THE OPENING TIP:
This weekend, the UMD men's basketball team will see tournament action once again- only this time, they won't be playing host to it. The Bulldogs will instead travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take part in the inaugural Small College Basketball Champions Classic. UMD's slate of opponents consists of Point Loma on Friday, Nov. 18 (8 p.m.) and Ferris State on Saturday, Nov. 19 (8 p.m.)

RANKINGS ROUNDUP:
The Bulldogs kicked up two spots from a tie at No. 10 to all alone at No. 8 in the D2SIDA rankings when the new poll was released on Monday. No new NABC rankings means UMD maintains its stature as the No. 7 team in the country based on the association's preseason poll.

LAST TIME OUT:
The American Family Insurance Basketball Classic treated the Bulldogs well. Still, it was far from a cakewalk.

Friday's season-opener (and home-opener) against Southern Arkansas saw the Bulldogs without one of their starters in Joshua Brown. To fill the void, UMD called upon sophomore guard Joshua Strong. Strong did nothing but answer the call- he put up 20 points on 7-10 (70%) shooting, including going 4-6 (66.7%) from three. The guard also tossed in six assists and four rebounds to the impressive outing. Strong's performance, coupled with double-digit nights from the usual starters (and 10 points for Lincoln Meister off the bench), propelled the Bulldogs past the Muleriders 93-74. The following day, Brown was back in the lineup, but the team still faced adversity. This time, it took the form of a 17-2 deficit against Nebraska-Kearney. For the second straight night, an injection of energy from the Bulldogs' bench paid huge dividends, this time helping to dig UMD out of its early rut and towards an eventual 78-72 victory.

Through it all, Austin Andrews picked up right where he had left off last year. His averages of 15 points and 10 rebounds (yes, he had a double-double in each of the weekend's contests) was good enough for him to win the American Family Insurance All-Tournament Team MVP award. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON POINT LOMA:
UMD isn't the only program to have retained star talent for the 2022-23 campaign. Just ask Point Loma. 

The Sea Lions enjoyed a 21-10 record last season that saw them win the PacWest regular-season championship and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. Not that any of this is new for Point Loma- the team has made the Big Dance in its last five seasons and has won either the regular-season or tournament title in the PacWest in three of the last four seasons. There wasn't even a conference tournament in 2021, so the Sea Lions didn't get a chance to add to what had been back-to-back PacWest Tournament titles in 2018-19 and 2019-2020. At the helm of Point Loma's most recent success story? Kaden Anderson. 

In his junior season, Anderson was nothing short of spectacular for the Sea Lions. In 22 games played, he averaged a team-high 21.1 points on 55.4% shooting from the field and 42.6% shooting from three. Not only that, but the forward was a force on the boards- he nearly averaged a double-double with 9.4 rebounds a game. Put up a statline like this, and people are bound to notice. Anderson won the PacWest Player of the Year award… which wasn't his first rodeo, as he'd won it the season prior, too. The forward was a member PacWest Championships All-Tournament team and was a consensus First Team All-West Region selection. 

There's no doubt that Anderson wants to do it all again in 2022-23 (and then some). So far this year, he's proving that with his play. Through three games, Anderson's averaged 24.7 points a contest on 58.1% shooting from the field and 57.1% shooting from three. He's maintained his strong rebounding stature, too, averaging 8.3 boards a game so far. 

While Anderson might be a point of consistency for the Sea Lions, much has changed surrounding him since last season. 

Every other Sea Lion that had averaged double-digit points for them last year has graduated. Lost there was a combined 38.5 points per game, and lost across all graduating seniors was a combined 44.9 points a contest. There isn't a total lack of returning talent for Point Loma. Sophomore Brian Goracke seems to be making big strides from his freshman campaign, currently averaging 12.7 points and 3.3 rebounds through three games. The team also retains sophomore Luke Haupt, who lost about half of last season due to injury. So far this year, Haupt leads the team in average assists with 4 per game. He's also chucked in an average of 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Still, these are lowerclassmen players that are very much developing. To replenish their crop of more seasoned vets, the Sea Lions had to look elsewhere. 

Of the seven players new to the Point Loma program (which is half of the roster), four of them are graduate transfers from schools all over the map. Shamrock Campbell was an NAIA All-American last year with Carroll College, averaging 14.8 points per game along with 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Tobin Karlberg was Alaska-Anchorage's leading scorer last year with 18.3 points a game, helping him to earn All-GNAC honors. As if this wasn't enough of a boost to the arsenal, the Sea Lions brought in two players from Division I programs. Kyle Colvin came to Point Loma by way of fellow California school Cal Poly. Wes Slajchert is now a Sea Lion after coming over from Dartmouth. To add to this crop of transfers is another of a non-graduate variety in Aaron Acosta from Colorado College.
 
Rounding out the fresh batch of seven Sea Lions are two true freshmen in Jake Lifgren and Andre Hommes. Lifgren in particular has already seen some decent playing time this year, averaging 17.3 minutes a game. He's scored 3.3 points a contest while contributing a healthy dose of four rebounds a game, which is third on the team.

With a roster like this, seeing some early growing pains might be more to be expected than just reasonable. Alas, if this group of Sea Lions is at all struggling to make it all come together, their current 3-0 record is masking that pretty well. It's not just that they're winning, either- two of Point Loma's wins have been by double-digits. If this is what the early incarnation of this newly assembled team looks like, then it's safe to say it might evolve into a team nobody will want to see in March.


SCOUTING REPORT ON FERRIS STATE:
As Point Loma's already demonstrated, no player can stick around forever. Ferris State, too, is all too familiar with this reality. 

