Aberdeen, S.D. – The No. 11 Northern State University men's basketball team will tip off with the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the Sanford Health/NSIC Basketball Tournament. The game will be played from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
 
The Northern State University men's basketball team enters the quarterfinal round of the Sanford Health/NSIC Basketball Tournament with a 28-3 record overall. The Wolves opened the week with a No. 11 ranking in the NABC Top-25 Poll and No. 2 ranking in the NCAA Central Region. NSU is coming off an 80-52 victory against Concordia-St. Paul, where five players scored in double figures and the Wolves shot at a 53.2 percent clip. Head Coach Paul Sather was named the NSIC Coach of the Year, while Ian Smith was named to the NSIC All-Conference first team, and Darin Peterka, DJ Pollard, and Logan Doyle were named to the All-Conference second team. Northern State won both the NSIC Overall and North Division Conference Championships, notching the first overall title since 2002-03 and first division title in program history.
 
The Wolves are shooting 50.7 percent from the floor, 39.4 percent from the arc, and 74.8 percent from the foul line this season. They are averaging 80.1 points, 37.1 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 11.3 turnovers, 5.4 steals, and 4.0 blocks per game, out-scoring their opponents by 15.2 points and out-rebounding their opponents by 8.4 boards. The Wolves finished the regular season leading the NSIC in scoring defense (66.8), scoring margin (+14.6), field goal percentage defense (43.5), and rebounding margin (+9.3).
 
DJ Pollard leads five averaging double figures at 12.7 points per game, followed by Logan Doyle notching 12.3, Darin Peterka and Ian Smith recording 12.0, and Carter Evans adding 10.3. Doyle leads the team shooting 67.3 percent from the floor and averaging 7.1 rebounds per game, followed by Evans shooting 61.2 percent from the field and 5.4 rebounds per game. Peterka has knocked down a team high 50 3-pointers this season and is shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc. Smith has amassed 127 assists in 2017-18, averaging 4.1 per game.
 
About the Bulldogs
                • Minnesota Duluth enters the match-up with a 12-17 record overall, after upsetting Winona State in the first round of the tournament.
                • The Bulldogs are shooting 42.0 percent from the floor, 34.8 percent from the arc, and 75.3 percent from the foul line, while averaging 70.5 points, 32.8 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 9.6 turnovers, 4.8 steals, and 2.9 blocks per game in 2017-18.
                • UMD is being out-scored by their opponents by 4.7 points and out-rebounded by their opponents by 2.1 boards per game.
                • Brandon Myer and Logan Rohrscheib lead the team averaging 20.0 and 12.1 points per game, while Myer also notching a team high 7.8 rebounds per game.
                • Myer is shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from the 3-point line to lead the team.
                • Trevor Entwisle has dished out a team high 109 assists this season, averaging 3.8 per game.
                • Duluth is led by head coach Matt Bowen in his sixth season at the helm.
 
Last Match-Up
                • The Wolves defeated the Bulldogs 92-71 and 65-46 in regular season play.
                • Pollard and Doyle led the team in the game one win with 16 points apiece, as six Wolves scored in double figures.
                • Peterka led the team from Wachs Arena with 17 points, shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.
                • The Wolves are 36-40 all-time against Minnesota Duluth, winning the last five contests.