The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to host the University of Minnesota Crookston as its second Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opponent of the season inside Romano Gymnasium tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. They then head on the road for a match against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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. Siwek is currently the fourth-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 third best in turnover margin (2.43), fourth in rebounding margin (5.7), third in combined opponent rebounds (32.4 avg/g), fifth in opponent field goal percentage (42.4%), and fourth in blocked shots (3.57 avg/g).

LAST WEEK AGAINST BEMIDJI: The team fired off its first NSIC victory of the 2025-26 campaign after downing Bemidji State University 77-67.

Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was Caleb Siwek for the sixth time in a row this season. Siwek earned 23 points, two assists, one steal, and shot 53.3% from the field and 57.1% from the three-point line. Following close behind with career-high efforts were Kole Hanson with 15 points and Mattie Thompson with 14 points.

Entering the first half, UMD got on the scoreboard first with a layup from Noah Paulson, but following that, Bemidji pushed 12 points out to lead the Bulldogs 12-6 in the first six minutes. The next few minutes saw the Beavers continue to pull away from UMD, finding a 26-13 lead with 10:55 to go in the first half.

The next two minutes had Siwek, Wyatt McBeth, and Jackson Fowlkes each score to cut the lead to six. An 11-6 scoring run by the Bulldogs put the game well within reach at 32-31 to put the Beavers on notice. Four Owen Leach free throws put UMD back on top at the 1:27 mark to bring a 35-32 Bulldog lead into the halftime break.

A three-pointer from the Beavers out of halftime looked to change the momentum of the game as the first three minutes saw Bemidji pull out ahead 42-40. The score would continue to go back and forth until the 12:49 mark, where the Bulldogs began an unanswered 10-point run. After that, the lead settled in UMD's favor for the duration, with the Beavers unable to overpower the Bulldogs' deadlocking 19-19 scoring run, finalizing the score at 77-67.

As a team, the Bulldogs combined to shoot 39.4% from the field and a comfortable 86.7% from the free-throw line. UMD outrebounded Bemidji 44 to 32 and kept the ball 14 times on offense. Thompson and Nick Katona led the team in rebounding with eight each.

LAST WEEK AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The team fell to 5-2 overall after getting outpaced on the road by Northern Michigan University 79-53 in their final non-conference matchup.

Leading the effort for the Bulldogs was Jackson Fowlkes and Noah Paulson, both with 12 points each by the end. Fowlkes hit the most three-point shots with a 50% accuracy (2-4) while shooting 36.4% (4-11) from inside the arc. Paulson and Nick Katona each had a team-high seven rebounds, with Paulson securing two on offense.

Entering the first half, the Bulldogs earned an opening four unanswered points in the first three minutes, between an opening layup from Fowlkes and a set of free throws by Mattie Thompson.

With just over 15 minutes remaining, a back-and-forth scoring effort began as Northern Michigan went on a 12-9 scoring run to force the Bulldog lead down to one with 11 minutes to go. From then on, the Wildcats muscled in front of the Bulldogs, totaling a 56.3% in three pointers and 51.7% from the field to force a 32-17 scoring run. UMD entered the halftime break down 44-30.

The second half saw UMD fall further behind at times, with the closest deficit of 11 points coming twice in the first three minutes. Northern Michigan outscored the Bulldogs 35-23 to seal a 79-53 final score.

All in all, the Bulldogs were less accurate than the Wildcats, shooting an overall 31.1% (19-61) from the field and 30% (6-20) from the three-point line. Meanwhile, Northern Michigan finished the outing with an even 50% (28-56 FG, 14-28 3PT)  from both inside and outside the arc. The biggest advantage for UMD was points off turnovers, with 10 to the Wildcats' three. The Bulldogs, by the end found themselves as a unit outrebounded 42 to 32.

A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston has opened the season 1-5, with their lone victory coming in game three against Oak Hills Christian College 115-53. Last week, they fell in a 68-83 loss to St. Cloud State University, where the team shot 39.7% from inside the arc.

UMC is led by freshman Donez Lindsey, who has scored 97 points to start the season while shooting 47.9% in field goals. Defensively, sophomore Landon Dimler leads the rebounding effort with 36 rebounds (five offensive).

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST UMC: After jumping out to a 38-33 advantage, UMD went on a 6-0 run with 2:18 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Jayden Johnson, to increase its lead to 44-33. The Bulldogs lost some of that lead through the final minutes of the period, but still entered halftime with a 44-36 advantage. UMD got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 19 of its 44 total points.

UMD was able to keep its lead intact throughout the second half and match the scoring effort of the Golden Eagles, outscoring UMC 32-30 throughout the final 20 minutes and ending the night with six unanswered points to grow the lead to 76-66 with 25 seconds to go and secure themselves the victory.
 
The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Kole Hanson, who had collected a pair of career highs with 20 points and seven rebounds. Nick Katona also collected a pair of career highs by adding 16 points and three blocks while Austin Andrews helped out with 10 points and six rebounds.

The Bulldog defense held the Golden Eagles to only 32.3% shooting from the field, including 20.8% from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also limited Reid Grant to 5-of-17 shooting in the game.

A LOOK AT THE DRAGONS: MSUM has started the season 4-3 overall (1-0 NSIC).  This week, MSUM's Dominic Gooden was awarded the NSIC North Division Player of the Week. The redshirt junior last week led the team in a narrow 108-11 loss to the No. 21 Concordia-St. Paul. Last week, he averaged 19.3 points, 3.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds in three games. This also marked his second selection in a row.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST MSUM: After falling behind 28-26 to open the weekend, UMD went on a 6-0 run with 4:48 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Andrews, to take a 32-28 lead. The Bulldogs then lost some of that lead in the final minutes of the half, but still entered the break with a 39-36 advantage. UMD did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 39 points close to the basket.
 
The Dragons proceeded to take a 68-62 lead in the second half before the Bulldogs collected five unanswered points, finished off by Brown's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 68-67 with 1:50 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs were unable to cut further into the deficit by the end of the game, losing 68-67.
 
Joshua Brown totaled a game-high 21 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks to lead the Bulldogs. Charlie Katona helped out with 12 points and nine rebounds, and Austin Andrews chipped in with a double-double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
Led by Andrews' three offensive rebounds, the Bulldogs did a great job crashing the offensive glass throughout the night, pulling down 10 boards that resulted in seven second-chance points on the other end.

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.