THE OPENING TIP
The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team (20-8 overall, 16-6) is all set to host a first-round contest against Minnesota State as part of the NSIC Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 3:00 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6:00 p.m. but was moved up the calendar to adjust with weather forecasts.
HOSPITABLE BULLDOGS
This is the first time UMD's playing host to an NSIC Tournament game since the 2019-20 season, when the Bulldogs welcomed Concordia-St. Paul to Romano on Feb. 26, 2020. That one ended up being quite a doozy- at the end of a 2OT thriller, it was the Bulldogs that found themselves on top 92-87. UMD would make it all the way to the semifinals that season before losing to, coincidentally, Minnesota State.
LAST TIME OUT
It was tight sledding early between the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles out in Crookston on Thursday, Feb. 16.
UMC took control early, establishing an 8-2 lead by the 17:55 mark of the first half. Talk about a response, though- UMD would run out on a 24-8 heater from that point until the 10:12 mark of the half to suddenly hold a 35-16 advantage. But the Golden Eagles were far from done themselves- they'd close the frame on a 26-11 streak to trim the deficit down to just four at 46-42 UMD at the break.
The second half was a slightly different story.
Simply put, the Bulldogs dominated down the stretch. A 24-34 team shooting outing and an 11-17 mark from three paved the way for UMD to outscore UMC 63-27 in the frame. This left the Bulldogs' shooting splits for the game at-large at 42-65 from the field and 16-25 from deep. When the smoke settled from the Bulldogs' hot streak, the final score read 109-69.
It's the most points the Bulldogs have scored since a 109-106 win against Point Loma on Jan. 2, 2022- and that game went to three overtimes. The 40-point margin of victory is the best since a program-high of 75 against Northland on Nov. 16 of 2021.
It was an effort head manned offensively by Drew Blair, who tallied 19 points on 6-9 shooting. Austin Andrews had 12 points on a 6-10 effort from the field. Joshua Brown scored 11 points on a 3-5 effort from deep.
There'd be none of Thursday's first-half theatrics against Bemidji State in Romano on Saturday- UMD wasted absolutely no time taking full control. It took the Bulldogs less than five minutes to go up double-figures at 15-3 with 15:22 on the clock. As it turns out, this was a sign of things to come. Through 20 minutes, the score was 45-11, UMD's lead already a whopping 34 points. The Bulldogs had held BSU to just a 4-30 shooting mark overall and a 2-16 effort from deep in the process.
Even if UMD could just match BSU pound-for-pound the rest of the way, they'd be set. As it turns out, this is quite literally exactly what happened. The Bulldogs and the Beavers each scored 42 in half number two, leaving the final score at 87-53 UMD.
Blair was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs once again on this night with 17 points on 6-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Jack Middleton had 13 points to pair with seven boards. Andrews scored 10 points on a 5-6 shooting effort to couple with five rebounds.
AA HITS 1K
Andrews entered the week exactly one point shy of a milestone seldom hit across college basketball: 1000 career points. It sure didn't take him long to find it- the junior guard opened all scoring on Thursday with a layup to square things away. Currently sitting with 1021 tallies across three regular season campaigns as a Bulldog, Andrews finds himself at No. 31 on UMD's all-time scoring charts. He's still got plenty left in the tank to climb that mountain even further.
STATS STATUS REPORT
Blair leads the way for the Bulldogs in average scoring with 19.6 points a night. The redshirt-senior guard also holds a team-high mark of 2.3 assists a game. Katona slots in at second on the scoring charts with 12 points per contest while operating at a shooting clip of 53.2% from the field. The junior forward also grabs 5.7 boards a night. Brown's next in line in points with 11.6 a contest. Right behind him is Andrews with his 11.5 tallies a game on an impressive 58.5% efficiency clip from the field. Andrews also holds the honor of being the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 boards a night.
Elsewhere on the stats sheet, a trifecta of Bulldogs finished the regular season with impressive shooting percentages to their names. First up is Joshua Strong, who closed at a clip of 40.4% from beyond the arc. From the field at-large, Mattie Thompson and Lincoln Meister impressed. Thompson shot 59% overall, Meister not far behind at 58.5%.
