THE OPENING TIP 
The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team (26-9 overall, 16-6 NSIC) is all settled in Evansville, ready to compete in its first ever Elite Eight matchup against Black Hills State in the Ford Center on Tuesday, March 21 at 12:00 p.m. 

 

A RUN LIKE NO OTHER
NCAA Tournament try number five's been a special one for the Bulldogs. UMD went into this run having previously been 0-4 in its last attempts at a run in March. Now, in the span of just two weeks, the Bulldogs have secured not only their first ever NCAA Tournament victory but their first Elite Eight bid. Might as well make the first extended stay a special one, right?

 

SPEAKING OF SPECIAL…
 Happen to catch what UMD women's hoops is up to? As it turns out, both Bulldog basketball programs managed to be among the last eight standing in their respective fields. If you're keeping track, this is also the first time the women's team will compete in the Elite Eight. Inherently, this dynamic duo of an offering is a first in UMD history, but it'd also never been done in the entire Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) before. It's only happened 13 times across the entirety of the NCAA scene at all. 

 

THE TREK TO EVANSVILLE
 It's not easy to make history. 

Right from the jump, UMD has had to battle tooth-and-nail on its path to Evansville. It all started with a first-found matchup against Central Oklahoma, the No. 3 seed in the Central Regional. The Bronchos certainly played accordingly- by the half, the score was 35-25 UCO. But over the course of the second half, the Bulldogs were able to bounce back. By the final buzzer, that earlier double-digit deficit had become mute- UMD took home a 62-56 win. 

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

• Brown: 21 points (7-13 shooting, 3-6 3pt), nine rebounds, three assists

• Middleton: 21 points (5-8 shooting, 4-6 3pt), three assists

• Charlie Katona: 13 points (4-7 shooting), 11 rebounds, four assists

 

Next came a second-round meeting with No. 7 Emporia State, who'd been able to knock off two-seed Northern State in the first round. The Hornets played like a team with momentum to start the contest, leading by as many as 11 at 21-10. But by the end of the first frame, the Bulldogs had been able to figure things out, and they walked into half number two knotted up at 36. That second frame would end up belonging to UMD, which would end up outscoring ESU 43-38 to take home an 84-79 victory. 

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

• Blair: 29 points

• Jack Middleton: 13 points

• Charlie Katona: 13 points, 12 rebounds (second-straight double-double)

• Austin Andrews: 12 points (6-7 shooting), seven rebounds, three blocks

• Team: shot 16-29 from the field in the second half

 

The stage seemed set for UMD to meet Regional host Northwest Missouri State, which doubled as three-time defending National Champions. But there's a reason you play the games- instead, it was the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene that the Bulldogs squared up against in the Sweet Sixteen. What followed was a bit of a defensive battle- but it's one UMD ultimately prevailed in. The Bulldogs parlayed a 27-23 halftime lead into a second frame in which they'd outscore SNU 35-29. When the dust settled, it was UMD that had pushed its ticket to the Elite Eight, winning 62-52. 

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

• Drew Blair: 28 points (9-16 shooting), four rebounds

• Team: held SNU to 22-65 (33.8%) shooting from the field

 

In the ensuing reseeding of the eight Regional Champions that make up the Elite Eight bracket, the Bulldogs landed at No. 6.

 

STATS STATUS REPORT
Blair leads the Bulldogs in scoring on the season with 20.1. At the top of the charts in the rebounds department is Katona, who's averaging 6.1 boards a game. The assists race is an especially tight one. Sitting in first right now is Joshua Strong with 2.2 dimes a game, but right behind him are Katona (2.1) and Blair (2). 

Some postseason stats nuggets: 

• Blair is seventh in the tournament in total scoring with 63 points 

• Katona is fourth in the field in total rebounds with 29

• Lincoln Meister's rate of 3.33 blocks per game is good for fifth in the tournament

 

THE BULLDOGS IN THE TOURNAMENT
Over the course of this run, the Bulldogs have very nearly broken even when it comes to their all-time standing in the NCAA Tournament. UMD is now 3-4 in March across five appearances. A win in the Elite Eight to send the Bulldogs to the Final Four would make that figure an even 4-4. That'd be a lot of fours!

 

SCOUTING REPORT ON BLACK HILLS STATE

TOURNAMENT RESUME

BHSU entered Selection Sunday with a 25-5 overall record. The Yellow Jackets' 18-4 mark within the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) was good enough for them to land at a tie for second in the conference's regular season tournament race. This was enough to counteract an RMAC Tournament performance that saw BHSU fall in the second round. 

This portfolio ended up landing BHSU an at-large bid in the NCAA Tourney. Much like the Bulldogs, the Yellow Jackets slotted in at No. 6 in their South Central Regional.

