The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team hosts the University of Sioux Falls as their first home matchup of the new year tomorrow at 5:30 p.m., with Southwest Minnesota State University following on Saturday as the annual Sophie's Squad game for mental health awareness 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. 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 first best in scoring defense (66.2 avg/g) in the NSIC, first in scoring margin (10.0), fourth in team field goals (47.6%), first in opponent field goals (41.5%), third in opponent free throws (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 MATCH: The Bulldogs earned their first win of 2026 in 89-77 fashion over Bemidji State University, propelled by a 26-point effort by Noah Paulson on the road.
 
Paulson led the day with 26 points, five rebounds (one offensive), and two blocks. He shot an impressive individual team high 78.6% (11-14) from the field and 75% (3-4) beyond the arc. Following behind was Jackson Fowlkes with 13 points, along with Mattie Thompson and Kole Hanson with 11 points each.
 
The first 10 minutes saw the Beavers hold off the Bulldogs on a 29-23 scoring effort, not allowing UMD to get a single lead in that time. It took until 7:59 remained in the opening half when Thompson put a layup in that pushed a 30-29 UMD  lead that capped off an answered seven points by the Bulldogs.
 
The remaining eight minutes saw the team push a dominant 20-10 scoring run that included a quick steal and three-pointer by Wyatt McBeth that helped widen the gap.
 
Entering the second half with a 50-39 lead, the Bulldogs picked up where they left off on a 15-13 scoring run in the first five minutes. The next six minutes saw the Beavers turn the tide slightly with a narrow 12-8 run over the Bulldogs to claw to a 73-64 deficit. The remaining nine minutes, UMD put BSU in the rear view mirror as Hanson, Peyton Rogers, Jackson Fowlkes, Nick Katona, and Caleb Siwek combined to outscore the Beavers 16-13 for a final score of 89-77.
 
Overall, the Bulldogs earned a team high in both three-point field goals attempted (32) and made (12) while shooting 37.5% beyond the arc. They also put up 49.2% (32-65) of shots from the field. The team dominated in both points in the paint (34-28) and points off turnovers (26-11). The Beavers narrowly out-rebounded the Bulldogs 30-27, with both Paulson and McBeth securing five each.
 
MORE ON THE COUGARS: Since 2014, the Bulldogs own a one-win advantage with a 7-6 record. Last season's 68-71 loss broke a five-game winning streak by UMD, where the team outscored them by a combined 425-314.
 
The Cougars roster boasts this week's NSIC South Division player of the week Brogan Madson who averaged 22.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across two outings last week. He shot 45.7% from the field (16-of-35), 25.0% from three (2-of-8), and 90.9% at the free-throw line (10-of-11) over the two-game stretch.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST USF: After falling behind 34-16 to open up the afternoon, UMD collected nine unanswered points with 4:31 left in the first half to narrow its deficit to 34-25. The Bulldogs continued to close the gap as time winded down, cutting the USF lead to 36-29 by the end of the first half.
 
The Cougars kept widening their lead after intermission, constructing a 45-33 advantage before UMD went on a 12-0 run, finished off by Austin Andrews layup, to even the score at 45 all with 12:48 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs could not turn their rally into a victory, as USF outscored them 26-23 the rest of the way to hand UMD a 71-68 loss. The Bulldogs took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of their 39 points in the lane.
 
The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Mattie Thompson, who had 16 points, a team high nine rebounds and five steals. Joshua Brown added 13 points and six rebounds and Kole Hanson chipped in as well with 10 points off of the bench. 
 
Thompson pulled down seven offensive rebounds to lead the UMD offense which grabbed 10 boards and turned them into 18 second chance points throughout the matchup. 
 
UMD did a great job disrupting Sioux Falls shots in the contest, forcing 20 turnovers and tallying five blocks throughout the afternoon. Noah Paulson led the way individually for the Bulldogs with two rejections.
 
MORE ON THE MUSTANGS: While the Mustangs hold an identical 6-2 start to NSIC competition, they also hold a 10-4 record over the Bulldogs since 2014. SMSU is the second best scoring defense in the NSIC with only allowing an average of 66.7 points per game.
 
The Mustangs are led by Jakob Braaten who earned the NSIC South Division Player of the Week award in week two. He is currently averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 assists, 5.8 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field, 44.4% in three-pointers, and 85.7% from the free-throw line.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST SMSU: UMD started out the scoring by going on a 13-0 run to take an early lead with 12:49 left in the first half. The Mustangs responded, out-scoring the Bulldogs 20-18 throughout the rest of the period, but UMD still entered the halftime break with a 31-20 advantage. UMD did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 16 of its 31 points close to the basket.
 
The Bulldogs continued to widen their lead following the intermission, expanding it to 43-28 before collecting another seven unanswered points to grow the lead to 50-28 with 10:56 to go in the contest. The Mustangs narrowed the margin before the game was over, but the Bulldogs still cruised the rest of the way for the 63-44 victory. UMD took care of business in the paint, recording 18 of its 32 points in the lane throughout the period.
 
The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Charlie Katona, who had 19 points and two steals. Joshua Brown added 14 points and Jayden Johnson helped out with 10 points off of the bench.
 
Led by Mattie Thompson's five offensive rebounds, UMD did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 10 boards that resulted in eight second chance points.
 
The Bulldog defense also caused its share of mistakes throughout the game, forcing 13 SMSU turnovers, turning into nine points on the offensive end of the floor. Katona's two steals led the way individually for the Bulldogs.
 
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.