As a team, UMD enters the postseason with a pretty strong ace under its sleeve: a strong offensive presence. The Bulldogs hold the 36th-best scoring offense in the country by averaging 81.5 points a contest. It's the best mark in all of the NSIC. What makes that number all the more impressive is that UMD's scoring those points without sparing any expense for efficiency. In fact, the Bulldogs sit all the way at 26th in the nation (2nd in the NSIC) in team field goal percentage with a clip of 49%.
CATCHING UP WITH: MINNESOTA STATE
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
It was a back-and-forth affair the last time these two squads met each other in Mankato on Jan. 7.
Early on, it seemed as if the Mavericks simply could not miss from three. A 5-6 effort from deep to start the game propelled MSU to a 19-13 advantage with 14:14 left in the first half. But the Bulldogs more than weathered this early storm of three-pointers, countering with a 16-6 run to establish a 29-25 lead of their own. The Mavericks would score six unanswered points to briefly retake the lead at 31-29 with 4:57 to go until the break, but UMD would enter halftime on the back of a 12-7 stretch to secure a 41-38 advantage.
The second half ended up taking on a bit of a different tone. It was still as close as ever- the game was all knotted up at 47 with 16:38 on the clock. However, once UMD jumped out to a 7-0 spurt over the next minute and change to take a 54-47 hold with 15:25 to play, the Bulldogs would lead the rest of the way. It was often a marginal advantage- in fact, with just 5:49 to go, UMD's lead was just two at 73-71. Still, it was a lead nonetheless. Besides, the Bulldogs would leave little doubt when it mattered most down the stretch. UMD would run out on another 7-0 hot streak from that 73-71 mark to find itself up nine at 80-71 with only 2:48 on the clock. That just about sealed the deal on this one. The Bulldogs would go on to take the contest 85-76.
A day removed from setting a new career-high of 21 points in a win against Concordia-St. Paul, Brown went out and rewrote his personal history book once again. The junior guard put up 22 points on 8-12 shooting overall and a 3-6 mark from deep. Katona potted 20 on a perfect 7-7 outing from the field to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Blair was the last of UMD's double-digit scorers with 19 points to go with five boards.
Trevor Moore had been massive for the Mavericks on the other end, closing the game with 27 points. Harrison Braudis was second in team scoring with 16 on a 4-8 effort from three. Kyreese Willingham had 13 points to close out the list of double-figure point-getters.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
That Jan. 6 loss to UMD left MSU at an overall record of 12-4 and an NSIC standing of 6-4. Since then, the Mavericks have hovered slightly below the .500 line. MSU's gone 5-7 in between meetings with the Bulldogs, leaving its overall record at 17-11 and its in-conference mark at an even 11-11. This landed the Mavericks the sixth seed in the NSIC South, thus leading to their postseason collision course with the Bulldogs.
MSU's fresh off of the heels of a split of its two contests last week. The Mavericks started things off with a 67-65 victory at home against Winona State on Thursday before dropping an equally tight 86-84 road decision against Upper Iowa on Saturday.
At the forefront of operations for the Mavericks all season long have been the Williams brothers, and it reflects in the overall stats for the year. Malik Willingham leads the club in both points per game (18.7) and average assists (4.1). The junior guard's also working at a clip of 41.8% from deep. Third on the scoring charts is Kyreese Willingham, who's averaging 13 points a night. Kyreese also holds the honor of being the team's most consistent rebounder with 6.4 boards a game.
Second in scoring for MSU is Moore, who shined in his last appearance against UMD. The senior guard's averaging 14.9 points a night right now. Rounding out the top of the charts is Harrison Braudis and his 11 points a contest.
If there's one thing to really watch out for with this Mavericks squad on Tuesday, it's their abilities around the boards. MSU's currently 34th in the country in average team rebounds with 38.54 a game. That puts the squad at the top of the NSIC in that arena.
THE BROADCAST
Can't make it to Romano? Don't sweat it! Enjoy postseason action from the comfort of your home by following the NSIC Network link below:
vs Minnesota State (Tuesday, Feb. 21 @ 3:00 p.m.): bit.ly/3kb6Sh5
UP NEXT
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here!
