PREVIEW: Huskies host Wildcats in GLIAC Semifinals

HOUGHTON, Mich. - No. 2 seed Michigan Tech men's basketball (21-6, 17-4) hosts No. 3 seed Northern Michigan (17-11, 12-8) in the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament Saturday, March 5 at 12 p.m. at SDC Gymnasium. Northern State defeated Lake Superior State on Wednesday. The Huskies won a share of the GLIAC regular season championship, matching records with Ferris State, and posted 20 wins for the ninth time in program history. 

Michigan Tech has won 11 of its last 12 games heading into the postseason. Fans can hear Wednesday's men's basketball game on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ with the voice of the Huskies, Mitch Lake. The Huskies swept the regular season series 2-0 against Northern Michigan by a combined margin of three points.

Michigan Tech is hosting the remainder of the men's tournament. The second GLIAC Semifinal game between No. 4 seed Saginaw Valley State and No. 8 seed Davenport is scheduled for 2 p.m. at SDC Gymnasium.

LAST TIME OUT

• Owen White tallied 20 points and Trent Bell notched a double-double to help No. 2 seed Michigan Tech to a 66-53 home win over No. 7 seed Wisconsin Parkside in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday night at SDC Gymnasium.
• The Huskies trailed 32-30 at halftime but went on a 13-2 run at the midway point of the second half to pull away from the Rangers.
• As the highest remaining seed in the tournament, Tech earned the right to host the semifinals and championship games in Houghton this weekend.
• The Huskies out-rebounded the Rangers 36-31 and shot 48.2-percent from the field (27-56). Bell put away 3-5 from long range and ended with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and a pair of steals. White crossed the 20 point threshold for the 10th time this season and added five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. He was efficient on the floor, making 8 of 16 shots, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.
• Carter Johnston also vaulted into double-figures with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Tech passed 16 assists as a team and committed 12 turnovers.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

• NMU extended their win streak to eight in the GLIAC semifinals on Wednesday, defeating Lake Superior State 99-94 in overtime.
• Nick Wagner led the team with 22 points.
• Max Bjorklund added 19, John Kerr had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Brian Parzych added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. 
• Max Bjorklund leads the GLIAC in 3PT percentage, converting at a clip of 46.7%. 
• Bjorklund leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 per game, which is good for 8th in the GLIAC.
• John Kerr (12.4) and Justin Brookens (11.3) are also averaging double-figures for the 'Cats. 
• John Kerr owns a 57.4 shooting percentage (128-223), good for 3rd in the GLIAC.
• John Kerr, who owns 83 offensive rebounds and 142 on the defensive side, leads the Wildcats on the glass with 225 total boards.
• NMU averages over 80 PPG, good for second in the GLIAC.

OWEN WHITE BACK-TO-BACK GLIAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Sr. – Rhinelander, Wis. – G/F) 

• White became the fourth Michigan Tech men's basketball player in GLIAC history to win conference player of the year in back-to-back seasons, joining Husky greats Matt Cameron ('03, 04'), Josh Buettner ('04, '05), and Ali Haider ('13, '14).
• White led the Huskies with 17.1 points per game, including 10 games of 20 or more points. He shot 48.7-percent from the field, including 36.6-percent from 3-point range. He also averaged 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks.
• He also recorded three double-doubles and put up a season-high 25 points at St. Cloud State on November 28. White was named GLIAC North Division Player of the Week twice in 2021-22. He has been recognized five times in his distinguished career. Last season, White was on the NABC Honors Court, NABC All-American, First Team All-Midwest District, GLIAC First Team, All-GLIAC Defensive Team, and CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team.
• White has been named to the GLIAC All-Defensive team in each of the past three seasons. He has twice been a member of the GLIAC All-Tournament team, and twice been a first team All-GLIAC honoree.
• His 1,542 career points currently ranks 12th on the Michigan Tech all-time chart.

TRENT BELL IS ALL-GLIAC FIRST TEAM/ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM (Sr. – Negaunee, Mich. – F) 

• Bell was named first-team all-GLIAC and all-GLIAC defensive team. He averages a league-high 1.8 steals per game in 27 starts this season and has amassed the fifth-highest number of single-season steals in Tech history, currently at 48.
• He also leads the team and ranks second in the league in rebounds (8.4 rpg) with nine double-doubles. Bell has been named GLIAC North Division Player of the Week and posted a season-high 24 points at Davenport on February 10.
• Last season, Bell started all 23 games and finished fifth in the league in rebounds. He holds the Michigan Tech all-time record for career games played (135).

CARTER JOHNSTON NAMED TO GLIAC ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM (Sr. – Beaverton, Mich. – G)

• Johnston averages 4.6 assists per game (2nd – GLIAC). His 123 total assists trails only Ferris State's Jimmy Schooler (134) and passed his own league-leading total last year. In 2020-21, Johnston led the Huskies with 5.5 assists per game.
• He has 324 career assists, which is up to fifth all-time among Huskies.
• His father, Jeff Johnston is the MTU record holder with 597 career assists. Johnston is frequently tasked with guarding the opposing team's top small players.
• He also contributes on offense with five games in double-figures.

JOSH BUETTNER WINS GLIAC COACH OF THE YEAR 

• Coach Buettner earned GLIAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Huskies to a 21-6 overall record in his first season at the helm.
• The Huskies won a share of the GLIAC Regular Season Championship after finishing 16-4 in conference games.
• Tech held an impressive 10-2 road record, which included a streak of five straight road wins and nine wins overall through the first half of February.
• After 13 seasons as assistant coach of the Huskies, Buettner was promoted to Associate Head Coach last season and helped the Huskies make a run to the NCAA Midwest Region Championship.
• This season, Michigan Tech boasts the league's stingiest defense, averaging 64.8 points against, which ranks 19th in Division II.

NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

• This Wednesday, the Huskies stayed at No. 6 in the NCAA Midwest Region.
• Tech received national votes in last week's NCAA Division II National Rankings poll for the third straight week. 
• The last time Michigan Tech was ranked inside the nation's top 25 was in 2014.
• The top eight teams in the region qualify for the NCAA Midwest Region tournament. Conference tournament winners gain automatic bids to the tournament.

PRESEASON POLL

• Michigan Tech men's basketball was selected to finish first in the GLIAC North Division this season the league announced 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.

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 three, four-game win streaks this season and a season-high nine-game win streak which ended in overtime to No. 25 ranked Ferris State on February 24. Michigan Tech celebrated the careers of six seniors at SDC Gymnasium on Saturday, February 19.