Preview: Men’s Basketball plays Purdue Northwest in GLIAC Quarterfinals
| [3] MICHIGAN TECH vs. [6] Purdue Northwest | |
| Dates | Thursday, March 4 |
| Times | 9:45 p.m. EST |
| Location | Fitness & Recreation Center | Hammond, Indiana |
| Radio | WKMJ Mix 93.5 |
| Online Audio | Pasty.net |
| Video Stream | Thursday | jedtv.com |
| Game Notes | MTU vs. Purdue Northwest |
| Twitter.com/mtumbb | |
| Facebook.com/michigantechmensbasketball | |
| Tech's Record | 12-6 | 12-6 GLIAC (1st - GLIAC North) |
| PNW's Record | 8-8 | 8-8 GLIAC (4th - GLIAC North) |
HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech men's basketball (12-6) earned the No. 3 seed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament and will play No. 6 seed Purdue Northwest (8-8) at PNW Fitness and Recreation Center in Hammond, Indiana Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 9:45 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast by the conference on jedtv.com and can be listened to on Mix 93.5 WKMJ and pasty.net.
If the Huskies win, they play again Friday, March 5 at 8:30 p.m. EST in the semifinals. The GLIAC Men's Championship is scheduled for Sunday, March 7 at 3:30 p.m. EST. Last season, Michigan Tech defeated Northwood to win the conference tournament. The NCAA Midwest Regional tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 health concerns.
The Huskies split a pair of games against the Pride in Houghton in the first week of the regular season. More recently, Tech has won four of its last five games, including a 69-47 road win over Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.
FOR THE HUSKIES: Three-time GLIAC Player of the Week Owen White is the Huskies go to guard on offense. Teams continue to search for ways to stop him and he leads all scorers with 21.2 points per contest. White posted double-figures in all 16 games he has played in. The only team not to face White during the regular season is Purdue Northwest. Last week, White led the Huskies with 41 points in two games and nabbed 13 rebounds, and six assists. He also led the team in rebounds this season (7.1 RPG), good for 10th best in the conference. His best offensive game of the year came against Grand Valley State, in which he vaulted to a new career high 30 points on February 20.
White has been flanked all year by the league's top assist man, Carter Johnston. Johnston, a junior from Beaverton, Michigan has two 10-assist games and averaged 5.5 assists per game, just ahead of Wayne State's Brailen Neely (5.4 APG).
Also, at starting guard, Dawson Bilski has quietly assembled another strong season after leading the squad with 14.6 points per game a year ago. In 18 starts, Bilski averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals for the Huskies.
Junior guard Eric Carl will be surveying for open 3-point looks against PNW Thursday. Carl has six games with at least four long-range makes and 13 games with double-figure point totals. Carl is shooting at a 3-point rate of 51.5-percent and averages 12.1 points per outing.
Trent Bell rounds out Kevin Luke's standard starting five. The hard-working Negaunee, Michigan forward plays 29 minutes per game with 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Bell is also peaking at the end of the year and compiled 21 points on 71-percent shooting against the Rangers over last weekend.
Junior forward Kyle Clow (Germantown, Wisconsin) and freshman guard Adam Hobson (Stoughton, Wisconsin) provide solid options off the bench. Hobson marked a season high 14 points in 21 minutes against Parkside Saturday. The Huskies also have seen flashes of brilliance from freshman Brad Simonsen. Senior Isaac Appleby may also be available.
The Huskies score 66.8 points per game and shoot 46.5-percent from the floor, including 37.7-percent from beyond the arc. Purdue Northwest is the pre-determined host school for the tournament. The Huskies hold a 7-2 road record.
SCOUTING PURDUE NORTHWEST: The Pride handed the Huskies their most-lopsided loss of the season on January 10 76-52. It was the second night of a back-to-back two-game set and Tech was victorious 68-59 in the season opener. The Pride returned each of its top three scorers this season after taking third place in 2019-20.
PNW scores 77.5 points per game and allows 79.1 points to opponents. In the GLIAC, the Pride rank first in points, last in defense, second in rebounding, seventh in steals, and fourth in assists. Junior forward Jyrus Freels lead the offense for the second straight season with 13.0 points per game and 5.7 rebounds. Sophomore forward Vincent Miszkiewicz tops the league in rebounding at 11.5 RPG. Andy Barnard (12.5 PPG) can be a sharpshooter from downtown at 48.5-percent efficiency.
Purdue Northwest has not played since February 20 against Ferris State (W, 80-77) with two home games cancelled last week versus Northern Michigan.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES: