PREVIEW: Huskies back in action Thursday

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Michigan Tech men's basketball hosts Northwood University at SDC Gymnasium on Thursday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m. The Huskies (11-5, 7-3 GLIAC) then travels to Marquette on Monday, January 31 to play rival Northern Michigan. Tech enters the week in second place in the GLIAC North Division, behind undefeated Ferris State (13-3, 8-0). The Huskies picked up a 98-75 victory over the Timberwolves on December 4. Both games can be heard on Mix 93.5 FM.

The Huskies are the conference's best defensive team, boasting 66.1 points against per game.

LAST TIME OUT

• Eric Carl led the Huskies from the 3-point arc and Trent Bell notched his fourth double-double as Michigan Tech defeated Davenport 73-61 at SDC Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Carl went 4-for-5 from long range and 7-for-9 from the floor for 18 points, along with six rebounds.
• Bell totaled 18 points and 16 rebounds with a team-high five steals as the Huskies maintained the lead through the second half to move to 11-5, 7-3 GLIAC, snapping a two-game losing skid. Davenport fell to 7-6 overall, 3-3 in the GLIAC.
• "One of our points of emphasis was to focus on being the aggressor in physical games and I thought we did that today," said head coach Josh Buettner. "We took a lot of extra time this week to prepare against Davenport's zone defense in order to get open looks. We missed a couple of outside shots early in the second half and our guys made a great adjustment getting the ball inside the paint and driving in hard to put pressure on the defense. I thought we executed well both against the zone and then man-to-man. I was really proud of Eric for getting to the rim and attacking the basket. Then with Trent, this is exactly the type of game he loves. It was nice to see him rewarded for his effort tonight."

BELL REELS IN REBOUNDS

• Senior forward Trent Bell (Negaunee, Mich.)posted 18 points, 16 rebounds, five steals, and three assists Saturday in a win over Davenport. It was Bell's fourth double-double of the year and he became the first Husky to grab 15 or more rebounds in a game since Kyle Monroe hauled in 15 on January 23, 2016 against Saginaw Valley State. 
• With 8.0 rebounds per game, Bell ranks third in the GLIAC for the category behind only GVSU's Jake Van Tubbergen (10.1) and Wayne State's Avery Lewis (8.1). Last year, Bell averaged 7.7 boards, fifth best in the conference.
• He scored a career-high 21 points last Thursday against Saginaw Valley State with 10 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE TIMBERWOLVES

• Northwood has not won since December 2 (W, 81-72 vs. Northern Michigan). The start of the team's losing streak came on December 4 against Michigan Tech (L, 98-75). Owen White scored 22 points with 7 rebounds and eight assists. The Huskies led 51-35 at halftime and shot 60-percent from the field, stretching the lead to as many as 27 in the second half. DeSean Munson had 18 points and seven boards for NU.
• The Timberwolves score at a good rate of 72.8 points per game but allow 71.0 points to opponents. NU also shooting 44.4-percent and 39-percent from beyond the arc.
• Senior guard Jack Ammerman (Ann Arbor, Mich.) set a school record for free throw percentage in 2019-20 at 92.7-percent. This year, Ammerman leads the team with 18.5 points per game to go with 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He has six games of 20 or more points, including 33 at Saginaw Valley State on December 9.
• Lonnie Griffin was named head coach in April of 2020. The Timberwolves went 6-12 in 2020-21. Ammerman was named second team all-GLIAC

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• Northern Michigan split last week with a 91-79 win over Davenport, followed by a 79-67 loss to Grand Valley State. Justin Brookens led the Wildcats with 17 points Saturday with four assists and four rebounds. John Kerr also had a strong outing with 16 points and five rebounds. NMU scored 34 bench points in the loss.
• The Huskies defeated the Wildcats 77-76 in Houghton on December 6. Adam Hobson scored a career-high 22 points the Huskies committed just three first-half turnovers. The Wildcats'  Trey Harvey heaved in a shot from behind the half court line at the final buzzer to close NMU to one point of a tie.
• Senior guard Max Bjorklund (Orono, Minn.) scored 15.2 points per game and Kerr (Lake Villa, Ill.) uses his 6-foot-7-inch frame to gather 7.0 rebounds for the Wildcats.
• Matt Majkrzak has been head coach since 2019. The Wildcats went 8-8 during the 2020-21 regular season and NMU committed the fewest turnovers in the league to finish tied for second in the GLIAC North Division.

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 began 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 started GLIAC action at Northwood on December 4.
• The Huskies have a pair of four-game win streaks this season.

NORTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Anthony Bernard - Purdue Northwest

• Junior forward Anthony Maynard (Kokomo, Ind.) averaged 17.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in leading the Pride to home wins over Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State. In a 91-82 victory over the Cardinals, he scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. In PNW's 93-75 win versus Wayne State, Maynard posted 21 points and seven rebounds. Maynard leads the Pride in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and ranks second in scoring (14.8 ppg).

SOUTH DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jake Van Tubbergen - Grand Valley State

• Senior forward Jake Van Tubbergen (Holland, Mich.) averaged over 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds (9.5) a game to lead the Lakers to a pair of road wins in the Upper Peninsula; the first time GVSU has swept Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech since 2010.
• Against the Huskies, Van Tubbergen totaled 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in an 80-74 victory. Versus the Wildcats, he posted a double-double, recording 23 points and 11 rebounds.

HONORABLE MENTION 

NORTH: Walt Kelser (FSU), Eric Carl (MTU), Vinson Sigmon (Parkside)

SOUTH: Brailen Neely (WSU), Darnell Hoskins Jr. (SVSU), Jarrin Randall (DU)