 

THE ROAD SO FAR

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs made it out of a chaotic Central Regional that saw seeds two through four out of the mix before the second round even happened. The Yellow Jackets came out of a gauntlet of chalk.

It started with a matchup against No. 3 Colorado School of Mines in the first round. Early similarities continue between UMD and BHSU- the Yellow Jackets also faced early hardship, as the Orediggers led by as many as nine in the first half. BHSU clawed back to within two at a score of 31-29 by the break. The second half ended up being a much, much different story. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Orediggers 39-17 in that second frame, winning in resounding fashion by a final of 68-48.

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF 

• Joel Scott: 13 points, nine rebounds 

• Matthew Ragsdale: 12 points (5-8 shooting)

• PJ Hayes: 12 points, eight rebounds 

• Sindou Cisse: 10 points, four rebounds

 

Moving on up in more ways than one. 

Next up was No. 2 Fort Lewis College. Forget initial struggle- this game ended up being the Yellow Jackets' to lose pretty quickly. BHSU was up 40-32 at the break before eventually extending their final margin of victory to double digits at 15 at a score of 81-66.

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

• Scott: 23 points, 19 rebounds

• Cisse: 14 points (4-7 shooting)

• Jaeton Hackley: 13 points

• Ragsdale: 13 points

• Hayes: 10 points, six rebounds

 

The reward for making it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen? A run-in with top-seeded West Texas. 

There was no early advantage to be found by either squad in this one- it was an all-out dogfight. The score was 32-32 at the break, and it sure didn't get any more loose as things progressed. All-told, there were both 14 ties and 14 lead changes in this game. Unsurprisingly, then, the final margin of victory was just a single point: 68-67, advantage, Yellow Jackets. 

 

GAME STATS DEBRIEF

• Scott: 25 points (8-13 shooting), 14 rebounds

• Hayes: 14 points (5-8 shooting), five rebounds

• Team: shot 25-45 (55.6%) from the field

 

ELITE ALL OVER AGAIN

This is BHSU's second-straight trip to Evansville, having made it this far last season as well. In fact, the Yellow Jackets ended up dancing all the way to the Final Four before losing to eventual-champion Northwest Missouri State 70-57. 

 

GREAT SCOTT

 No worries about offense making itself known with someone like Joel Scott around. 

The senior guard will likely be at the forefront of BHSU's offensive operation come Tuesday. Scott's averaging 22.8 points a game on the season- and he's doing it while grabbing 9.6 boards a contest, too. That latter number's jumped up to 14 throughout the Yellow Jackets' tournament run. 

 

WELL... ABOUT THAT OFFENSE...
It's clear at this point that both UMD and BHSU have weapons to turn to in times of need when it comes to scoring- but that's arguably not where either team's earned its bread and butter on the path to Evansville. In the case of BHSU, the Yellow Jackets have been one of the more prolific defensive teams in the country all season. In March alone, they're fourth in scoring defense (60.3), fifth in opponent field goal percentage (38.3%), fourth in opposing three-point percentage (24.1%)... Just a few more. The Yellow Jacket defense is a major factor behind their tournament scoring margin of +12, which situates them at fifth in the postseason field. And BHSU gets after boards, too, sitting at sixth in defensive rebounds a game with 30.67.

The Bulldogs will be coming at this dynamic defense with... well, a pretty stout defense of their own. 

It's one that's really gotten hot down the stretch of the season, something that translates into postseason stats. UMD's 10th-ranked scoring defense among the tournament field, one that holds teams to just 62.3 points a night, keeps opposing clubs to a shooting percentage of just 35.9% from the field. That latter figure is the second-highest in the postseason. UMD's allowing a rate of just 26.1% from deep, which is seventh in the tournament. When it comes to the defensive glass, though, the Bulldogs reign supreme. UMD's grabbing exactly 33 defensive boards a game right now, the best mark in March. 

 

RIGHT ON, RYAN
"Great start" is an understatement. 

Across just five seasons at the helm out in Spearfish, Ryan Thompson's already surpassed 100 wins with the program. His overall record sits at 103-40, a winning percentage of .720. Lest we forget that this team's among the last eight standing for the second-straight year, too. And to be clear, this is Thompson's breakout coaching gig- he's no decades-long veteran.

 

THIS'LL BE HARD TO TOP
This will be the first time UMD and BHSU have ever met in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the only time the Yellow Jackets have ever played any NSIC school in the postseason at all is before that program was even a proper member of the conference at all. Northern State took on BHSU in a NAIA Div. II District 12 contest back in the 1992-93 season, a game the Wolves took 80-67.

 

THE BROADCAST
Catch the action live and free-of-charge through NCAA.com by clicking the link below:
vs Black Hills State (Tuesday, March 21 @ 12;:00 p.m.): bit.ly/42z9ua6