Last week, the Bulldogs traveled to face off against the University of Mary and Minot State.
The Bulldogs started the game hot from the floor as they jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first half. The Bulldogs continued their hot start as they extended their lead to 11-4 thanks to a Joshua Brown three-pointer. Mary fought back however as they battled back to tie the game up at 11-11 with 15:09 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs continued to struggle down the stretch as they could not find a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. A Charlie Katona dunk cut the Bulldogs deficit down to 39-28 with 3:00 minutes remaining in the half. Drew Blair followed that up with a fast break layup to get the deficit back to under 10 points with 2:07 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs could not cut their deficit down the stretch as they trailed 45-32 at halftime.
The Bulldogs started the second half off hot as they got a Charlie Katona three-pointer to start the half. From there, Jack Middleton took over as he scored on three-straight possessions, including two three-pointers to cut the Bulldogs deficit down to 5 points as they trailed 45-40 with 18:22 remaining in the second half. The Bulldogs continued their strong second half start as they got their deficit down to 2 points as they trailed 47-45. An Austin Andrews layup and free-throw and free throw gave the Bulldogs their first lead since they led 16-13 with 13:13 in the first half. From there, the Bulldogs hot start continued as they built up to a 59-49 lead with 11:38 remaining in the half. The Marauders quickly responded to the Bulldogs run as they quickly got the Bulldogs lead down to just two points with 8:20 remaining. Down the stretch, teams battled and traded baskets as neither team could pull ahead. The Marauders tied up the game 67-67 with 2:51 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs took a 71-67 lead with 1:06 remaining in the game. The Marauders responded with a quick three-point play to get the deficit down to one point. The Bulldogs missed a shot on their next possession as the Marauders hit a three-pointer on their next possession to take a 73-71 lead with :22 seconds remaining. The bulldogs came back down with 20 seconds remaining and Jack Middleton turned the ball over as he attempted to call a timeout. From there, the Marauders would close out the Bulldogs as the Bulldogs lost 75-71.
North Division Champions
Last weekend, the Bulldogs clinched the North Division, which claimed their first ever North Division regular season championship.
For The Record
The Bulldogs come into the matchup with a 21-4 (14-4) record.... Bemidji State currently has a 7-16 (4-15) record... Minnesota Crookston has a 8-17 (5-14) record coming into this weekend.
Previous Meetings
Coming into this matchup, the Bulldogs have held a slight advantage over the Beavers as they have won 6 of the last meetings. This includes their previous matchup this year when the Bulldogs won 87-64.
The Bulldogs have controlled the matchup with the Golden Eagles as they have won 14 of the last 17 matchups, including a current 6-game win streak. The Bulldogs won thier last matchup on December 2, 2021 when they won 75-68.
Scouting the Beavers
The Beavers come into the matchup with the 10th ranked offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 72.3 points per game. They are also 6th in the conference as they are allowing 71.4 points per game. Travis Bianco leads the Beavers as he is averaging 16.0 points per game, good for 14th in the conference.
Scouting the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston comes into the weekend with the worst offense in the NSIC as they are averaging just 65.3 points per game. They are also 9th in the conference as they are allowing 72.4 points per game. They are led by Leonard Dixon who is averaging 12.5 points per game.
NSIC North Player of the Week
Sophomore Austin Andrews has been named the NSIC North Player of the Week five times this year. Andrews recently put up 21.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2 steals to earn Player of the Week Honors this past week. Andrews has also helped lead the Bulldogs to a No. 6 ranking in the country.
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 was also named the North Division player of the week for week 11 after he exploded from three-point range and shot 12-15 for the weekend and tied his career high with 33 points against Sioux Falls. Blair averaged 27.0 points, 4.0 rebounds two weekends ago. He also shot 72% from the field, including 80% from three-point range.
Points, Points, Points
The Bulldogs come into the week with the top ranked offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 86.7 points per game. They are also 15th in the country in scoring offense. The Bulldogs also currently have the second best shooting percentage in the conference and fifth best in the country.
Bounce Back
The Bulldogs will look to bounce back after dropping both games last weekend where they struggled from the offensive end of the floor. The Bulldogs averaged just 67 points per game last weekend, a season low. Their 63 points against Minot State was only the second time this season they failed to score atleast 70 points in a game.
Two of the Conferences Best
The Bulldogs currently feature two of the top 5 scorers in the conference. Sophomore Austin Andrews currently is third in the conference averaging 19.2 points per game while Redshirt Junior Drew Blair is fifth in the conference averaging 18.5 points per game. Andrews is also 2nd in the conference in rebounding as he is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game.
Nationally Ranked
Following the Bulldogs 16-0 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 losing back to back games, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 13 in this weeks poll. The Bulldogs are one of three NSIC teams to be ranked in the NABC poll. Augustana (21-2) was ranked No. 5 in the country while Upper Iowa (22-4) was ranked No. 15.
