Last week, the Bulldogs traveled to face off against Winona State and No. 16 Upper Iowa.

The Warriors took an early 2-0 lead with 18:50 left in the first half. This was the only time the Warriors led all night as the Bulldogs quickly answered and took an early 8-2 lead. Despite the Warriors efforts to make a comeback in the game, the Bulldogs kept them out of range as they answered all of the Warriors runs. The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points in the first half as the Bulldogs took a 42-33 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs began the second half buy building up their double-digit lead. The Bulldogs built up a 19-point lead with 15:36 left in the game following a Austin Andrews fast break dunk. The Bulldogs continued to dominate on the night as they led by at least 15-points the rest of the way.

In the game against the Peacocks, the first half started out with both teams trading baskets to begin the game. Neither team could pull away early as teams were tied up at 10-10 with 15:12 left in the half. From there, the Peacocks started to pull ahead as they jumped out to a 21-14 lead with 10:16 left in the first half. The Peacocks continued to lead in the first half as they lead by as many as 13 points in the first half. The Bulldogs managed to cut into the Peacocks lead late in the first half as they got it to within 4 points. The Peacocks responded however as they managed to stretch their lead out once again as they took a 47-39 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs started the second half hot as they quickly trimmed the Upper Iowa led to 3 points. The Peacocks responded however with a short run of their own to get the lead back up to double digits. The second half looked much like this as the Bulldogs could not break into the Peacocks lead fully. Whenever UMD got it close, Upper Iowa went on a run of their own to get the lead back up. After getting the lead down to just 7 points at 77-70 with 6:07, the Peacocks pulled away once again, this time putting it out of range of a Bulldogs comeback. The Bulldogs ended up dropping their first game of the year 94-85.

Bulldogs to Travel to Face Vikings, Wildcats

The No. 6/9 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are back on the road as they travel to face off against the No. 20 Augustana Vikings on Friday January 21 at 7:30 PM. They will then travel to face off against the Wayne State Wildcats on Saturday January 22 at 5:30 PM

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 1-game lead over Upper Iowa and Augustana for the entire NSIC.

 

For The Record

The Bulldogs come into the matchup with a 11-1 (9-1) record.... Augustana comes into the matchup with a 13-2 (7-2) record... Wayne State comes into the weekend with a 9-6 (6-3) record.

Previous Meetings

Coming into this matchup, the Bulldogs have won the previous two games against the Vikings with their last matchup coming on 2/7/2020 when the Bulldogs won 73-67. Despite the recent success, Augustana had the Bulldogs number as they won the previous 6 games between 2013-14 to 2017-18 seasons.

The Bulldogs have won the previous two meetings against the Wildcats as they won their most recent matchup on 2/8/2020 when the Bulldogs won 91-70. Overall, the Bulldogs hold a 4-3 record over Wayne State since the 2013-14 season.

Scouting the Vikings

The No. 20 Augustana Vikings are currently the 7th best offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 75.6 points per game. They also boast the NSIC's best defense as they are allowing just 62.5 points per game. Tyler Riemersma leads the Vikings as he is averaging 16.4 points per game, good for 12th best in the conference. Riemersma also leads the conference in rebounds per game as he is averaging 10.4 rebounds per game.

Scouting the Wildcats

The Wildcats come into this game with the 13th ranked offense in the conference as they are averaging 70.5 points per game. They boast the NSIC's second best defense as they are allowing just 66.8 points per game. Justin Eagins leads the Wildcats as he is averaging 16.3 points per game, good for 13th in the NSIC.

NSIC North Player of the Week

Sophomore Austin Andrews has been named the NSIC North Player of the Week four times this year. Andrews recently put up 22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 1 assist to earn Player of the Week Honors two weeks ago. Andrews has also helped lead the Bulldogs to a No. 6/9 ranking in the country. Andrews is averaging 18.4 points, 9.9 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 18.2 points, 4.8 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 9th best in the country as they are averaging 88.6 points per game. The Bulldogs are also allowing the sixth-fewest amount of points in the NSIC as they are allowing just 70.3 points per game. The Bulldogs also are 2nd in the country in field goal percentage as they are shooting 52.7% from the field.

Defensive Battle

This weekend will feature a matchup between three of the top defenses in the NSIC. Augustana currently ranks first in the conference in points per game, while Wayne State ranks second in the conference. The Bulldogs are currently sixth in the conference in scoring defense. The Bulldogs and Vikings are also first and second respectively in field goal percentage allowed in the NSIC.

Two of the Conferences Best

The Bulldogs currently feature two of the top 10 scorers in the conference. Sophomore Austin Andrews currently is 6th in the conference averaging 18.4 points per game while Redshirt Junior Drew Blair is 7th in the conference averaging 18.2 points per game. Andrews is also 2nd in the conference in rebounding as he is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game.

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. After their first loss to Upper Iowa, the Bulldogs dropped to No. 9 in the NABC poll. The No. 9 Bulldogs are one of three NSIC teams to be ranked in the NABC poll. Upper Iowa (16-2) was ranked No. 13 in the country. Augustana (13-2) was ranked No. 20 in this weeks poll.

NSIC Rankings

                           Minnesota Duluth    Augustana    Wayne State

PPG                             88.6 (1st)          75.6 (7th)         70.5 (13th)

FG %                            52.7% (1st)      45.7% (10th)    45.1% (11th)    

3PT %                          38.4% (2nd)    36.5% (6th)       34% (12th)

PPG Allowed               70.3 (6th)         62.5 (1st)           66.8 (2nd)

FG% Allowed               41.4% (1st)    41.7% (2nd)        44.9% (10th)    

3PT% Allowed             32.4% (4th)    30.3% (1st)         34.2% (9th)

RPG                            37.4 (3rd)        37.3 (5th)           33.5 (14th)

AST/TO                       1.39 (4th)        1.44 (2nd)          0.9 (15th)