) this season.

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 five 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 1.6 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 14.9 points and 7.4 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 59.9 percent. Only 21 other qualifying players sport a better shooting percentage in the nation. His rebounding average is seventh in the NSIC but it's the work he does on the offensive glass. He notches 2.5 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 41 baskets from long-range. Rohrscheib has 28 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 41 three-point baskets are 15 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.

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 will finish off its road regular season slate next weekend (Feb. 15-16) when the Bulldogs travel to play Northern State University and Minnesota State University-Moorhead.