The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to face the University of Mary and Minot State University for the second time this season. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. against UMary inside the McDowell Activity Center with Minot State to follow on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside the MSU Dome.

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.
 
HANSON HEATING UP: Kole has six double digit games in the past six outings. He tallied a career high 32 points against St. Cloud State to go along with 22 points against Minnesota State Mankato, 16 points against Winona State, 28 points against Concordia-St. Paul, 13 against Wayne State, and 28 against Augustana.
 
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 (72.2 avg/g) in the NSIC, third in rebounding margin (2.4), second in combined opponent rebounds (33.5), third in team defensive rebounds (26.7), first in turnover margin (2.45), and fifth in steals (7.36 avg/g).
 
LAST MATCH: UMD was dealt its second loss in a row by Augustana University in 96-84 fashion inside the Elmen Center Saturday.
 
Leading the effort for the Bulldogs were both Kole Hanson and Caleb Siwek with over 20 points each. Hanson tallied his 28-point game of the season along with one steal and four assists. He shot 56.3% 99-16) from the field, 20% (1-5) beyond the arc, and 90% (9-10) from the free throw line. Siwek followed with 25 points while earning a steal, three rebounds, and hitting 50% (9-18) from the field and 62.5% (5-8) beyond the arc.
 
Entering the first half, the Vikings scored first with two three-pointers in the first two minutes. The Bulldogs responded with a 13-10 scoring run, which was led by Hanson's nine points. By the 10-minute mark, AU held a 24-18 lead over UMD until the Bulldogs climbed back in on a 16-7 scoring run in the next seven minutes by the efforts of Nick Katona (7), Siwek (3), Jackson Fowlkes (2), Mattie Thompson (2), and Hanson (2).
 
The Bulldogs held on to a 41-37 lead at halftime with Katona and Siwek scoring the final seven points before the break. The Vikings opened the second half on a 15-11 run to tie the game back up in the first eight minutes at 52-52, overpowering Siwek's nine-point effort. UMD held on to a narrow lead in the next four minutes as Hanson's 11 points and Noah Paulson's two looked to hold off AU.
 
The Vikings broke past the Bulldog defense on a 15-6 scoring run in under four minutes of game time for a 79-71 lead. With five minutes remaining, AU held off UMD on a 17-13 run to close out the game at 96-84.
 
The Bulldogs fell victim to the Vikings 70.37% (19-27) accuracy from the field and 70% (7-10) beyond the arc in the second half, while only hitting 43.75% (13-32) from the field and 41.67% (5-12) beyond the arc in return.
 
MORE ON THE MARAUDERS: Overall, UMary has started 5-17 with a 3-13 conference record. 
 
The UMary offense is led by Kelton Coleman who has 293 points (13.3 avg) to start the season. He is currently shooting 45.1% from the field while also remaining a threat on defense with a team leading 55 steals.
 
EARLIER AGAINST UMARY: Leading the charge for the Bulldogs was Noah Paulson with his second 20-point game of the season. He led the way, shooting 10-14 (71.4%) from the field, collecting seven rebounds (two offensive), one assist, one block, and one steal. Following close behind was Jackson Fowlkes with 18 points and shooting 54.5% (6-11) from the field with a 50% (2-4) in three-pointers. He also collected the team's season high in individual assists with five.
 
Entering the first half, Mattie Thompson, Paulson, and Nick Katona led an 11-2 scoring effort for the team's first lead of the game in under three minutes. The Marauders then flipped the effort in the next four minutes on a 10-2 run to set the Bulldog lead to 13-12. Right after a three-pointer by Jackson Ware overcame a set of free throws from Katona to tie the game up at 15-15 with 12:22 to go.
 
By the seven-minute mark, UMD had lifted a colossal 20-9 scoring effort with eight points by Daniel Molhoek and seven from Fowlkes to jump out ahead 35-24. For the remainder of the half, the Bulldogs held firm to hold a 44-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Bulldogs kept the pace up as the first ten minutes of the second half saw Caleb Siwek, Fowlkes, and Paulson combine for a 21-16 scoring run to push a 65-48 lead. The Marauders narrowly outscored the Bulldogs in the following five minutes with 10 points to cut the lead by one to 74-58. UMD held on to the lead in the final minutes to seal an 80-65 win.
 
Overall, the team shot 51.7% (31-60) from the field, 37.5% (6-16) beyond the arc, and 70.6% (12-17) from the free throw line. The team outscored the Marauders in points in the paint, 46 to 16, while out-rebounding them 41 to 33. Leading the rebounding effort for UMD was Katona with eight total rebounds (one offensive).
 
MORE ON THE BEAVERS: Minot State has started the season with a 8-14 overall record but 5-11 in NSIC competition. 
 
Deuce Benjamin earned a North Division Player of the Week and has earned 410 points (18.6 avg) to start the season. He has a 40.6% accuracy from the field and a 32.7% from beyond the arc.
 
EARLIER AGAINST MSU: Leading the way for the Bulldogs in the points category was Caleb Siwek with 13 total points, seven of which came from a 87.5% effort on the free throw line. Following close behind was Jackson Fowlkes and Kole Hanson with 11 points each. Fowlkes led the team in three-pointers, going 50% (3-6) beyond the arc and making 50% (4-8) from the field.
 
Entering the first half, Nick Katona sent a three-pointer in to give the Bulldogs a lead a minute in. In the next four minutes, the Beavers chipped back to tie at 8-8 with 15:03 to go. Mattie Thompson and Siwek combined for an answered five-point lead to give UMD the lead for the remainder before halftime.
 
The final 12 minutes of the first half, Fowlkes, Thompson, Hanson, Peyton Rogers, and Daniel Molhoek combine to outscore Minot 18-15, forcing a 31-23 lead into the halftime break.
 
After the break, UMD continued to expand the lead with a 14-10 run over the first five minutes as Siwek and Noah Paulson combined for nine of the Bulldogs' points. Four minutes later, UMD found themselves on the receiving end of an 8-2 scoring run by the Beavers as the lead dropped to 47-41.
 
With under 10 minutes left, Hanson found room for seven points to outscore Minot's lone layup for an 11-point lead at 54-43.  In the final eight minutes, the Beavers narrowly outscored the Bulldogs 15-13 to end the match at 67-58.
 
Overall, UMD went 36.4% (20-55) from the field, 28% (7-25) beyond the arc, and 74.1% (20-27) in free throws. The team overcame identical rebounding efforts with 40 total on each side of the court. Siwek led the rebounding effort with nine total rebounds. Katona led the way in steals with four for the team's highest individual effort this season.
 
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.