Huskies Men’s Hoops Open Conference Play Thursday & Saturday

• Josh Buettner Press Conference | 12.5.23

HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's basketball team returns from a week off of competition, playing host to Saginaw Valley and Wayne State to open GLIAC play. The Huskies will face Saginaw Valley Thursday (Dec. 7) at 7:30 p.m. and Wayne State Saturday (Dec. 9) at 3 p.m.

Watch the Huskies 

All home and GLIAC games will be streamed on FloSports. With one subscription, Michigan Tech fans can watch all home and conference games in volleyball, basketball, football, soccer, and hockey. FloSports provides each subscriber access to all content and events by purchasing a monthly or yearly subscription. Subscriptions are offered in two different billing packages - monthly and annual. Discounts are available for students enrolled at GLIAC member and associate member institutions. You must subscribe with a .edu email address to be eligible. FloSports is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Chromecast.

About the Cardinals

Saginaw Valley is on a five-game win streak for an overall record of 5-2, most recently handling Alma 91-59 on Friday (Dec. 1). The Cardinals have a notable win over No. 5 Indianapolis on Nov. 16.

The non-conference portion of SVSU's schedule was a combination of GMAC opponents and unfamiliar foes from NAIA, DIII and the NCCAA.

The Cardinals are averaging 86.3 points per game on 50 percent from the field while holding the opposition to a stingy 66.3 points per game. SVSU averages 21.14 fast break points per game, ranking 8th-best in the country. Additionally, the Cardinals are averaging a staggering 44.71 rebounds per game, which also ranks top-10 in the nation. Saginaw Valley is also good at guarding the perimeter, holding opponents to just 26.5 from 3-point range.

SVSU has two players with over 110 points this season Tre Garrett and Toodles Seal. Seal leads the Cardinals with 18.3 points per game, with Garrett close behind with 15.9. In total, Saginaw Valley has five players in double-figure scoring in addition to Seal and Garrett--Freddie McIntosh (13.0), Maurice Barnett (11.2) and Kevonne Taylor (10.7). 

Seal leads the team in rebounds with 6.5 per game, with Garrett chipping in 5.7 per outing. Curtis Jackson facilitates the Cardinals offense with a team-leading 5.3 assists per game.

Randy Baruth is in his 12th season at the helm of the Cardinals. 

About the Warriors

Wayne State is 4-2 through the first six games, riding a four-game win streak with its most recent win over Tiffin 74-69 on Saturday (Dec. 2).

The Warriors are averaging 76.3 points per game at a clip of 49.7 percent from the field. WSU has a well-rounded offense, with its entire starting lineup averaging over 10 points per game, being led by Camerlo Harris with 15.3 points per outing.

Jay Williams does it all for the Warriors, logging 34:07 minutes per game while averaging a team-leading 8.5 rebounds per outing to go with 11.5 points. Matt Coffey is averaging 10.6 points per game on 61.8 percent shooting while adding 7.4 rebounds a game.

Williams has also received notice from the conference office, being named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week for the last two weeks. 

Colin Golson Jr. is the Warriors third-best scorer with 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per outing.

WSU averages 17.8 3-point attempts per game, with Carmelo Harris taking a team-leading seven 3-pointers per game, making 2.17 per outing.

Bryan Smothers is in his second year at the helm of the Warriors.

About the Huskies 

Michigan Tech enters the week with a 1-5 standing, most recently falling to No. 16 Minnesota Duluth 85-70 (Nov. 25) and No. 9 MSU Moorhead 85-77 (Nov. 26). Through six games, the Huskies have had three games decided by six points or less.

Sophomore guard Marcus Tomashek has been impressive for Michigan Tech through six games, averaging 24.5 points per game, which ranks first in the GLIAC by over five points and places him fifth in the country.

MTU averages 75 points on 43.1 percent from the field. However, the Huskies' opposition is scoring 79.5 points per outing at a clip of 47.2. Michigan Tech has also struggled in the rebound battle, averaging 32.7 rebounds per outing with a negative rebound margin, showing MTU's opponents averaging 37.5 rebounds. 

The Huskies have found success at the charity stripe, averaging almost 20 free throws per game with 14.7 free-throw makes both rank second in the league.

Although the season average for turnovers per game is 11.8, the Huskies had a season-low six turnovers in the loss against No. 9 MSU Moorhead. MTU also had 44 points in the paint, with Dawson Nordgaard and Tyler Robarge chipping in 24 points off the bench. Nordgaard posted 14 points and four rebounds, while Robarge accounted for 10 points and three rebounds, along with 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

Pete Calcaterra played his best game this season against the Dragons, scoring a season-high 20 points on 8-of-15 from the field and six rebounds. His 6.8 rebounds per outing is a team-high.