MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan men's basketball team will host Lake University on Wednesday, November 15 at 7 p.m. in the PEIF Gym, and will then head to Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday, November 18 for a 1 p.m. ET matchup with the Golden Bears. 


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Follow @NMUMensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the race. 

Wednesday, November 15 - vs. Lakeland at 7 p.m. ET
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Saturday, November 18 - at Concordia-St. Paul at 1 p.m. ET
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A Word from Matt Majkrzak
"Lakeland is really good offensively and it's a good opportunity to play fast and try to get some confidence in transition. We have to push off (Concordia's) success…they're really good and they will have a really good season."



Last Week
The Wildcats were in Wisconsin Dells this past weekend, earning a 85-75 over Upper Iowa followed by a 76-70 defeat to Missouri S&T. 

Against the Peacocks, Dylan Kuehl led the way for the 'Cats with a 19-point 13-rebound double-double, followed by Max Weisbrod with 17 points and five assists and Sam Schultz with 14 points and nine assists. 

In the matchup with the Miners, NMU led 42-32 at halftime, but were on the wrong side of a 21-2 second-half run, leading to defeat. Carson Smith led the way with 22 points. 


Cat Nips

• Athletic forward Dylan Kuehl, who made the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team as a redshirt freshman, is second on the 'Cats early on with 15.5 ppg on 23-47 (48.9%) shooting from the floor. He has been named to the GLIAC Preseason First Team this season. Kuehl played in all 33 contests last season, averaging 12.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg. He shot 55.3% from the floor, the third-best clip in the GLIAC. He also recorded seven double-doubles on the season and reached double-figures in 22 of the 33 games. 
• On the perimeter, reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year Max Weisbrod paces the team with 17.0 ppg while leading the team at four assists per game. He received Preseason Second Team honors after earning those same honors to end 2022-23. Weisbrod played in all 33 games with 25 starts, averaging 12.5 ppg while pacing the GLIAC with 5.0 apg. His five assists a contest was the second-best mark in the country among freshmen. Weisbrod reached double figures in 20 games, while reaching 10+ assists in three contests. 
• Sam Schultz was been named to the D2CCA TipOff Classic All-Tournament Team the first weekend of the season following two double-doubles. He is averaging 11.8 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game (leading the GLIAC) over NMU's four contests.
• After four games, the Wildcats are averaging 84.8 ppg while allowing 82.0 ppg. They are shooting 45.5% from the floor, 36.0% from three, and 69.7% from the charity stripe. 

Notes on Lakeland
The Muskies are 0-2 on the young season. Despite averaging 104.5 ppg, Lakeland is allowing 114.0 ppg in its two matchups. 

Cam Jaeger leads the team averaging 26.5 ppg early on, while Isaiah Hammond is averaging a double-double at 13.5 ppg and 12.0 rpg. 


Notes on Concordia St. Paul
The Golden Bears are 1-1, with a two-point loss to Newman and a two-point win over Rogers State. CSP is averaging 84.5 ppg while allowing 84.5 ppg. \

The backcourt dominates for CSP, as guard Jordan Horn leads the way early on with 21.5 ppg, while Marcus Skeete (17.5 ppg), Antwan Kimmons (14.5 ppg), and Ben Kopetzki (10.0 ppg) are also averaging double figures on the perimeter. 

CSP visited NMU last season, with the 'Cats merging victorious 90-86. Antwan Kimmons had 35 points for the Bears countered by 34 from Max Bjorklund. Brian Parzych also impressed with a 22-point performance, going 9-9 from the FT line. 


Preseason Poll
Northern received 75 votes to slot two votes back of favorite Ferris State in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. NMU picked up four first-place votes while the Bulldogs had five. Parkside, the reigning regular season, received the final first-place vote and will enter the season at No. 4 in the Preseason Poll. 

1 Ferris State - 77 (5)
2 Northern Michigan - 75 (4)
3 Grand Valley State - 61
4 Parkside - 50 (1)
5 Michigan Tech - 45
6 Saginaw Valley State - 41
7 Davenport - 35
7 Lake Superior State - 35
9 Wayne State - 20
10 Purdue Northwest - 11


New Faces on the Sideline
Matt Majkrzak has added two new faces to the sideline for the new campaign. Keil Ganz reunites with Majkrzak after  serving as Majkrzak's first assistant back in 2019. Ganz previously worked as the Director of Operations at the University of Southern Indiana (USI) in the Ohio Valley Conference as they transitioned to the Division 1 level. 

Luke Mattson has also been added on as an assistant coach. Mattson is coming off of a four-year playing career in college with a couple of stops and this is his first collegiate coaching stint after coaching three years of AAU.


A Historic 2022-23 Season
Northern finished 2022-23 with a 25-8 record, the most wins in program history.

The Wildcats, the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament a season ago, defeated No. 6 Saginaw Valley State in the quarterfinals, No. 2 and host Ferris State in the semifinals, and No. 8 Michigan Tech in the championship to capture the program's first tournament title since 2000. NMU then defeated Hillsdale in the NCAA Tournament before falling to McKendree, a team they beat to open last season, in the Round of 32.

After losing senior standout Max Bjorklund who led the GLIAC with 21.1 ppg, the Wildcats will turn to the young up-and-comers for success this season. NMU averaged 80.4 ppg last season and will carry over 60% of that scoring into this season.