THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth take to the road for the first time in the 2020 calender year, traveling to Bismarck, ND to take on the University of Mary (Jan. 10) before heading to Minot, ND, to take on Minot State (Jan. 11).

SCOUTING REPORT ON THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY: The Marauders are coming off a two loss weekend, first dropping a contest to Concordia-St. Paul 79-65. They would then travel to Mankato, Minn. to take on Minnesota State University, falling to the Mavericks in a tight battle 'til the end 69-65. UMary currently carries a 7-7 overall record on the year, holding a 3-6 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Marauders are sitting in 7th in the northern division of the NSIC and 13th overall in the conference. Joe Kittell heads the program, and carries a 56-74 (.431) record in his 5th season of duty.
Since the last meeting of these two teams, UMD has gone 3-2, while UMary has gone 2-4.
The Marauders are lead by Matthew Kreklow, who is leading the way for UMary, averaging 15.4 points per game. He also leads the way in rebounds per game (8.3), blocks (27) and shooting percentage (55.9%, 71-127). Jaylan White has been a steady No. 2 in scoring for the Marauders, putting up 12.9 per game. He's been averaging 2.6 rebounds  a game while dishing out a team leading 47 assists on the year. He's been able to shoot at a 41.4% (63-152) on the year, shooting 30.6% (19-62) from beyond the arc on the year. He's been steady from the charity stripe, dropping 81.8% (36-44) of shots taken from the line.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY: The Beavers are coming off a two tightly contested but lost games. MISU would first travel to Mankato, Minn. to take on the Minnesota State University Mavericks, falling short in a 87-79 loss. The Beavers would then go to St. Paul, Minn. to take on the Concordia_St. Paul Golden Bears, making it a thriller until the final seconds, falling to CSP 71-68. MSIU currently sits at 6-8 overall on their season, going 0-8 against NSIC opponents, sitting in 8th in the northern division and 16th overall in the NSIC. Minot State is headed by Matt Murken, who is 101-116 (.465) at the helm in his 8th season with the Beavers.
Since the last meeting between Minot State and UMD, the Beavers have gone 0-6.
The Beavers are lead on the offensive side of the ball by Kyle Beisch, who is currently averaging 20.6 points per game so far. He's is grabbing an average of 5.1 rebounds a game, sitting third on the team, while siding out 23 assists on the year. Max Cody has been just behind him with a 15.4 average in scoring per game. In their 14 games, Cody has dished out 87 assists and been able to snag up a team leading 17 steals.

THE SERIES: This will be the second time that the Bulldogs have met both teams this season. UMD would take both match ups, first beat Minot State 72-54 before topping UMary 73-62.
In the past five match ups between the Bulldogs and the Marauders, UMD holds a 3-2 record. The last match up was the biggest score differential in those five meetings, with every other game being within seven points.
The Bulldogs have take four of the last five games against Minot State, last lossing back in the 2017-18 season in a 80-71 loss. UMD has been able to win every other game by a five point or larger margin.

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 RANK	NABC
UMD	11-3	T-2ND	NR
UMARY	7-7	13TH	NR
MISU	6-8	16TH	NR

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 opened the new decade with a sweep following the holiday season. UMD would break out of the two game skid by sweeping the weekend, first winning over Bemidji State University (73-57) before beating the University of Minnesota-Crookston (78-64).
 
POINTS GALORE: UMD ranks first in the NSIC and 42nd in DII in points per game, averaging 84.9 per game on the year. Brandon Myer leads the way with 21.1 per game, second in the NSIC (36th in DII). Drew Blair sitting in 18th with 14.9 per game and Alex Illikainen is sitting in 20th in the NSIC with 14.7.

3'S FOR DAYS: The Bulldogs sit in the top-5 for 3-point FG percentage (second, 38.9), 3-point FG defense (second, 30.8) and 3-point FG's made (second, 142 (avg. of 10.1 per game)). Logan Rohrscheib has been hitting an average of 2.1 3's per game, with Drew Blair doing the same.

WHAT'S A MISSED SHOT: The Bulldogs are sitting fifth in the NSIC for field goal percentage, hitting 48.0 percent of their shots (423-881). Three of the Bulldogs, Myer, Illikainen and Blair, are all in the top-15 for field goal percentage. Myer has shot 53.2 percent (6th), Illikainen has hit 50.0 percent (10th) of his shots and Blair has hit 49.3 percent (11th) of the shots.
 
PASS ME THE ROCK: Minnesota Duluth ranks in first in the NSIC in assists, averaging 15.64 per game. Two Bulldogs sit in the top-25 in the NSIC. Trevor Entwisle sits in 6th (4.4 per game) and Brandon Myer sits in 18th (2.6 per game).

DOUBLE UP: So far this season, Brandon Myer has managed to put up eight double-doubles, which sits second in the NSIC (behind Wayne State College's Jordan Janssen (10)) and 5th in DII.

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 come home in attempt to protect their home court unbeaten streak, first taking on Minnesota State (Jan. 17) before hosting Concordia-St. Paul (Jan. 18).