THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth come home to play at Romano Gym for the first time in three weeks. The Bulldogs will be hosting two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents in Augustana University (Feb. 7) and Wayne State College (Feb. 8).

SCOUTING REPORT ON AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY: The Vikings are coming off of a weekend in which they split with two NSIC opponents. AUG first took on Minot State University, a game in which the Vikings would fall by only two points 82-80. They would then take on the University of Mary, a game in which they would beat the Marauders 76-68. Augustana has been 2-3 in their past five games, falling to Minnesota State University Moorhead (78-68), Minnesota State University (89-77) and Minot State University, while beating Concordia-St. Paul (81-54) and UMary. The Vikings are 13-9 on the season and 8-8 when facing opponents in the NSIC, which is good for 5th in the Southern Division and 9th overall in the NSIC. At the helm of the program is Tom Billeter who is in his 17th season with Augustana. Billeter holds a 318-186 (.631) record while with the Vikings and has a 415-236 (.637) overall record in 22 seasons.
The Vikings have four players that are averaging double digits in scoring over the season so far. Leading the way is Matt Todd. Todd has put up an average of 14.0 per game so far this season in 22 games. He's been able to grab 2.8 rebounds a game and leads the team with 56 assists on the season. Tyler Riemersma is averaging a double-double per game, scoring 13.0 per game with 10.4 rebounds per game. Riemersma has started every game so far this year, averaging 25.3 minutes a night so far.

SCOUTING REPORT ON UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY: Despite a 10-15 record on the season, the Wildcats have been red hot as of late. WSC has been able to win the past four games, sweeping two weekends in a row. After losing to Northern State (82-72), the Wildcats beat Minnesota State University (73-71), Concordis-St. Paul (66-63), the University of Mary (85-77 (OT)) and Minot State University (71-62). WSC is 7-9 within the NSIC, good for a 6th spot in the Southern Division and a 10th in the NSIC overall. Leading the Wildcats as head coach is Jeff Kaminsky. In his 4th year at the helm, Kaminsky holds a 55-62 (.470) record as WSC and a 354-369 (.490) overall record in 26 seasons with Wisconsin-Superior, Valley City State and Wayne State College.
With three players averaging more than 12 points a game, the Wildcats have a dangerous top three. Leading the way for WSC is scoring is Jordan Janssen. Janssen has played in all 25 games this year and averages 17.7 points a night for the Wildcats, grabbing 9.8 rebounds a game. He's also been able to dish 97 assists on the year, block 37 and grab 32 steals. Nick Ferrarini has been a steady No. 2 for Wayne State, grabbing 14.8 points per game in all games this year. He averages 2.8 rebounds a game but is a master from beyond the arc, dropping 40.0% (54-135) 3-pointers on the season. Nate Mohr has been the third man to average more than 12 points a game, scoring 12.2 on the season. Mohr has hit just under Ferrarini from deep range (39.1% (54-138)) so far this season.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs have had a rough go at it when it comes to taking on Augustana, going 2-11 against the Vikings in the past 10 years, and 1-4 in the past five games. UMD did win the meeting between the two teams last season, edging out Augustana by a score of 81-72, the largest margin of victory against the Vikings thus far.
The Bulldogs and the Wildcats have met just six times in the past six years, with each side winning three games a piece. The to teams met last year in a contest that went the Bulldogs way, with UMD out pacing WSC 77-72, the closet win of the three that UMD has over the Wildcats.

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 DIV.	NABC
UMD	16-6	2ND	NR
AUG	13-9	5TH	NR
WSC	10-15	6TH	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

BREAKING RECORDS: Senior forward Brandon Myer has been a star player in his past three seasons for UMD and has continued that throughout is fourth season with the Bulldogs. Myer is on pace to become the 2nd all-time scoring leader at UMD. Myer currently has 1,760 (as of Feb. 1) points in his career while Mike Patterson finished his career with 1,808 (2nd at UMD) in his career. Myer also sits 5th all time in rebounds at UMD (771) and is looking to move into 4th over Bryan Foss (784). Myer is also T-1st all-time as a Bulldog in free throws made. Myer has made 436 in his career, and is tied with Josh Quigley.
Senior guard Logan Rohrscheib has also made a name for himself in the Bulldog record books. Rohrscheib currently sits 5th all-time at UMD in both 3-point field goals (215) and 3-point field goal attempts (529). He looks to move into 4th for 3PT FG's (John Emerson, 216) and 3PT FGA's (John Emerson, 527).

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs had a tough weekend, getting swept by Winona State University (85-57) and Upper Iowa University (84-79). UMD is now 16-6 overall on the year and 11-5 in the NSIC. The Bulldogs moved down a spot in the Northern Division of the NSIC to a standalone 2nd place position, and now are T-2nd  (with Upper Iowa) in the NSIC overall.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs continue their home stand, playing host to Northern State (Feb. 14) and Minnesota State University Moorhead (Feb. 15) to finish out  home regular season play.