The (Ferris State) Bulldogs headed into the 2022-23 campaign without four of its five double-digit scorers from this past season. This includes the team's leading scorer last year in Walt Kelser, who had averaged 18.9 points a game. Also gone is the team's most reliable rebounder in Dorian Aluyi. The 6'5" wing averaged 7.8 boards last year. Not only did the Bulldogs lose Aluyi, but they also lost their second and third highest rebounders on top of that.

The Sea Lions opted to fill the holes in their roster more quickly with a steady diet of the transfer portal. Ferris State, on the other hand, provides an example of what it looks like to play the long game, to rebuild from within.

The Bulldogs didn't go without dipping their toe in the transfer game at all. However, they only brought two new pieces into the fold through this method: Amari Lee and Dolapo Olayinka. Lee was a do-it-all player at Roberts Wesleyan this past season, averaging 11.5 points, 3.6 assists and 4.7 boards a game while chipping in almost two steals a contest, too. Olayinka offered similar scoring with an increased focus in rebounds in his last year of collegiate action back in 2020-21 with Northern State. He averaged 14 points and 7.6 rebounds that season. Olayinka in particular has provided instant impact for the Bulldogs- he's averaged 10.5 points and seven boards through two games so far.

And though he isn't new to the program, this is the first season Solomon Oraegnu has been able to play for the Bulldogs after sitting out last season due to transfer rules. The 6'3" guard averaged 13.2 points and 5.3 rebounds for Parkside two seasons ago. Two games into his tenure at Ferris State, Oraegbu's averaged 11 points.

Within that group are three of the six Ferris State players with two or more years of collegiate experience. The only Bulldogs to have this kind of tenure entirely at Ferris State are redshirt sophomore Deng Reng (who didn't play last year) and redshirt juniors Vejas Grazulis and Ben Davidson. Davidson's the only returning Bulldog to have averaged double figures last season.

Other than that, there's a youth movement in Big Rapids. 

Nine Bulldogs are underclassmen. Four are true sophomores that saw some playing time last year. Of particular note from this group is Jimmy Schuller, a 6'3" guard that already averaged a team-leading 4.6 assists last year. The rest are a fab five of freshman. Taking up to of these slots? The Claerbaut brothers, Nathan and Brandon. The two redshirted together last year and are looking forward to the opportunity to make big first impressions together on the college scene. 

Ferris State is a program of recent prestige. Within the last eight seasons, the Bulldogs have won the GLIAC regular season and tournament titles four times, parlaying this into six NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2018, they didn't just make the tourney- the won the whole thing. There's doubt there's vested interest in sticking around through March like that again. Regardless of the roster's makeup on paper, its youth, its new faces or its 0-2 start, Andy Bronkema, the coach that's led the Bulldogs through their near-decade run of dominance, is just as confident in its chances as he's ever been. 

WORDS FROM WIECK
All things considered, UMD head coach Justin Wieck sees a big weekend ahead for his Bulldogs, one that will provide them with an early-season test.

In Point Loma, Wieck sees the talent of both the program's past and its present. There is a continuity there that makes Wieck think pretty highly of the Sea Lions' odds this season.

"I have so much respect for (Point Loma's) program and how they play," Wieck said. "All of their guys are smart, skilled and have tremendous motors. Their success as a program speaks for itself, and I truly believe they are one of the better teams in the country this year."

It sure doesn't hurt Point Loma that Anderson is at the helm. Wieck had high praise for the senior forward.

"Anderson is one of the best players in the country hands down," Wieck said. "I've been very impressed with how many different ways he can score the basketball. Big, skilled and smart. I think what makes their team so good is how he makes everyone around him better as well."

Second verse, same as the first when it comes to Ferris State. 

Wieck doesn't take the Bulldogs' retool lightly- he knows the talent that still lies within the roster.

"Another program and coach that I have a ton of respect for," Wieck said. "They lost some guys from last year, but they just reload at Ferris State. They have a few high impact transfers to go along with their returners."

Speaking of that roster, how does it operate?

Tournaments with out-of-conference foes like this one always present unique challenges, play styles uncharacteristic of what you're used to. Last weekend, there was a team like Southern Arkansas with its physicality. Maybe the Bulldogs don't play bully-ball, but they'll make you uncomfortable in their own way, as Wieck explains.

"Their style of play is always unique and they put pressure on you for 40 minutes full court, which we don't really see in the NSIC," Wieck said. 

So Wieck has already made it clear that he doesn't expect the Ferris State standard of a full-court press to go anywhere- what else does he expect to carry over? This is a brand new group, after-all.

If you ask Wieck, he doesn't expect the differences in personnel to make much of a difference when it comes to the level of competition this Bulldog group will present. UMD and Ferris State already had a dogfight last year, and Wieck is ready for another. 

"We played a super high level 2OT game with them last year," Wieck said. "There's no reason to expect anything different this time around. They are always one of the best in the country."

THE BROADCAST
Follow all of the weekend's action through the NSIC Network by clicking the links below: 
vs Point Loma (Friday, Nov. 18 @ 8:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3g46jUw
vs Ferris State (Saturday, Nov. 19 @ 8:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3OdaCcx

UP NEXT
This weekend will mark the end of the Bulldogs' run of early-season tournament action, but they'll still have a loaded slate ahead of them. UMD will encounter its first NSIC opponent in St. Cloud State on the road on Tuesday, Nov. 22. After that, the Bulldogs will return back home for another weekend in Romano, this time against a pair of foes from Michigan. First comes Michigan Tech on Saturday, Nov. 26, then Northern Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 27.