The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team will face Bemidji State University as its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opponent of the season inside Romano Gymnasium tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. They then head on the road for their final non-conference matchup against Northern Michigan University on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (EST)

OPENING DOMINANCE: The Bulldogs opened the 2025-26 campaign on the road in the GAC/NSIC Challenge, where they earned two back-to-back wins over East Central University and Southeastern Oklahoma State University last weekend. This marked their second straight 2-0 start to the season. After that, they returned home to face the College of St. Scholastica, earning an overwhelming 89-58 victory.

SIWEK ON THE RISE: After being chosen as the NSIC's Player to Watch for the Bulldogs, it took only two matches for redshirt junior Caleb Siwek to get off to the best start in his career. With 34 points on opening day, 20 points against Southeastern Oklahoma,  21 points against St. Scholastica, 12 points against Michigan Tech, and 22 points against Lake Superior State, Siwek is third in the NSIC in scoring. He tops the overall points with 109 and leads in three-pointers with 11.

COACH WIECK'S 8TH SEASON: Head Coach Justin Wieck enters his eighth season at the helm of UMD men's basketball. Since taking over the program in 2018, he has led the team to three NCAA II Tournament berths, all of which happened back-to-back, with one going all the way to the Elite Eight in the 2023-24 season. Wieck has an overall record of 142-58 with 99-43 in conference play.

NSIC LEADERS: The Bulldogs, as a unit, are leading in scoring defense (62.2 avg/g). Notably, the team ranks third in contesting opponent field goal percentage (39.2% made), third in rebounding margin (7.6), and second in blocked shots (4.0 avg/g). 

LAST WEEK: In the Bulldog's first loss of the season, dealt by Michigan Tech, Caleb Siwek led the Bulldogs with 12 points and two steals, Jackson Fowlkes had 10 points and two assists and Noah Paulson added nine points, four assists, and two blocks. Owen Leach contributed a career-high seven points, while Peyton Rogers had a team-best six rebounds. 

As a team, the Bulldogs made 18-of-55 (.327) field goals, including 4-of-22 (.182) from beyond the arc, and were 8-of-17 (.471) from the free throw line. UMD held the advantage in offensive rebounds, 10-8. Michigan Tech shot 38.0 percent (19-of-50) from the field, including 3-of-14 from three-point range, and 16-of-20 at the line. 

Against Lake Superior State, Caleb Siwek scored 22 points, and Jackson Fowlkes matched his career-high with 16 points as the University of Minnesota Duluth (4-1) Men's Basketball Team used a 14-2 second-half run to defeat Lake Superior State 72-69. The Bulldogs trailed the Lakers, 48-54, with 8:00 remaining, before putting together their 14-2 run to go ahead 62-56 with 4:06 to play.

The Bulldogs went 25-of-57 (.439) from the field, which included 8-of-25 from three-point range (.320). They also hit 14-of-17 (.824) free throw attempts and were 9-of-11 (.818) from the free throw line in the second half. 

A LOOK AT THE BEAVERS: Bemidji has open the season 2-1 with their lone loss coming in a game two loss to Southern Arkansas University 83-85 in the Central Region Challenge. Last week they earned a staggering 113-45 victory over Oak Hills Christian College, where the team shot 65.5% from the field and 56.7% from beyond the arc.

Bemidji is led by Tate Olson, who won a North Division Player of the Week selection in week one. He leads the team with 61 points while shooting 60% from the field and 46.2% from the three-point line. He also leads the team and conference in total rebounds with 34 (five offensive) while also posting a team best in steals (9) and assists (14).

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST BEMIDJI: After Wieck took over in 2018, the Bulldogs own a 11-3 record over the Beavers. The Bulldogs have not lost a home game to the Beavers, combining to outscore them 487-375 in six matchups.

After falling behind 25-22 to open the night, Minnesota-Duluth went on a 17-0 run with 7:51 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Nick Katona, to take a 39-25 lead. The Bulldogs maintained that lead throughout the rest of the period and entered halftime with a 41-27 advantage. UMD did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 41 points close to the basket.

UMD started tacking on points in the second half almost immediately, going on an 8-0 run to grow the lead to 49-27 with 17:04 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 87-55 win. UMD got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 18 of its 46 total points.

Charlie Katona collected a 20-point effort to lead the Bulldogs in scoring tonight. Austin Andrews helped out with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, and Kole Hanson chipped in with 17 points and two steals.

UMD grabbed 37 rebounds throughout the game compared to BSU's 29, led by eight boards from Andrews.

The Bulldog defense held Beaver shooters to just 38.5% from the field, including 30% from three-point range. The Beavers did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end either, as they grabbed only six offensive rebounds and scored two second chance points while UMD pulled down 28 defensive rebounds.

A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS: This week, Northern Michigan's Dylan Kuehl earned the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference's (GLIAC) Offensive Player of the Week selection. In two games, he averaged 26.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. These performances earned his way onto NMU's Top 10 All-Time scoring list with 1,538 career points.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The two teams have faced off six times in the Wieck era. In those six games, the Bulldogs have the advantage 4-2 with an overall score of 442-418.

The last matchup had both teams play to an 8-8 tie. UMD collected 10 unanswered points with 12:13 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Kole Hanson, to take an 18-8 lead. The Bulldogs went on to add three points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 37-24 advantage. UMD relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 37 points.

The Bulldogs kept their lead intact to start the second half before going on an 8-0 run to grow the lead to 49-35 with 15:18 to go in the contest. The Wildcats narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, narrowly out-scoring UMD 32-30 throughout the final 15 minutes of the game, but the Bulldogs were able to ride out their early lead the rest of the way for the 79-67 win. UMD shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of their 42 points.

Thompson led the way for the Bulldogs in the contest, tallying 22 points and two blocks. Caleb Siwek added another 20 points for the Bulldogs along the way, and Charlie Katona also helped out with a double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds. The three combined to account for 76% of the Bulldogs' points.

UMD took advantage of fantastic ball movement in Saturday's game, piling up 16 assists on 27 made field goals. Individually, Austin Andrews led the way for the Bulldogs with three assists.

NSIC REINSTITUTES NORTH/SOUTH DIVISION: With the reestablishment of a two-division system, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team has been selected as the favorites to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division.

In the NSIC's annual preseason poll, UMD has been ranked as the favorite to win the North Division, receiving 47 points, with the next closest team being Minnesota State University Moorhead with 43 points. Overall, the team finds itself in a tie for fifth with Augustana University, earning an identical 174 points. They both trail Concordia University St. Paul in fourth (176), Minnesota State University Mankato in third (189), St. Cloud State University in second (194), and Southwestern Minnesota State University as the favorites (219).

The conference spent the last two seasons with a single division structure where the Bulldogs combined for a 33-11 record in conference play. In the last five seasons of the dual division structure, UMD has had four top-three finishes in the conference, including a North Division win in the 2021-22 season.