The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team heads out to face Minnesota State University Mankato Friday at 5:30 p.m., with St. Cloud State University set for a Saturday matchup at 2:00 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. He also tallied 28 points against Minnesota State University Moorhead. 
 
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 third best in scoring defense (70.8 avg/g) in the NSIC, third in scoring margin (5.5), fourth in opponent field goals (43.2%), third in rebounding margin (2.6), fifth in combined opponent rebounds (34.3 avg/g), first in turnover margin (3.31), and fifth in steals (7.25 avg/g).
 
LAST MATCH: The Bulldogs were dealt their second straight loss inside Romano Gymnasium by Southwest Minnesota State University in 71-62 fashion Saturday.
 
Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was Noah Paulson with 13 points, two steals, three assists, and four rebounds.
 
Entering the match, the Bulldogs found themselves down 8-0 two minutes in. By the 14:14 mark, Jackson Fowlkes hit two three-pointers along with Mattie Thompson's layup to tie the score.
 
With 11 minutes left, the Mustangs had the advantage after a 10-7 run, forcing UMD on the back foot for the duration of the half. UMD ended the final 10 minutes of the quarter trailing 37-31 into halftime after a combined 16-point effort from Caleb Siwek, Kole Hanson, Nick Katona, and Thompson.
 
After the halftime break, the defenses continued to battle, not allowing a single point on either side for the first three minutes. Fowlkes would be the first to score with his third three-pointer of the game, and a Paulson layup under 60 seconds later put the Bulldogs within one. SMSU capped off an unanswered six points by the 15-minute mark to get fully in front of UMD at 43-36.
 
The next five minutes, Katona, Paulson, Thompson, and Hanson combined for a 10-8 scoring run to get back within five points of the Mustangs. In the final 10 minutes, the Mustangs remained in charge, holding off UMD on a 20-16 scoring run to deal the Bulldogs their second straight loss at 71-62.
 
Overall, UMD was outshot across the board, making only 39% (23-59) of its field goals and 28% (7-25) of its three-pointers.  The Bulldogs ended with an advantage on free throw percentage with 81.8% (9-11) but were outrebounded 41-32, with Katona leading the effort with eight total rebounds (one offensive).
 
MORE ON THE MAVERICKS: The Bulldogs won the last matchup narrowly 75-74 and have owned a 4-2 record since 2023. The Mavericks roster boasts a NSIC South Division Player of the Week, Malcolm Jones. Jones is averaging 13 points, one steal, 1.4 blocks, and 7.7 rebounds per game. He is currently 54.7% (93-170).
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST MSU: After jumping out to an 11-8 advantage to open up the night, UMD went on an 8-0 run with 14:04 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Andrews, to increase its lead to 19-8. MSU then responded, out-scoring the Bulldogs 26-15 throughout the remainder of the period to tie things up at 34-34 heading into halftime. UMD got the job done in the paint in the first half, scoring 20 of its 34 points close to the basket.
 
Both teams came out swinging to open the second half, seeing six different ties building to a 47-47 draw with 15 minutes still left to go. MSU responded, out-scoring the Bulldogs 27-23 to take a 74-70 lead with just 24 seconds left in the game. A quick three points would get UMD back within one in the final ten seconds, before the Mavericks would get another shot from the foul line with just three seconds left to go. A miss from the MSU player on the one and one opportunity allowed the Bulldogs to regain possession and make it down court with just enough time for Thompson to slam the game away for the 75-74 victory. UMD took care of business in the paint, recording 30 of its 41 points in the lane throughout the second half.
 
The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures, led by Charlie Katona, who had 20 points, five assists and two steals. Austin Andrews tacked on 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and Joshua Brown helped out with 17 points and a team high nine rebounds.
 
UMD grabbed 33 rebounds in Tuesday's game compared to the Mavericks' 30, led by Brown's nine boards. The Bulldogs also did a great job disrupting MSU shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Andrews' two rejections led the way individually for the Bulldogs.
 
MORE ON THE HUSKIES: The Bulldogs own a six game winning streak over SCSU since 2021. The Huskies are led by Luke Winkel who is averaging 18.1 points per game and has 272 points to start the season. He is currently shooting 43.1% (88-204) from the field and 31.2% (24-77) from the three point line.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST SCSU: After falling behind 10-8 to open the afternoon, UMD went on a 6-0 run with 14:36 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Mattie Thompson, to take a 14-10 lead. The Bulldogs then lost some of that lead, but still entered the halftime break with a 33-31 advantage. UMD did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 18 of its 33 points close to the basket.
 
Following intermission, the Bulldogs continued to widen their lead, expanding it to 47-44 before collecting seven unanswered points, finished off by a Jayden Johnson jumper, to grow the lead to 54-44 with 8:32 to go in the contest. The Huskies narrowed the margin by two before the game was over, but the Bulldogs still cruised the rest of the way for a 66-58 victory. UMD capitalized on eight SCSU turnovers in the period, collecting 12 points off those turnovers.
 
The Bulldogs had two players score in double figures, led by Charlie Katona, who had a game high 21 points. Joshua Brown tacked on 10 points and four assists and Nick Katona added five points, a team high eight rebounds and two steals.
 
UMD's defense held SCSU to only 3 for 18 (16.7%) shooting from beyond the arc and 16 for 45 (35.6%) from the field, all while forcing 15 turnovers along the way. The Huskies did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with three offensive rebounds and managed two second chance points while the Bulldogs cleared 28 defensive rebounds.
 
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.