PREVIEW: Men's Basketball closes out homestand

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech men's basketball hosts conference opponents Wisconsin Parkside and Purdue Northwest this week as the team hits the court for the first time since December 15. The Huskies are 3-1 on their current homestand and have won five of their last six outings.

LAST TIME OUT

• Dominating the offensive glass, Michigan Tech took down Finlandia University 122-52 on Wednesday, December 15 in non-conference play. The Huskies then had games against Winona State and Algoma cancelled, extending the team's holiday break.
• Trent Bell collected his third double double of the season with 17 points, 13 rebounds against the Lions. Tyler Robarge set a new career-high with 16 points and six boards. Michigan Tech passed 35 assists, one short of a team single-game program record (36) set in 1987. Bell, Carter, Johnston, and Eric Carl notched five assists apiece. Rebounds favored MTU 54-20.

SCOUTING THE RANGERS

• Wisconsin Parkside last played on December 20 in Kenosha against Missouri-St. Louis and lost 75-68. The Rangers have conference victories over Davenport and Lake Superior State but have struggled at home (2-5). 
• Redshirt senior Tray Croft (Anniston, Alabama) leads the team in points  (19.2 ppg), assists (3.7 apg), and steals (2.0 spg). Croft posted a season-high 36 points in Parkside's season-opening win over Lindenwood on November 12. Croft played in and started nine games in 2020-21 and led the squad with 15.3 points per game with a pair of double doubles. 
• The previous campaign, Croft started the first five games but missed the remainder of the season due to injury. He transferred to Wisconsin Parkside after a redshirt year at University of Northern Iowa.
• The Rangers average 73.4 points (10th), 75.3 points against (ninth), 33.7 rebounds (ninth), 13.7 assists (eighth), and 6.1 steals (10th). 
• Head coach Luke Reigel is in his 19th season as head coach and held a 262-242 record entering the 2021-22 season with six NCAA appearances. The Rangers finished 9-10 overall in 2020-21 and slotted fifth in the GLIAC North Division standings.
• Last season the Huskies went 2-0 against the Rangers, including a 70-65 win on February 26 and a 69-47 scoreline on February 27 at De Simone Gymnasium in Kenosha.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE

• Purdue Northwest will attempt to break a five-game winless streak Thursday night at Northern Michigan before trekking west to take on the Huskies Saturday. PNW's last victory came versus Calumet College of St. Joseph on November 28 (W, 118-83).
• Since then, the Pride allowed 120 points against No. 23 Ferris State and 93 points to No. 24 Grand Valley State. 
• The Huskies met Purdue Northwest in the quarterfinals of the GLIAC Tournament last spring. Michigan Tech prevailed 74-63 at PNW Fitness Center. Dawson Bilski (graduated) led the way with 26 points and Owen White posted 14 as Tech used a strong first half to create separation. The two teams split a pair of regular season games in Houghton during the regular season with White out of the lineup.
• Five Purdue Northwest players currently average double-figure scoring totals. Junior guard Mikell Cooper (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) has been the most efficient at 18.4 points (fourth in GLIAC), shooting 39-percent from the field. Anthony Bernard averages 9.3 rebounds per game but with just six games played, does not yet qualify to lead the conference in the category.
• Boomer Roberts is in his fourth season at the helm. Roberts guide PNW to its best finish in the GLIAC last season after increasing the team's win total in each of his first three campaigns.

FOR THE HUSKIES

• The Huskies may yet to play their best basketball of the season, even with a 3-1 start to the conference schedule. Michigan Tech currently ranks eighth in points per game (75.3), third in points against (69.2), 10th in rebounding (33.2 rpg), third in assists (17.0 apg), and ninth in steals (6.5 spg). 
• All-American combo guard Owen White (Rhinelander, Wisconsin) leads the team with 17.6 points per game and an 82-percent free throw percentage. White is shooting 38.3-percent from the 3-point arc and 54-percent overall. His most notable game so far was a 25 points performance in a win over St. Cloud State on November 28. White scored 12 points and shot 4-6 versus Finlandia but was limited to 14 minutes due to sufficient scoreboard separation. 
• Junior guard Carter Johnston (Beaverton, Michigan) continues to be steady in the passing game with a team-high 4.2 assists per contest, just shy of his 5.5 assist per game average a year ago. Johnston is also just shy of his point and rebound totals from last spring.

COACH BUETTNER AT THE HELM

• For 27 seasons, Kevin Luke led the Huskies as head coach. Luke announced his retirement in April after amassing 471 career victories. He is the school's all-time winningest coach. Longtime assistant coach Josh Buettner was named head coach one day later after serving 13 seasons as assistant coach and one as associate head coach. Buettner (a former Husky all-American player) hired Ben Stelzer as assistant coach. Stelzer is another former all-American for the Huskies (2011-15) and played basketball professionally in Spain before beginning his coaching career.

PRESEASON POLL

• Michigan Tech men's basketball was selected to finish first in the GLIAC North Division this season the league announced Tuesday in its preseason coaches' poll. The Huskies begin the regular season as defending North Division Champions with four of five starters returning, including CoSIDA All-American combo guard Owen White.

North

1. Michigan Tech 56 (6)

2. Ferris State 55 (5)

3. Parkside 34

4. Lake Superior State 32

5. Northern Michigan 25

6. Purdue Northwest 23

South

1. Grand Valley State 49 (9)

2. Wayne State 42 (2)

3. Davenport 31

4. Saginaw Valley State 20

5. Northwood 18

HUSKIES AT A GLANCE

• With returning All-American combo guard Owen White and four starters back in the fold for 2021-22, Michigan Tech men's basketball hopes to again reach the NCAA Midwest Region tournament, where they fell 65-62 to Truman State in the Championship game last spring. The Huskies finished 15-8 overall, including 12-6 in the GLIAC North Division and took second place in the conference tournament.

LAST YEAR RANKS

• Last year, the Huskies ranked ninth in the conference in scoring (67.9 points), second in defense (63.7 points against), second in 3-point percentage (37.4-percent), and 10th in rebounding (31.3 rebounds).
• Tech started non-conference play with a pair of games in the Lewis Tournament November 12-13. After facing a trio of Northern Sun opponents (Minnesota Crookston, Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State), the team began GLIAC action at Northwood on December 4.