THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth take to the road again, first heading to Moorhead, Minn. to take on the Dragons (Jan. 24), then travel to Aberdeen, SD to square off against the Wolves (Jan. 25).

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY - MOORHEAD: The Dragons are coming off a weekend sweep on the road this past weekend, first beating Wayne State College 82-71 before heading to Sioux Falls, SD, beating Augustana University 78-68. In the past five games Minnesota State University-Moorhead has gone 4-1, falling to only the University of Minnesota-Crookston by a score of 94-61. MSU-M now carries an 11-7 record overall and a 7-5 record while playing in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games. The Dragons sit in a two way tie for third place in the northern division of the NSIC, with St. Cloud State University, while being in a three way tie for 6th in the conference overall. At the helm of the Dragons is Chad Walthall. Walthall is in his 10th season with the Dragons and his 17th coaching season overall. In 10 seasons with MSU-M, he carries a 202-98 (.673) record, while going 318-167 (.656) overall in 17 seasons.
Gavin Baumgartner is leading the charge for the Dragons this year. In 18 games played, Baumgartner has averaged 15.9 points per game, shooting at a 50.5% from the floor. He's second on the team in 3-pointer's (27) and in rebounding average (5.2 per game). Another piece to MSU-M's offense is Bryce Irsfeld. Irsfeld has played in all 18 games as well, putting an average of 13.6 points per game in that span. Irsfeld is second on the team in steals, nabbing 2.2 (39) per game.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY: The Wolves are coming off of a weekend sweep. NSU first would beat Augustana University in an 82-77 battle. They would then go on to beat Wayne State College in a n 82-72 win. The Wolves are currently riding a five game win streak, taking down Winona State University (72-68), the University of Minnesota-Crookston (97-60), Bemidji State (98-92), Augustana and Wayne State. On the season, NSU is currently 14-4 overall with a 10-2 record against NSIC opponents. That 10-2 record is good for a 1st place spot in the northern division, as well as a tie for the top spot in the NSIC (with the University of Sioux Falls) as a whole. Sitting at the helm of the program is Saul Phillips. Phillips is in his 13th season as a head coach, his 1st with Northern State University. Before NSU, Phillips coached at North Dakota State University for seven years as well as Ohio University, both NCAA DI programs. In his 13 seasons as a head coach, Phillips carries a 229-165 (.581) overall record.
Parker Fox, coming off his 3rd NSIC player of the week (has won three straight) of the year, leads the way for NSU. He's averaging 21.4 points per game this season, playing in 31.9 minutes per game in 17 games. He's leading the way in both rebounds per game (9.4) and steals (24) as well as fourth on the team in assists (32). Mason Stark has been a solid no. 2 for the Wolves, scoring on average 15.4 points per game while playing 30.4 minutes per night. He's been able to grab 3.7 rebounds per game while dishing out 42 assists.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and the Dragons have met 10 times in the past five years. Within that span, MSU-M holds 7-3 record over the Bulldogs. The two teams met last in last season, with UMD taking the contest in a one possession battle till the end 78-76.
UMD and NSU have met 11 times in the past five years, with the Wolves holding the upper hand in the battle. The Bulldogs have gone 3-8 against NSU, with the last contest (last season) going in favor of the Wolves in a one possession battle 72-70. UMD looks to turn the tide on NSU as the Wolves have won eight of the last nine contests.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its two opponents stack up with their records, rank in the NSIC overall and the NABC DII Poll.
 

SCHOOL	OVERALL	NSIC	NABC
UMD	14-4	3RD	NR
MSU-M	11-7	T-6TH	NR
NSU	14-4	T-1ST	RV

THE BROADCAST: The match will be carried through a live broadcast with live stats capabilities.

Broadcast: UMDBulldogs.com/watch

Live Stats: UMDBulldogs.com/watch and follow the live stats button

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs are coming off of a weekend split against two tough opponents. UMD first took on Minnesota State University, a game in which the Bulldogs were down by 15 going into halftime. The Bulldogs attempted to comeback, but would ultimately fall by a score of 67-65 and drop their first game in Romano on the season. The Bulldogs then played host to Concordia-St. Paul in another tight battle, this time bouncing back and coming out on top in a high scoring battle 101-92. UMD now carries a 14-4 overall record on the season while going 9-3 against opponents in the NSIC, good for a stand-alone spot in 3rd.

POINTS GALORE: UMD ranks 1st in the NSIC and 35th in DII in points per game, averaging 84.7 per game on the year. Brandon Myer leads the way with 21.1 per game, 3rd in the NSIC (29th in DII). Drew Blair sitting in 13th with 16.4 per game and Alex Illikainen is sitting in 24th in the NSIC with 13.7.

3'S FOR DAYS: The Bulldogs sit in the top-5 for 3-point FG percentage (2nd, 40.0), 3-point FG defense (second, 32.2) and 3-point FG's made (3rd, 187 (avg. of 10.4 per game)). Logan Rohrscheib has been hitting an average of 2.1 3's per game (12th in the NSIC), with Drew Blair hitting 2.0 per game (15th in the NSIC) adn Bradon Myer hitting 1.7 per game (23rd in the NSIC).

WHAT'S A MISSED SHOT: The Bulldogs are sitting 5th in the NSIC for field goal percentage, hitting 48.0 percent of their shots (531-1106). Three of the Bulldogs, Myer, Illikainen and Blair, are all in the top-15 for field goal percentage. Myer has shot 53.6 percent (6th), Blair has hit 51.3 percent (10th) of his shots and Illikainen has hit 47.5 percent (15th) of his shots.
 
