Huskies Men’s Hoops Welcomes Ranked Opponents Saturday & Sunday

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's basketball team is set to host nationally-ranked opponents No. 16 Minnesota Duluth Saturday and No. 9 MSU Moorhead Sunday. Both games are slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff at the SDC Gymnasium.  

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About the Bulldogs

Minnesota Duluth enters the weekend with a record of 3-1 to start the season. The Bulldogs have been among the Top-25 from the jump, most recently being tabbed 16th. UMD is on a two-game win streak after concluding the GAC/NSIC Crossover Classic in a 62-58 loss against East Central.

Since then, the Bulldogs bullied Parkside (90-66) and Davenport (105-62) to sweep the Parkside Classic on Nov. 17-18. UMD returns NABC All-Region player Drew Blair, averaging 21.5 points per game at a clip of .525 from the field.

Minnesota Duluth is pouring on 82.5 points on 52.8 percent from the field as a team. The Bulldogs' dominance extends to the glass, outrebounding opponents 38.3 to 27.5. The rebounding margin ranks 17th in the country. Similarly, UMD takes care of the ball with under 10 turnovers per game.

Austin Andrews leads the Bulldogs with six rebounds per outing, chipping in 12.8 points in 24.8 minutes. Andrews is lethal with the ball, having one of the best field goal percentages in the country at a clip of .688.

Blair is an issue for opponents on both ends, as he averages a teaming-leading 2.25 steals per game.

Justin Wieck is in his fifth season at the helm of the Bulldogs.

About the Dragons

MSU Moorhead has gone under the radar to open the season 4-0, most recently entering the NABC Coaches' Top-25, checking in at the No. 9 slot. The Dragons have notable wins over MIAA affiliate Washburn and RMAC foe Black Hills State, ranked 17th when they defeated them (86-72) on Nov. 18.

The Dragons are averaging 83.3 points per outing, with four players averaging double-figure scoring, being led by Jacob Beeninga with 22.5 per game. Dane Zimmer is the second-best scorer for MSU Moorhead with 14 points per game and a team-high 9.5 rebounds.

Moorhead is averaging an impressive 25.8 free throw attempts per game while going 72.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Dragons also take care of the ball well with a stingy 7.5 turnovers per game, which ranks third in the nation.

The duo of Zimmer and Beeninga are the heart of the Dragons with Zimmer amassing two double-doubles as Beeninga has gone 27-for-30 from the charity stripe.

Head Coach Tim Bergstraser is in his second season at the helm of the Dragons, who were predicted to finish fourth in the NSIC.

About the Huskies 

Michigan Tech is four games into its season with an overall record of 1-3, with two of the four games being decided by three points. Most recently, the Huskies fell 64-61 on the road against St. Cloud State (Nov. 21).

MTU saw Marcus Tomashek score his third 20-point game of the season with 21 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Nate Abel (11) and Tyler Robarge (10) also contributed double-figure scoring off the bench to combine with Tomashek for 42 of the team's 61 total points.

Additionally, St. Cloud State saw freshman Anish Ramlall score 22 points, while the Huskies had a season-high 46 rebounds as a team.

The Huskies are averaging 75.8 points per game compared to the opponent's 76.8 while also being outrebounded by opponents 34.25 to 39.

However, the Black & Gold are averaging 15.8 assists per game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.24, both ranking top-four in the GLIAC. Josh Terrian averages 3.8 assists per game to lead the team with 15 on the season.

Michigan Tech is also averaging 8.8 3-pointers per game, as Tomashek averages 3.25 per game to go with 25.5 points per game on an astonishing 50 percent from the field.

One Last Thing

Tyler Robarge and Nate Abel are averaging over nine points a piece off the bench through four games this season. Robarge produced a season-high 13 points on 5-for-6 from the field in the win against USML (Nov. 18), while Abel went 7-for-16 for 17 points against Upper Iowa (Nov. 11).