The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to face its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) rival, St. Cloud State University, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament Second Round. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday inside the Lee Arena.
 
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 now own a 3-1 record. In second-round bouts, Wieck and the Bulldogs are 1-1, falling to Northwest Missouri State University (71-62) most recently in 2024. The last time the Bulldogs won a second-round matchup was en route to the 2022-23 Elite Eight appearance.
 
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%)
 
DOWN GOES NO. 1 WASHBURN: UMD entered the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament field as the No. 8 seed and found a way to hold on to a narrow lead in the final minutes of the first round to down No. 1-seeded Washburn University 64-62.
 
The Bulldogs found success shutting down the fourth-best field goal shooting team in the nation, which was on pace for 50.9% until UMD held them to 42.6%. The Ichabods were also leading the nation in scoring margin with a 25.1 gap, but could not overcome the Bulldogs by more than three points.
 
Leading the effort for UMD was Caleb Siwek and Mattie Thompson, who scored 13 points each. Thompson, Noah Paulson, and Nick Katona had colossal days under the net, combining for 19 rebounds of the team's 32.
 
Entering the first half, Siwek and Kole Hanson combined to earn the Bulldogs their first three-point lead of the game at 5-2 three minutes in. UMD continued to hold the lead as Hanson (5), Wyatt McBeth (4), Thompson (2), and Paulson (2) put up 13 points to hold the Ichabods at 18-14 with 10:48 to go.
 
Washburn kept with the Bulldogs on an 8-4 run as their shots began to land on a 4-6 effort from the field. With the score at 22 all, Thompson put the Ichabods back behind with a three-pointer, followed up by another from Katona to force a 28-22 lead with 3:33 before halftime. Washburn clawed back on a 7-4 scoring run to trail UMD 32-29 into the halftime break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Bulldogs fired on all cylinders, opening the lead to 43-31 just five minutes in. This was the point where Washburn went on a 15-0 scoring run to retake a lead at 46-43 with 9:15 remaining.
 
UMD found a way to keep pace over the next eight minutes as a pair of free throws from Paulson put the Bulldogs closer to the Ichabods at 58-57 with 1:31 remaining. A foul put Paulson out of the game for the duration, as a missed free throw kept them in striking distance at 59-57 with a minute to go. A well-timed three-pointer from Siwek put the Bulldogs back on top to allow Owen Leach, who stepped in for Paulson, to score a pair of free throws to hold a 62-59 advantage.
 
As the clock ticked below 10 seconds, a foul put Washburn back on the line for three attempts, but one would bounce out to allow UMD to reclaim possession. A foul on Hanson helped seal the score at 64-61 as a final two-second free throw from the Ichabods was not enough.
 
EARLIER AGAINST ST. CLOUD STATE: 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. 4 HUSKIES: St. Cloud State enters the second round as a No. 4 seed with a 26-6 record after failing to overcome UMD in the NSIC Tournament. They were able to beat Missouri Western State University 83-65 in the first round to get a rematch with the Bulldogs. 
 
UMD's offense will have to face the NSIC's Defensive Player of the Year again, Wyatt Hawks. Hawks completed the season leading the NSIC in blocks (56) and blocks per game (2.5). He is averaging 12.1 points, 1.7 assists, and 8.4 rebounds per game while hitting 48.2% from the field and 81.3% from the free-throw line.
 
Their leading scorer is Luke Winkel, who is averaging 18.8 points per game while hitting 41.2% from the field, 34.5% beyond the arc, and 77.3% from the free-throw line. Winkel (29) and Hawks (23) combined for 52 points in the regular season against UMD.