This Week in Men’s Basketball...

Upper Iowa enters the final weekend of regular season play this weekend in need of a pair of wins to keep their hopes of a berth in the NSIC/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament.  Fortunately, UIU hosts the final two games of the scheduled season inside Dorman Gym as Bemidji State visits Fayette on Friday before Minnesota Duluth makes the trip on Saturday.  Tipoff for both games is set for 8 p.m.

UIU is currently in a five-way race for the eighth seed in the postseason tournament.  UIU, Southwest Minnesota State, Wayne State, UMD and Northern State all have a chance to qualify for the tournament entering the final weekend of play.

Scouting the Beavers

The Bemidji State Beavers have been mathematically eliminated from the NSIC/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament as they enter the final weekend of the regular season with a 9-15 record overall which includes a 6-14 mark in NSIC play.  However, the Beavers have won two of their last four games which includes a 84-66 victory over Southwest Minnesota State last Friday night.

BSU has five players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by James Ellisor’s 17.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Ellisor is also shooting 58.1% from the floor while taking 279 shots this season.

The Beavers are the best free throw shooting team in the NSIC (79.8%) and second best field goal shooting team in the league (47.7%) while having the fourth-best scoring output in the NSIC this season by scoring 76.2 points per game.

Scouting the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth are, along with Upper Iowa, in a five-team race for the eighth and final slot in the NSIC/Sanford Health Men’s Basketball Tournament as they enter the weekend two games behind eighth place Southwest Minnesota State with a 9-15 record overall and a 7-13 league mark.  The Bulldogs lost both contests last weekend as they played Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State at home.

UMD have the second best free throw percentage in the NSIC (77.9%) but allow opponents to shoot 482% from the field while allowing the most points to be scored in the league with 77.7 points per game.

The Bulldogs are led by Ryan Rasmussen’s 18.6 points per game and is making 44.2% of his shots from the floor this season.

Series History

Since transitioning to NCAA Division II, Upper Iowa is 2-3 against Minnesota Duluth and 5-3 when playing Bemidji State.

The Last Meeting

Upper Iowa last met Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth during the second NSIC weekend of the season on the road.  Upper Iowa defeated the Beavers of Bemidji State, 83-80 on December 11 in Bemidji, Minnesota.

The night before, the Peacocks lost their second NSIC contest of the season to Minnesota Duluth, 73-71 in Duluth, Minnesota.