MARQUETTE, Mich. - For the second consecutive weekend, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team will make the 305 mile trip from Marquette to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Just one game is on tap for the 'Cats this weekend, as they'll take on the Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars on Saturday, November 16 at 4 p.m. ET. 

Both teams will arrive at the Waterpark Capital with an unblemished record, as Northern defeated Maryville and Missouri-St. Louis in the opening weekend while UIS defeated GLIAC opponents Roosevelt and Parkside. 


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Saturday, November 16 - vs. Illinois-Springfield at 4 p.m. ET
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A Word from Matt Majkrzak
"It was such a unique and fun coaching experience playing 10 guys and subbing in and out. We didn't play well at any point, but we won both games and it spoke to their level of how hard they played and how unselfish they were." 



About the 'Cats
The Wildcats were victorious over Maryville 78-59 and Missouri-St. Louis 77-63 last weekend. 

Balanced, unselfish play was the calling card for the 'Cats in the opening weekend. In the opener vs. Maryville, all ten 'Cats scored and grabbed a rebound, and nine of the ten recorded an assist. Against UMSL, all ten scored again with each contributing an assist and nine of the ten grabbing a rebound. 

Early on, Brian Parzych (14.0) and Julien Smith (12.5) lead the way in scoring, while Dylan Kuehl, Sam Privet, Gerald Gittens Jr., Biggie Luster, and Brandon Trilli are all averaging at least 7.0 points per game as well. 

Now in his sixth season at the helm, Matt Majkrzak is looking to bring the 'Cats to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament after his teams have earned a spot in the big dance in back-to-back seasons. The last two seasons have been two of the best in program history. In 2022-23, Northern captured its first GLIAC Tournament title since 2000. The Wildcats went 25-8 that year, the most wins in program history, and made it to the Round of 32. Last year, the Green and Gold followed it up with a 22-11 season that saw them win the GLIAC regular season title for the first time since the 1992-93 season with a regular season conference record of 14-4. 

Majkrzak is the reigning GLIAC Coach of the Year. In his six+ seasons, NMU has gone 88-56 (.611) including a 47-19 (.712) mark over the last two. Last year, Majkrzak and the Wildcats hosted the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 1992-93. He is only the second leader of the program to be named conference Coach of the Year, joining Dean Ellis in 1993. For a team that dealt with injuries all season long a year ago, Majkrzak continued to make it work for the Green and Gold, plugging and playing different lineups with seemingly no interruptions. The Wildcats also tied the longest winning streak in program history last year at 13 games, originally set in 1984-85. NMU averaged 79.2 points/game and allowed 76.7 last year. 

On the court, NMU fields a 17-player roster. Of those, only six players return to the lineup who saw playing time with the Wildcats a season ago. Losing GLIAC Player of the Year Max Weisbrod to Division I Northern Iowa will be a lot to overcome, but forward Dylan Kuehl and his freakish athleticism will certainly be up to the task. 

Kuehl has been named to the GLIAC Preseason First Team after being a key player for Northern's recent success. He was named to the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team in each of his two seasons, as well as earning a spot on the NABC All-District Second Team last year. In his career, Kuehl is averaging 14.3 points/game. He is closing in on the 1,000 career point milestone with 929 points. The Iron Ridge, Wisconsin native is also averaging 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks over his two seasons while shooting 52.2% from the floor. Last year, he finished first in the GLIAC with 161 made field goals and fourth on the glass with 163 total rebounds.

In the backcourt, NMU added a quartet of guards in Julien Smith (Missouri S&T), Gerald Gittens (Mary), Derek Merwick (Midland), and Biggie Luster (Clarke) in the transfer portal. Smith is amongst the nation's returning scoring leaders as he's mustered 1,623 career points (15.9 ppg) over his four seasons at Missouri S&T while Gittens averaged 13.8 ppg last year at the University of Mary. These guards will join Brian Parzych who is the established veteran in the backcourt. Parzych has averaged 10.6 points/game and over the last two seasons and 3 assists/game over his career, as the three guards that are expected to lead the way in the backcourt. 

Majkrzak will also look to returning bigs Sam Privet and Jackson Dudek, as well as redshirt freshman Peter Lattos to step into a bigger role than they held in 2023-24.

Northern has added four freshmen to the fold in Michael McNabb, Cody Schmitz, Jonny Ingalls, and Isaiah Allen. The four combined for a remarkable 8,216 career points in high school and the class will look fit right in with the veterans around them. 


A Look at Illinois-Springfield
The Prairie Stars are coming off of a 93-76 win over Roosevelt and 60-43 victory over Parkside. Senior guard Max Kunnert found double figures in each game and leads the team at 17.0 points per game. Tye Banks, Khalil Ross, and Jack Weber are also averaging double figures through the first weekend. 

UIS has made half of its three-point attempts (14-28) after two games and are 47.2% from the field. In addition, they are limiting teams to 41.2% from the floor and 25.0% from beyond the arc. 

Springfield has had a winning record in each of the last two seasons, going 18-13 a year ago. Returning three of its top four scorers from 2023-24, high expectations have been placed on UIS, as they've been picked to finish 2nd in the GLVC.


A New Home
The 2024-25 squad will be the first to play in a new home, as Vandament Arena, previously the exclusive home to NMU volleyball, has been renovated and will now be the stomping grounds for both basketball teams in addition to volleyball. The project created a larger court area, four-sided stadium seating for about 1,500, a modernized look, and two state-of-the-art scoreboards. 


GLIAC Preseason Poll
1. Lake Superior State, 98 (9)
2. Ferris State, 88 (1)
3. Northern Michigan, 80 (1)
4. Grand Valley State, 77
5. Wayne State, 57
6T. Michigan Tech, 50
6T. Parkside, 50
8. Saginaw Valley State, 41
9. Purdue Northwest, 32
10. Davenport, 17
11. Roosevelt, 15


Superior Dome Showdown vs. Michigan State
On October 13, the Wildcats played its most notable preseason exhibition in program history when they hosted DI blueblood Michigan State in front of 11,500 fans in the Superior Dome Showdown, the largest indoor event in the history of the Upper Peninsula. In a weekend that was much more than the game on the court that included the retirement of NMU alum Tom Izzo's #10 jersey and icons Bill Raftery and Lisa Byington announcing the game, the Wildcats put up a valiant effort and fell 70-53 to the Spartans. Jackson Dudek led the way with 14 points. More from that event can be found here.