The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to face Oklahoma Baptist University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament Central Region Championship. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday 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 now 2-1. The last time the Bulldogs won a second-round matchup was en route to the 2022-23 Elite Eight appearance. In the third round matchup of that season, the Bulldogs overcame Southern Nazarene University 62-52.
 
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.
 
NO. 4 ST. CLOUD STATE GOES DOWN: UMD rallied in the final two minutes to overpower the No. 4-seeded St. Cloud State University, advancing to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Central Region Championship for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
 
A colossal 37 points split between Kole Hanson (20) and Caleb Siwek (17) led the scoring effort for the Bulldogs. Hanson led the team with two steals while collecting five rebounds.
 
Entering the match, Hanson's opening three-pointer was the first UMD lead of the game, just nine seconds in. SCSU climbed back in on a 3-2 run to be tied at 5-5 with 14 minutes to go in the first half. Over the next five minutes, the Huskies broke past with seven points to overtake Siwek (3) and Daniel Molhoek (2).
 
The final ten minutes before halftime saw SCSU climb ahead 30-22 as Hanson (5), Mattie Thompson (3), Owen Leach (2), and Jackson Fowlkes (2) combined for 12 points, which was not enough to keep pace.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Huskies went up by 14 points at 39-25, outpacing Hanson's lone three-pointer. With 12:33 remaining, the Bulldogs had chipped back in on an 11-2 scoring run as Hanson led the way with seven points.
 
It took until under five minutes remained for UMD to come within two points of SCSU as a jumper from Siwek put the team behind 50-48. Siwek followed up with a three-pointer to obtain UMD's first lead since the first half with 3:38 left. A basket from beyond the arc by Luke Winkel looked to rally the Huskies, but UMD would fire an unanswered seven points between Hanson (2), Paulson (2), Siwek (2), and Owen Leach (1).
 
Notably, the final three points came in the final six seconds after a costly timeout was called with the ball in SCSU's hands. The timeout call came from the Huskies' bench, who had already utilized their final timeout, awarding not just two free throws to Siwek but also possession of the ball, helping seal the game at 61-55.
 
Overall, UMD hit 39.2% (20-51) from the field, 27.3% (6-22) beyond the arc, and 68.2% (15-22) from the free throw line. With some halftime adjustments, the Bulldogs brought the Huskies down to a low 29.4% (10-34) overall, being dragged down by a 14.3% (2-14) effort beyond the arc.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST OKLAHOMA BAPTIST: UMD out-rebounded the Oklahoma Baptist Bison 36-32 on the way to a 71-52 win at home Saturday, closing out an undefeated weekend to start the 2024-25 season.
 
After jumping out to an 8-4 advantage, UMD went on a 10-0 run with 15:32 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Caleb Siwek, to increase its lead to 18-4. Oklahoma Baptist went on to collect 13 minutes, out-scoring UMD 19-14 to end the half. 
 
Though the Bulldogs still entered halftime with a 32-23 advantage, holding onto their lead with a three pointer of their own from Nick Katona. UMD did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 18 of its 32 points close to the basket.
 
UMD kept its lead intact before collecting eight unanswered points, finished off by a Charlie Katona three pointer, to grow the lead to 45-31 with 12:00 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way, out-scoring OBU 26-21 to end the game and secure the 71-52 victory.
 
The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Austin Andrews, who had 19 points and two steals. Charlie Katona tacked on 16 points, four steals and a game high seven rebounds. Joshua Brown chipped in as well with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
 
The UMD defense held Oklahoma Baptist shooters to just 29.6% from the field. The Bison did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only nine offensive rebounds and scored four second chance points while the Bulldogs pulled down 31 defensive rebounds and forced 15 turnovers
 
SCOUTING THE NO. 2 BISONS: Oklahoma Baptist enters the regional championship round as a No. 2 seed with a 29-3 record. 
 
OBU's leading scorer is Terry Coner Jr., who is averaging 19.8 points per game while hitting 43.9% from the field, 36.7% beyond the arc, and 72% from the free-throw line. Over the first two rounds, he has 26 points, five steals, four assists, and 10 rebounds. Their leading scorer in the last round was Austin Coner, who scored 16 points on a 4-6 effort from the field, along with two steals and four assists.