Men's basketball to face UMD in NSIC opener

DULUTH, MINN. – The St. Cloud State University men's basketball team seems to have hit its stride in its last few games. The Huskies are currently riding a two game win streak thanks to some impressive play against Waldorf College and Dakota Wesleyan University. This weekend, St. Cloud State hopes this trend continues, as the team travels to face the University of Minnesota-Duluth in its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opener.

This will be the second consecutive season the Huskies and Bulldogs will face off in their respective NSIC openers, and things did not exactly go St. Cloud State's way last season. Despite double digit performances by Gage Davis, Sean Smith, Diamond Onwuka (Barcelona, Spain / Canarias Basketball Academy) and Adam Heede-Andersen, foul trouble resulted in a 91-81 victory by Minnesota-Duluth, forcing the Huskies to open the NSIC season with a 0-1 record.

St. Cloud State may also face a non-Bulldog related opponent in the weather Saturday afternoon. The cities of St. Cloud and Duluth are expected to get hit by a major snowstorm this week, making it the perfect setting for the NSIC basketball opener. Should the weather hold off, the men's game is projected to start at 4 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's game.

Fans who are unable to make the trek to Duluth, Minnesota can follow the team online in a mired of ways, including via live stats and video. They can also tune in to WJON 1390's live broadcast, featuring the one and only JW Cox, and follow score updates on the team's official Twitter page (@SCSUmensbball).

Here are the five things to know before the Huskies conference opener:

2 – St. Cloud State is currently looking to snap its two game losing streak against the Bulldogs. In addition to the NSIC opening loss last season, the Huskies also suffered a 75-60 loss in Duluth last season. In fact, Minnesota-Duluth was the only team to sweep St. Cloud State in NSIC play last season, as the Huskies split with Northern State and Minnesota-Crookston and swept all other NSIC North teams.

19.7/19.0 – If St. Cloud State wants to win on Saturday, the team is going to have to find a way to stop Minnesota-Duluth's dual scoring threat of Alex Illikainen and Brandon Myer. Through six games, the two are averaging 19.7 and 19.0 points per game respectively and have both been named the NSIC North Player of the Week this season. Currently Illikainen ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, as he's averaging 19.7 points per game while scoring 118. Myer currently ranks sixth with his impressive 19.0 points per game average and is a preseason contender for NSIC Player of the Year honors.

62.7 – Defense has not been an issue for the Huskies this season, as they've held their opponents to just 376 points in six games this season for an impressive 62.7 opponent points per game average. St. Cloud State is also coming off an extremely offensive weekend, as the team scored a combined 169 points against two strong teams from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

20.5 – No one was hotter last week than senior guard Trevon Marshall (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township) who averaged a career high 20.5 points in two games against the Warriors and Tigers. In the team's week opener against Waldorf, Marshall scored a team-leading 18 points on 8-12 shooting and added four rebounds, three assists and one block in the victory. He was even better, though, in a clutch 75-71 win over Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday. After his 18 point performance, Marshall scored 23 against the Tigers while shooting 10-19 from the floor and 1-2 from three-point range.

99 – Head coach Matt Reimer could become the sixth coach in program history with 100 career wins on Saturday, as last week's win over Dakota Wesleyan helped Reimer clinch career win 99. Other Huskies coaches to have achieved the feat? Warren Kasch (119), Red Severson (209), Noel Olson (155), Butch Raymond (231) and Reimer's predecessor Kevin Schlagel (341).

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Players Mentioned

Gage Davis

Adam Heede-Andersen

Trevon Marshall

Diamond Onwuka

Sean Smith

Saint Cloud State University Athletics