PASS ME THE ROCK: Minnesota Duluth ranks in 2nd in the NSIC in assists, averaging 15.33 per game. Two Bulldogs sit in the top-15 in the NSIC. Trevor Entwisle sits in 5th (4.4 per game) and Brandon Myer sits in 17th (2.7 per game). UMD ranks 3rd in the NSIC in assist-turnover ratio with an average of 1.47, Entwisle ranks in the top-10 in assist-turnover ratio with an average of 1.8, good for 8th.

DOUBLE UP: So far this season, Brandon Myer has managed to put up eight double-doubles, which sits 3rd in the NSIC (behind Wayne State College's Jordan Janssen (11) and Northern State University's Parker Fox (9)) and 13th in DII.

HOMEGROWN AND READY TO WREAK HAVOC: An All-NSIC first team player last season, Brandon Myer is the Bulldogs NSIC Player to Watch for. Myer led the club in points, rebounds, blocks and steals. The senior forward established career single-game highs in points and rebounds. He ended the season registering 21.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 steals -- all career highs -- while compiling 14 double-doubles, nine 25 (or more) point-games and a trio of 30-point games.

THE COACH: Justin Wieck took over as the University of Minnesota Duluth head men's basketball coach on May 1, 2018, becoming the 17th head coach in the 89-year history of the Bulldog program and just the fourth since the 1984-85 season. Wieck is enetering his second season as head coach for the Bulldogs.
During his first year, Wieck has helped a duo of players, senior forward Brandon Myer and forward Sean Burns, elevate their game to all-conference heights, as well as having erned four conference player of the week honors. Wieck helped to improve the Bulldogs from having an underwhelming season in 2017-18, to a positive overall record of 17-10, while 14-8 in conference, last season, UMD's best since 2008-09. During the 2018-19 season, the Bulldogs ranked No. T-13 in fewest fouls, as well as No. 6 in all of Division II for the fewest turnovers. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 regionally for the first time since 2008-09, and had a 4-1 record against NCAA Tournament teams.
Wieck's first recruiting class includes Drew Blair, a 2018 top 15 player in Wis., two time state champion for Stevens Point and a Division II transfer from Northwest Missouri State. Alex Illikainen, a Division I transfer from the University of Wisconsin, a 2014 top 100 player in the U.S. and a former 4-star recruit. Charlie Gorres, a 2019 Minn. top 15 recruit. Yalim Olcay, a Division I transfer from Western Carolina and a 16U Turkish National Team Training camp invite. Jack Middleton, a 2019 Minn. top 15 recruit as a Minn. Mr. Basketball finalist.
"My family and I are ecstatic to join the University of Minnesota Duluth and the Duluth community," said Wieck. "There is tremendous leadership from the top down in this department, as well as so many successful head coaches and programs.  I am looking forward to joining such an awesome team.  This basketball program has tremendous potential.  The city of Duluth is a special place to be, UMD boasts a high academic reputation, a powerful and hungry fan and alumni base, and with the Romano Gymnasium renovations taking place this summer, this program is ready to take off.  I am looking forward to jumping right in with this current roster, building relationships and getting this program back to the top of the NSIC."
During Wieck's successful four years of assistant coaching service (offensive coordinator) at MSU-Moorhead, the Dragons rolled up a 96-38 overall record, made three NCAA Tournament appearances, captured at least a share of two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular titles, advanced to two NSIC Tournament finals and reigned as the NSIC North Division champions three times. Over that span, he helped produced two NSIC Players of the Year in Aaron Lien (2016-17) and Jordan Riewer (2014-15), six All-NSIC first team selections and two National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Americans.
In 2014-15 -- Wieck's first season -- MSU-Moorhead enjoyed its most productive season in program history. In addition to setting a team single-season record for victories by going 35-4, the Dragons laid claim to the NCAA II Central Region crown and made it to the NCAA Division II Elite 8 for the first time ever. Along the way, MSU-Moorhead also broke previous school marks for field goals made, field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, free throws made, and free throw percentage.
Prior to his arrival in Moorhead, Wieck served as the head men's basketball coach for two years at the University of Jamestown (N.D.), where he went 32-31 while directing the Jimmies to a NAIA Division II National Tournament appearance in 2012-13 as well as a second-place finish in the Association of Independent Institutions (Aii) Tournament. The following year, Jamestown captured both the inaugural North Star Athletic Association regular season and tournament championships while finishing 17-12 overall. Wieck, the 2013-14 NSAA Coach of the Year, saw four of his players receive all-conference first team honors and two become All-Americans during his time in Jamestown.
Wieck's resume also includes a two-year assistant coaching stint at NSIC member Northern State University (2010-12) where he handled the Wolves' recruiting coordinator duties.  In addition, he was employed for a total of four seasons as the video coordinator (2008-10) and graduate assistant coach (2006-08) at his alma mater, the University of Iowa. While with the Hawkeye staff, Wieck worked with Steve Alford and Todd Lickliter, both National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coach of the Year recipients, and assisted the Iowa coaches in preparing opponent scouting reports along with breaking down Hawkeye practices and game films. He also served as assistant camp director for Iowa Summer Basketball Camps and was active in the academic monitoring and community outreach for the Hawkeye program.
A native of North Liberty, Iowa, Wieck joined the Iowa program as walk-on forward in 2004, fresh off a rewarding two-season career at Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). He eventually earned a scholarship as a senior -- the same year the Hawkeyes won the Big Ten Tournament and made their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Wieck, an Academic All-Big Ten selection, earned both his Bachelor's degree in finance (2006) and Master's degree in athletic administration (2008) from Iowa. He and his wife, Laura, have two children – son Jordy (7) and daughter Anya (5) and newborn Ella.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs keep on the road, traveling to Winona, Minn. to face the Winona State University Warrriors (Jan. 31) before heading to Fayette, Iowa to take on the Upper Iowa Peacocks (Feb. 1).