The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to face Northern State University and the University of Jamestown for their next Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matchups. The Northern State match is first on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. inside Wachs Arena, with Jamestown following on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. inside Harold Newman Arena.
 
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 earn a home opener victory over the College of St. Scholastica, with an overwhelming 89-58 score inside Romano Gymnasium.
 
SIWEK ON THE RISE: After being chosen as the NSIC's Player to Watch for the Bulldogs, redshirt junior Caleb Siwek has gotten off to the best start in his career. He has earned six straight games in the double-digit points category with 34 points on opening day against East Central, 20 points against Southeastern Oklahoma,  21 points against St. Scholastica, 12 points against Michigan Tech, 22 points against Lake Superior State, and 23 points against Bemidji State. Last week he tallied 28 points against Minnesota State University Moorhead. Siwek is currently the fifth-best overall scorer in the NSIC. 
 
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 the second-best in scoring defense (70.6 avg/g) in the NSIC, fifth in opponent field goal percentage (43.7%), fifth in rebounding margin (3.9), fifth in combined opponent rebounds (34.0 avg/g), and first in turnover margin (3.56).
 
Siwek ranks fifth in the NSIC for scoring (19.6 avg) and Nick Katona has moved to fifth in rebounding (6.9 avg/g).
 
LAST WEEK AGAINST MSUM: In their final matchup of the week, the team fell to 6-3 overall after dropping an overtime thriller to Minnesota State University Moorhead Saturday in 91-92 fashion inside Nemzek Fieldhouse.
 
Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was Caleb Siwek with 28 points in his sixth over-20-point outing of the season. He made 52.6% (10-19) of his field goals while also earning 75% (6-8) from the free throw line. Following just behind was Nick Katona and Kole Hanson with 17 points each.
 
Entering the first half, Jackson Folkes earned the first points of the game after sending a three-point shot in the first two minutes of action. Those first points put UMD in the lead for the duration of the half as Hanson, Noah Paulson, Katona, Siwek, Mattie Thompson, Fowlkes, Daniel Molhoek, and Andrew Rader combined for a 37-17 scoring run over the Dragons to force a 40-19 lead with five minutes to go before halftime. MSU Moorhead found a rhythm to score 17 points in the final minutes to cut the lead to 45-36 at the halftime break.
 
The second half saw the Bulldogs hold onto the lead for the first seven minutes after a consistent effort by the Dragons put them on top at 57-55 with 12:47 to go. The Bulldogs fell behind by six points until a determined effort from Siwek and Paulson tied the game up at 65-65 with seven minutes left. The lead would continue to change hands until the final thirty seconds, where a three-pointer from Siwek looked to seal the game, but a three-pointer from Isa El-Amin forced the game into overtime at 79-79.
 
With a five-minute overtime to play, the same energy repeated as both teams continued to exchange the lead four times before a layup from Paulson established a four-point lead at 90-86 with 13 seconds remaining. A single free throw from Siwek over the remainder proved not enough as a layup from Levi Birkholz and a three-pointer from El-Amin in the final seconds forced a Bulldog loss in overtime at 91-92.
 
Overall, the team attempted their most field goals (73) of the season while making the most three-pointers (9) and free throws (24). In that effort, they shot 39.7% (29-73) from the field, 32.1% (9-28) from beyond the arc, and 77.4% (24-31) from the free throw line. The two teams were even in total rebounds, but the Bulldogs grabbed more on offense than the Dragons (22 to 17). Leading the rebounding effort was Katona with nine total rebounds (seven offensive).
 
A LOOK AT THE WOLVES: Northern State has started the season with a 2-6 overall record but 2-1 in NSIC competition. Since 2014, the Wolves own the advantage with a 14-11 record over the Bulldogs. However, in the last four matchups, UMD has won all four scoring a combined 337-265.
 
Marshawn Smith is the total points leader for the Wolves with 88 points but Joshua Book (84) and Cameron Mercadel (82) follow close behind. Tobi Obiora leads the team in blocks with five, while Benjamin Bowen has grabbed seven steals.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST NSU: UMD started out the scoring by going on an 8-0 run, culminating in a three from Kole Hanson, to take an early lead with 17:36 left in the first half. Another seven-point run with 8:04 left would help the Bulldogs add nine points to that lead by the end of the period and enter halftime with a 40-23 advantage. UMD did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 40 points close to the basket.
 
Following intermission, UMD continued to widen their lead, expanding it to 71-51 before collecting 10 unanswered points, finished off by a three from Manny Montgomery, to grow the lead to 81-51 with 54 seconds to go in the contest. The Bulldogs kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 83-52 win. UMD capitalized on nine NSU turnovers in the period, collecting 14 points off those turnovers.
 
The Bulldogs had two players score in double figures, led by Charlie Katona, who had a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds. Austin Andrews tacked on 12 points and eight rebounds and Mattie Thompson added nine points and three steals.
 
The Bulldog offense was firing away on all cylinders, draining nine shots from range over 17 attempts (52.9%) and never trailing on the way to their 83-52 victory. The Bulldog bench also came alive throughout the night, accounting for 29 points of UMD's total score.
 
UMD did an excellent job taking care of the basketball, dishing out 20 assists while only turning the ball over eight times. Individually, Joshua Brown dished out the most for the Bulldogs with four assists.
 
The Bulldog defense was a problem in Saturday's game, forcing 18 NSU turnovers while only committing eight. Those takeaways turned into 26 points on the other end of the floor. Nick Katona led the way individually for the Bulldogs with four steals.
 
A LOOK AT THE JIMMIES: This marks the first matchup with Jamestown since they joined the NSIC. Overall, the team has started 3-6 with a 1-2 conference record. Their lone victory came against UMary in a narrow 99-91 victory last week.
 
The Jimmie offense is led by Anthony Walters, who has earned 158 points (17.6 avg/g) this season. He is shooting 45% (59-131) in field goals with 39% (23-59) accuracy beyond the arc while grabbing 37 rebounds, 13 assists, and seven steals.
 
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.