The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to face Washburn University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament First Round. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Saturday inside the Lee Center.
 
BULLDOGS AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs enter the NCAA Tourney field in the program's seventh entry and fourth under head coach Justin Wieck (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24). Wieck and the Bulldogs have reached the Elite Eight in the 2022-23 season, where they fell 86-68 to Black Hills State University. In first-round appearances since Wieck took over, they own a 2-1 record with the last win coming in 2023-24, where they bested Fort Hayes University 59-58.
 
NSIC CHAMPIONS: The last time UMD had advanced to the championship round was the 2023-24 season, where they fell to Minnesota State University Mankato 97-77. The Bulldogs earned their first NSIC Championship title under head coach Wieck after going 0-3 in championship appearances since the 2021-22 season (2023-24, 2022-23, and 2021-22). This victory marked the program's third NSIC Tournament Champion title.
 
SECOND NSIC NORTH DIVISION CHAMPIONS: With a 13-9 record, the Bulldogs clinched the NSIC North Division title after their 85-72 victory over Minnesota State University Moorhead. This marked the program's second title since its first in the 2021-22 season.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE CLUB: Kole Hanson and Noah Paulson of the University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team have earned selections to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) All-Conference teams.
 
Sophomore guard from Prior Lake, Minn., Hanson earns his first selection to the All-Conference First Team. In a career season, he is on track to average 15.2 points, 1.2 steals, 1.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game. Currently, he holds or is tied for multiple of the team's season single-game highs, including field goals (12 of 22 vs. St. Cloud), three-pointers (5 of 9 vs. CSP), free throws (12 of 15 vs. Minnesota Crookston), and steals (4 vs. Minot/CSP). Ahead of the upcoming NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals, he has tallied 410 points, 32 steals, two blocks, 40 assists, and 60 rebounds.
 
Duluth native and redshirt senior, Paulson, is selected to his first All-Conference Second Team list. Ahead of the upcoming NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals, he is on pace to average 12.7 points, 1.0 steals, and five rebounds per game. This season, he is tied for the team's best single-game performance in steals (4) and blocked shots (3). Currently, he has 368 points, 30 steals, 21 blocks, 52 assists, and 144 rebounds.
 
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.
 
HANSON HEATING UP: Kole has 11 double-digit games in the last 12 outings of the regular season. He tallied a career high 32 points against St. Cloud State to go along with 22 points against Minnesota State Mankato, 16 against Winona State, 28 against Concordia-St. Paul, 13 against Wayne State, 28 against Augustana, 14 against UMary, 23 against Minot State, 15 against Northern State, 18 against Minnesota Crookston, and 12 against MSUM.
 
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 earned six straight games in the double-digit points category to start the season 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 finished the season on a hot streak, earning 19 points against Minnesota Crookston and 25 points against MSUM in the final week. He also led the team with a colossal 34 points in the team's NSIC Tournament Championship victory over St. Cloud State University.
 
A COLOSSAL OUTING FOR PAULSON: In a narrow loss to the conference newcomer, the University of Jamestown, Noah Paulson earned 28 points of the team's 70 while shooting 61.5% (8-13) from the field, 91.7% (11-12) in free throws, and making his only three-pointer for his best outing so far. In the regular season, he tallied five games over the 20-point mark in a career year for the redshirt senior (28 at Jamestown, 20 vs Mary, 26 at Bemidji, 20 at Mary, and 23 at Jamestown). 
 
NSIC LEADERS (As of 2/28): The Bulldogs, as a unit, are the third best in scoring defense (71.8 avg/g) in the NSIC, second in scoring margin (6.5), fourth in opponent field goals (43.5%), third in rebounding margin (2.7), first in combined opponent rebounds (32.9), and first in turnover margin (2.52). Individually, Kole Hanson ranks fifth in free throws (86.5%)
 
EARLIER IN THE NSIC CHAMPIONSHIP: UMD trounced St. Cloud State University to secure the program's third Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament Champion title and first since 2003.
 
"This whole tournament was a team effort, defensively, the intensity, the rebounding, and just the grit that every coach hopes their team has all the time," said head coach Justin Wieck. "Couldn't be prouder of this entire group."
 
The match had begun with the Huskies getting on the board first at 2-0. The Bulldogs responded quickly as Kole Hanson and Caleb Siwek kept pace with SCSU with a layup each to hold a 4-4 score with 17:50 to go. This was the last time the Huskies were tied up with the Bulldogs as Hanson followed for his first three-pointer of the day to give the determining lead.
 
From then on, Siwek lit up the scoreboard with 19 points to close the half, including a 5-6 effort from the three-point line.
 
"This guy to my right," said Wieck, referring to the NSIC Championship Most Valuable Player, Siwek. "I'm so proud of him for what he did tonight, and really what he's done all year. Fighting through injury last year, coming back, and doing that on this stage was awesome."
 
Jackson Fowlkes (7), Hanson (4), Mattie Thompson (2), Noah Paulson (2), and Daniel Molhoek (2) combined with Siwek's effort to hold a 43-32 lead into halftime. The second half saw the dominance continue as Siwek added another 13 points, which included him going 2-3 beyond the arc, keeping the Huskies' defense off balance. Hanson also kept SCSU guessing, putting up 2-3 three pointers of his own.
 
Paulson (6), Molhoek (2), Fowlkes (2), and Nick Katona (1) combined with Siwek and Hanson to keep the Huskies well out of reach on a 33-33 scoring effort to seal the match at 76-65.
 
"We made enough shots, made enough stops, made enough free throws, held that team to 39% overall and 41% in the first half," said Wieck. "That's how you win this time of the year, really guarding people and having that toughness."
 
Overall, UMD held SCSU to 39.3% (24-61) from the field, a team that had reached 46% (29-63) earlier this season to deal the Bulldogs a 92-87 loss. In a career game for Siwek, he made the team's most three pointers of the season with a 75% (6-8) accuracy. Siwek earned the NSIC Tournament Most Valuable Player award while Hanson and Paulson took home All Tournament team awards.
 
SCOUTING THE NO. 1 ICHABODS: Washburn enters the first round for the program's 18th time and second in a row. With a 31-1 record, the Ichabods claimed the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) title and MIAA Tournament Champion title. Their lone loss of the season came at the hands of the then-unranked University of Central Missouri in a narrow 74-72 fashion.
 
Notably, the team overall leads the nation in scoring margin (25.1), is the fourth-best for field goal percentage (50.9), second in rebound margin (10.7), and second in scoring defense (61.9).
 
UMD's defense will have its work cut out for them against Dillon Claussen, who is eighth in the nation in field goal percentage (62.5). He is averaging 15.6 points, 2.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game while hitting 62.5% from the field, 38.1% beyond the arc, and 61.2% from the free-throw line. 
 
Washburn also has one of the best defenders in the nation, Jeremiah Jones, who is first in total steals (102) and second in steals per game (3.19). He is averaging 9.4 points per game, three assists, 0.5 blocks, and 4.6 rebounds.