MARQUETTE, Mich. - Coming off of a GLIAC Tournament title and reaching the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament last season, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team opens up the new campaign at the Lubbock Tip-Off Classic in Lubbock, Texas with non-conference tilts against the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm and the Lubbock Christian Chaps.

The 'Cats will matchup with the Savage Storm on Saturday, November 4 at 3:30 p.m. before battling host Lubbock Christian on Sunday, November 5 at 8:30 p.m. 


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

Saturday, November 4 - vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State (Lubbock, Texas) at 3:30 p.m. ET
Watch  |  Live Stats

Sunday, November 5 - at Lubbock Christian at 8:30 p.m. ET
Watch  |  Live Stats


A Word from Matt Majkrzak
"We're not going to get much better competition that two teams of this quality, and it will be really healthy for us early on to see where we're at. Coming off a season of success, we want to find out where we stack up against some of the best teams nationally."




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. 


Cat Nips

• Athletic forward Dylan Kuehl, who made the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team as a redshirt freshman, has been named to the GLIAC Preseason First Team. 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 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. 
• Joining Weisbrod at the guard position will be Brian Parzych. He battled through injury last season, playing in 19 games and averaging 10.7 ppg. Parzych reached double figures in 10 games last season and will look to step into an even bigger scoring role this season. Redshirt junior Carson Smith will also play a role on the wing after playing in all 33 contests and scoring seven points/game in 2022-23. 
• For a team with no true seniors, NMU will look beyond Kuehl, Weisbrod, and Parzych for significant contributions. Under the basket, Sam Schultz (7.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg), Sam Privet (5.6 ppg and 2.6 rpg), Jackson Dudek (4.7 ppg), and Najashi Tolefree (4.0 ppg) are all back after playing in big roles a season ago. The returning core will be accompanied by five freshmen. 6'6 wing Riley Brooks will look to play a big role in his first season for the Wildcats after receiving First Team All-State honors in high school. 

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


Notes on Southeastern Oklahoma State
The Savage Storm enter the 2023-24 season as the favorites to win the Great American Conference (GAC). SOSU return seven its of top eight scorers from last season in which they went 18-10. 

Jet Sternberger earned First Team All-GAC honors last season after averaging 17.3 ppg while shooting 46.7% from the floor. Brennen Burns earned Second Team conference recognition a season ago with 15.5 ppg and 4.8 apg. Two more Savage Storm, Kody Clouet and Kyle Leslie, are also back after each eclipsing 11 ppg last year. 


Notes on Lubbock Christian
The Chaps have been picked to finish fourth in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Preseason Poll. LCU is coming off of a 19-12 season in which they reached the NCAA Tournament. 

Lubbock Christian returns Najeeb Muhammad, a preaseon Player to Watch in the LSC. He averaged 10.1 ppg to go along with 4.2 apg. Aaron Gonzales (8.6 ppg) and Kurt Wegscheider (8.2 ppg) will also look to take on a bigger role in the offense. 


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.