The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to host Minot State University and the University of Mary in their final Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matchups of 2025. The Minot State match is set to tipoff tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. inside Romano Gymnasium, with UMary set for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.
 
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. He also tallied 28 points against Minnesota State University Moorhead. Siwek is currently the fifth-best overall scorer in the NSIC. 
 
A COLOSSAL OUTING FOR PAULSON: In a narrow loss to the conference newcomer, University of Jamestown, Noah Paulson earned 28 points of the teams 70 while shooting 61.5% (8-13)from the field, 91.7% (11-12) in free throws, making his only three-pointer for his best outing so far. 
 
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 first best in scoring defense (66.2 avg/g) in the NSIC, first in scoring margin (10.0), tied for third in team field goal percentage (47.6%), first in opponent field goal percentage (41.5%), first in opponent three-point field goal percentage (30.9%), third in opponent free throw percentage (75.2%), fourth in combined team rebounds (36.4 avg/g), fourth in rebounding margin (4.4), third in combined opponent rebounds (32.0 avg/g), fifth in team defensive rebounds (27.2 avg/g), and fourth in turnover margin (1.86).
 
LAST WEEK AGAINST NSU: Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Kole Hanson, who earned a total of 21 points for his second over-20-point game this season. Hanson shot an overall 50% (6-12) from the field and 50% (3-6) beyond the arc with a perfect six-for-six in free throws. Following close behind was Jackson Fowlkes with 16 points and Noah Paulson with 10.
 
After Paulson put up the first layup of the match over a minute in, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing 11-7 after the first five minutes. UMD would take the lead on an unanswered eight-point run between Hanson, Paulson, and Mattie Thompson to take a 15-11 lead. This put the Bulldogs over the Wolves for the duration, as the final ten minutes saw UMD pull ahead by double digits on a 29-19 scoring run. This run was headlined by a colossal nine-point effort from Hanson and two six-point efforts from Nick Katona and Daniel Molhoek.
 
Entering the second half with a 44-30 lead, the Bulldogs continued to hold off the Wolves with a near equal 18-19 scoring run that put the score at 62-49 with 9:59 to go. In that time, Fowlkes led the way with 13 of UMD's 18-point effort. Over the next five minutes, the Bulldogs pulled further ahead, scoring 14 points to Northern State's seven. With 4:05 remaining, an 8-3 run by the Wolves proved not enough as the score settled in the Bulldogs' favor at 79-62.
 
UMD in total shot 45.6% (26-57) from the field and 38.5% (10-26) from the three-point line. They clobbered the paint with 30 points, along with 22 points off turnovers. Northern State was held to only 12 points in the paint and five points off turnovers. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Wolves 45 to 29, with Caleb Siwek leading the effort with eight rebounds.
 
LAST WEEK AGAINST UJ: Noah Paulson led the scoring effort for UMD by double digits with a career-high 28 points, going 61.5% (8-13) from the field, 91.7% (11-12) from the free throw line, and making his lone three-point shot. He also tallied one assist, one block, and seven rebounds (four offensive) to round out a dominant outing. Following behind was Kole Hanson with 13 points.
 
The first half saw the two teams score evenly for the first four minutes until a free throw from Mattie Thompson started a 5-0 scoring run to push the Bulldogs to an 11-6 lead. After that, the Jimmies chipped the lead away on an 11-4 scoring run until the 10-minute mark, which broke past UMD for the duration of the half. In the final ten minutes of the half, Jamestown pulled away by double digits on a 24-13 run. The largest factor hampering the Bulldog scoring effort in the first half was three-pointers, where the team only made one of 12 attempts (8.3%).
 
The first five minutes of the second half saw Paulson, Jackson Fowlkes, Mattie Thompson, and Nick Katona combine for a 14-5 scoring run to get within three points of the Jimmies at 43-40. The rest of the half saw a 27-24 run by the Bulldogs to tie the game with just under two minutes to go. A three-pointer from Hanson with a minute remaining looked to be the game decider, but a foul by Peyton Rogers in the final seconds gave Ford Okehi the game-winning free throws with time expired.
 
Overall, the team shot 37.7% (23-61) from the field, 29.4% (5-17) beyond the arc, and 79.2% (19-24) from the free throw line. The team suffered from one of its lowest three-point shooting rates in the first half, only making one of twelve attempts. The team earned 35 rebounds to the Jimmies' 37, with Paulson and Katona each earning seven.
 
A LOOK AT THE BEAVERS: Minot State has started the season with a 6-5 overall record but 3-2 in NSIC competition. Since 2013, the Bulldogs own the advantage with a 13-8 record over the Beavers. However, in the last three matchups, UMD has won only one in 2024 in a narrow 94-90 victory.
 
Deuce Benjamin earned the North Division Player of the Week last week and has earned 233 points (21.2 avg) to start the season. He has a 47.7% accuracy from the field and a 44.1% from beyond the arc.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST MINOT: After falling behind 21-10 to open the afternoon, UMD went on a 6-0 run with 11:31 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Noah Paulson, to narrow its deficit to 21-16. The Bulldogs then closed the rest of the gap, outscoring the Beavers 25-17 throughout the rest of the half to grab a 41-38 lead heading into the break. UMD took advantage of five offensive rebounds to score eight second chance points out of 41 total in the period.
 
UMD struggled during the second half, getting out-scored 32-20 throughout the period before collecting five unanswered points to shrink the deficit to 70-66 with 2:22 to go in the contest. MSU responded and outscored the Bulldogs throughout the final minutes, ending the game with a final score of 75-68. UMD took care of business in the paint, recording 14 of its 27 points in the lane in the half.
 
The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Joshua Brown, who had 19 points, six rebounds and two steals. Charlie Katona added 11 points, six rebounds and two steals and Kole Hanson chipped in as well with 11 points.
 
Led by Austin Andrews' three offensive rebounds, UMD did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in 10 second chance points.
 
A LOOK AT THE MARAUDERS: Overall, UMary has started 4-6 with a 3-2 conference record. Since 2023, the Bulldogs own the advantage with a 16-8 record over the Marauders. UMD has won the last six matchups with a combined score of 470-363.
 
The UMary offense is led by Kelton Coleman who has 143 points (14.3 avg) to start the season. He is currently shooting 42.7% from the field while also remaining a threat on defense with a team leading 28 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.