MARQUETTE, Mich. - The No. 24 Northern Michigan Men's basketball team (19-6, 12-1) looks to keep closing in on a GLIAC regular season title, as they get ready to face Michigan Tech University (8-14, 5-8) on Saturday, February 17 at 3 p.m.

After sweeping UW-Parkside and Purdue Northwest last week, the Green and Gold are nationally ranked No. 24 in the NABC poll for the first time this season while they rank No. 16 in the D2CSC poll. The Wildcats will look to continue to stay atop the conference standings to close out the regular season and secure the top seed for the GLIAC Tournament.

This will be the second meeting between the Wildcats and Huskies this season. Three weeks ago in Marquette, Northern ran past Tech 98-66. This game will be broadcast locally on Fox-UP, with Mark Evans and Dave Ellis on the call. 


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Thursday, February 17 - at Michigan Tech at 3 p.m 
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A Word From Matt Majkrzak
"They're different at home. At home they are very very tough. We know it's going to be a challenge so we have to do what we do at a very high clip."



Last Time Out
Northern continued its winning ways last weekend as they secured two victories over Parkside and Purdue Northwest. Northern outscored the Rangers 17-4 in the final six minutes of the game to secure the win 81-67 on Thursday. Northern then carried the momentum into the weekend, where they came back vs. the Pride, scoring the final eight points in the last three minutes after trailing 66-61 to secure a 69-66 win. The comeback effort was led by Dylan Kuehl (22 points) and Max Weisbrod (20), as the two combined for 42 points including the final 15 for the Green and Gold. Weisbrod also dished out six assists and pulled down seven boards, while Kuehl stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.  


Cat Nips

• In the latest NABC national poll, the Wildcats are ranked at No. 24. Northern is also No. 16 in the D2CSC poll and ranked first in the Midwest.
• For a program that has been around for well over 100 years (since 1906), the Wildcats tied the longest winning streak in program history earlier this season at 13 games, set in 1984-85.
• Sam Schultz continues to lead the GLIAC at 10.0 rebounds/game, which is good for 16th in the country. He is looking to become the first Wildcat since 1987-88 (Lake Cosby, 11.8 rpg) to average double-digit rebounds in a season.
• Over the last nine games, Max Weisbrod has been one of the best players in the country, averaging 22 .3 points/game while shooting an efficient 32-68 (47.1%) from beyond the arc. On the season, he now sits fifth in the GLIAC in scoring (16.9), third in assists/game (4.2), and second in three-pointers made (70-178, 39.3%). In conference play, his 19.1 ppg ranks third and his 44 triples are first.
• The 1.73 assist/turnover ratio for the 'Cats is the third best mark in the country. Northern is also averaging 6.2 more rebounds a contest than its opponents, good for 26th in the nation. NMU is only allowing 7.3 offensive rpg, the second best mark among conference teams. 
• Northern is averaging 80.1 ppg while allowing 71.0 ppg. The 80.1 points per game is second in the GLIAC. NMU is ranked second in the conference in FG%, shooting 48.3% from the floor.
• The 'Cats are near the top of the conference in both creating assists on offense and preventing assists on defense, as its 16.4/game is the second most while the 10.8/game they allow is the second fewest.  
• The Wildcats are 83-51 (.619) under 5th year head coach Matt Majkrzak. With 25 victories at Bryant and Stratton before he got to NMU, Majkrzak hit the 100 collegiate wins milestone in NMU's victory at Grand Valley earlier this season. 
• Northern has won five straight over its U.P. rivals, including a 79-66 victory in last seasons GLIAC Championship. Five consecutive wins marks the longest NMU winning streak in the rivalry since the 'Cats won 15 straight from 1981-87. Prior to the five-game winning streak, the Huskies won five in a row.
• In January, the Wildcats defeated the Huskies in blowout fashion, 98-66. This was the largest win margin for either program over the other since the Wildcats defeated the Huskies 116-73 in 1985-86. Weisbrod scored a career-high 35 points in the win. 

Notes on Michigan Tech 
The Huskies enter the weekend at 8-14 overall and 5-8 in the GLIAC. The Huskies are 6-6 at home. MTU scores 71.2 ppg while allowing 74.1 ppg. The Huskies shoot 43.6% from the floor and 34.5% from three. Guarding the perimeter has been a point of emphasis for the Huskies as they are third in conference play with an opponent three-point percentage allowed of 34.1%. 

Sophomore guard Marcus Tomashek leads the way for the Huskies offensively, averaging 21.6 ppg, leading the conference and ranking 15th in the country. Pete Calcaterra is averaging 6.6 rebounds a game, ranking him third in the conference.