Last Week

Last week, the Bulldogs hosted Concordia St. Paul in their lone game of the week.

The Bulldogs controlled and dominated the game throughout. The Bulldogs offense started out hot as they managed to jump out to an early 16-5 lead in the first half. From there, the Bulldogs continued to build momentum as they slowly built their lead in the first half. The Bulldogs built up to as many as a 22-point lead in the first half as they controlled the game. After a short run to close out the half from the Golden Bears, Drew Blair hit a three pointer right at the halftime buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 51-34 halftime lead. Austin Andrews had a big first half with 17 points followed by 10 points from Drew Blair. The Bulldogs shot 22-39 from the field and 5-11 from three-point range in the first half.

In the second half, the Bulldogs started the half strong once again as they built their lead back up to 24 points. From there, the Bulldogs maintained their large lead throughout the rest of the game. Fresh- man Joshua Strong had a big 2nd half as the scored 12 points in the half. The Bulldogs were able to get a balanced attack in the second half from all available players as the game was well out of hand. 10 players scored on the night for the Bulldogs in their blowout win. The Bulldogs offense stayed hot as they shot 19-36 from the field and 3-9 from three-point range in the second half.

Bulldogs to Travel to Face Warriors, Peacocks

The No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will be back on the road this weekend as they travel to face off against Winona State on Fri- day January 14 at 5:30 PM. They will then travel to face off against #16 Upper Iowa on Saturday January 15 at 3:30 PM.

One of the Last Standing

Coming into the week, the No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are 1 of 5 teams to still be undefeated in Division II. They are also the only undefeated team left with atleast 15 wins so far this season. The Bulldogs are also the last unbeaten team in the NSIC and the only team that is 8-0 in conference.

First in the NSIC

Coming into the weekend, the Bulldogs are currently the top team in the NSIC. They currently hold a 3 game advantage in the North Division over St. Cloud State and also hold a 2-game lead over Up- per Iowa and Augustana. The Bulldogs will face the top four teams in the South Division over the next two weekends, all on the road.

For The Record

The Bulldogs come into the matchup having won their first 18 games of the season with a 15-0 (8-0) record.... Winona State comes into the matchup with a 9-4 (5-3) record... Upper Iowa comes into the week- end with a 14-2 (8-2) record.

Previous Meetings

Coming into this matchup, the Bulldogs have won the previous two meetings against the Warriors. Overall, the Warriors have had the edge in recent history as they hold a 7-5 advantage over the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs have won 2 of the last 3 meetings against the Peacocks. The Last meeting came on 2/1/2020 when the Peacocks won 84-79. Since the 2013-14 season, the Peacocks hold a 2-6 record over the Bulldogs.

Scouting the Warriors

The Winona State Warriors come into this weekend with the 11th ranked offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 72.0 points per game. They also come into this weekend with the 3rd ranked defense in the league as they are allowing just 66.7 points per game. The Warriors are led by Alec Rosner who is 10th in the conference in scoring with 16.7 points per game. Luke Martens is also 6th in the conference averaging 8.2 rebounds per game.

Scouting the Peacocks

The Upper Iowa Peacocks come into the matchup with the 3rd ranked NSIC offense as they are averaging 84.6 points per game. The Peacocks also rank 13th in the conference as they are allowing 74.7 points per game. Jareese Williams leads the Peacocks as he ranks the 3rd in the NSIC in scoring as he is averaging 18.8 points per game. Joe Smoldt is also in the top-10 in scoring as he is 9th in the conference in scoring averaging 17.3 points per game.

NSIC North Player of the Week

Sophomore Austin Andrews has been named the NSIC North Player of the Week for the fourth time this year. Andrews put up 22 points,
8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 1 assist to earn Player of the Week Honors. Andrews has also helped lead the Bulldogs to a No. 5/6 rank- ing in the country. Andrews is averaging 17.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season.

Redshirt Junior Drew Blair began with a bang as he received the NSIC North Division Player of the Week following his performance during the opening weekend of the season. Blair averaged 23.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists over the weekend. He also shot 59.3% from the field, including 42.9% from three-point range. Blair is the leading scorer on the Bulldogs as he has helped lead the Bulldogs to a 15-0 record. Blair is averaging 18.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

Getting it Done on Both Ends

The Bulldogs come into the week with the best offense in the NSIC and 7th best in the country as they are averaging 89.0 points per game. The Bulldogs are also allowing the fifth-fewest amount of points in the NSIC as they are allowing just 68.7 points per game. The Bulldogs also are 2nd in the country in field goal percentage as they are shooting 52.7% from the field.

Shooting the Deep Ball

The Bulldogs are the second best three point shooting team in the conference as they are shooting 38.7% from three-point range as a team. Not only are they shooting it well, they are defending it even better. The Bulldogs are the best in the NSIC at defending against the three-point ball as they are allowing just 30.6% on the season.

Two of the Conferences Best

The Bulldogs currently feature two of the top 10 scorers in the conference. Redshirt junior Drew Blair currently is fourth in the conference averaging 18.7 points per game while sophomore Austin Andrews is currently 7th in the conference averaging 17.8 points per game. Andrews also currently is third in rebounds per game with 9.5 rebounds per game. Andrews is also third in the conference in field goal percent- age as he is shooting 63.1% on the season.

Preseason Coaches' Poll

Before the season started, the NSIC released their preseason coaches poll. In the North Division, Minnesota Duluth was picked to finish 3rd and 6th overall in the NSIC. Winona State was picked to finish 6th in the South Division and 11th overall. Upper Iowa was picked to finish 3rd in the South Division and and 5th overall.

Nationally Ranked

Following the Bulldogs 15-0 start, they have been noticed across the country. The Bulldogs have been ranked No. 5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll and were ranked No. 6 in the Division II Sports Information Director Association (D2SIDA) Poll. The No. 5 ranking is the highest the Bulldogs have ever been ranked. The No. 5/6 Bulldogs are one of three NSIC teams to be ranked in the NABC poll. Upper Iowa (14-2) was ranked No. 16 in the country. Augustana (12-2) was ranked No. 23 in this weeks poll.

Follow Along

UMD vs WSU
You can watch Friday's game here: https://bit.ly/3kpDTUl
You can follow along with the live stats here: https://bit.ly/3zZGhaj

UMD vs UI
You can watch Saturday's game here: https://bit.ly/3kpDTUl
You can follow along with the live stats here: https://bit.ly/3FtBJu8