MARQUETTE, Mich. - With ten games left in the regular season, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team returns home this weekend, hosting the Grand Valley State Lakers and the Davenport Panthers.

The Wildcats (12-6, 6-4) are coming off of a pair of road losses at No. 8 Ferris State and No. 14 Lake Superior State and are eager to get back on track in front of their home crowd. First up, Grand Valley (10-8, 6-4), winners of four straight, will be in town on Thursday, January 30 for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The weekend will wrap-up with a visit from the Davenport Panthers (5-13, 1-9) on Saturday, February 1 at 2 p.m. At the beginning of January, Northern defeated both GVSU and DU by eight points on the road. 

Both games can be watched on the FloSports app, or Casey Ford has you covered on the airwaves of 100.3 The Point. 


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

Thursday, January 30 - vs. Grand Valley at 7:30 p.m. 
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Saturday, February 1 - vs. Davenport at 2 p.m.
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Hear from Matt Majkrzak
"It's going to take a better effort on defense if we are going to beat them here. We played pretty well on offense down there but lately our offense hasn't been as good…so we have to go into it with the mentality that if we don't play well on offense, how do we still win."



About the 'Cats
Northern is coming off of its toughest weekend of the season, dropping a tight 85-79 decision at No. 8 Ferris State followed by a 79-49 loss at No. 14 Lake Superior State.

Through 18 games, defense has been the mode of operation for Northern. NMU is 8th out of 11 teams in the conference in scoring offense at 72.4 points per game, but the scoring defense ranks 2nd, allowing only 68.1, good for 42nd nationally. NMU is also allowing a league-low 31.9 opponent rebounds per game and holds a +3.6 margin on the glass. The 'Cats sit 3rd across the conference with 7.1 steals per game while holding the 2nd best turnover margin at 1.72.

Dylan Kuehl is 10th in the conference averaging 15.3 points per game. The two-time GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games while shooting at least 50% in 12 of those. In conference games only, he is 8th at 16.0 points per game and 3rd in field goal percentage, shooting 49.6% from the floor.

Kuehl surpassed the 1,000 career-points plateau earlier this season, becoming the 35th player in program history to join the exclusive 1K club, and the first since Max Bjorklund (2/17/22). Kuehl was selected to the All-GLIAC Preseason First Team after being named to the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team in each of his first two seasons.

Julien Smith is second on the team averaging 11.2 points per game. He has been NMU's go-to player in the clutch. With less than four minutes to go in a 10-point game or closer, he is 8-10 (80.0%) from the field, including 7 for his last 7. The majority of that work has come from beyond the arc, shooting 6-8 (including 5 for his last 5) with a game-winning buzzer beater over Illinois-Springfield. 

Sam Privet (10.4) is third on the team in scoring and has found double figures in three straight, averaging 13.7 in those games. Gerald Gittens Jr. and Cal Klesmit are each averaging 8.7 points per game and present a scoring threat that can get hot at any time.


A Look at Grand Valley State
Winners of four straight, the Lakers are riding the longest win streak in the GLIAC. Last week, GVSU defeated Roosevelt 76-70, Parkside 59-49, and Purdue Northwest 83-64. Trevor Smith Jr. was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week after totaling seven steals, three blocks, 39 points, and 15 assists in the three wins.

 The Lakers have been a better road team this season, holding a 6-3 mark away from home.

Grand Valley is 5th in the league in scoring offense and scoring defense, averaging 75.4 while allowing 69.8 points per game. In conference games only, the Lakers are allowing a league-low 40.0% opponent FG percentage. 

Kaden Brown (13.5), William Dunn (12.0), and Jalen Charity (10.7) are all averaging in double figures and have played in every game for the Lakers. GVSU has the ability to get hot from deep, with five games this season hitting 10+ threes shooting at least 40.0%.
 
NMU is 37-58 all-time vs. the Lakers. GVSU has won four of the last six and defeated NMU in two of three meetings last season: 106-99 in 2OT in the regular season and 99-77 in the GLIAC Tournament, both in Marquette. NMU was victorious 78-70 in the matchup earlier this season. Dylan Kuehl scored 21 points to lead all scorers.


A Look at Davenport
The Panthers are 1-9 in GLIAC games this season and have lost six straight after they pulled off an OT upset win over Michigan Tech earlier in January. Last weekend, DU fell to Purdue Northwest 80-59 and Parkside 72-64. Away from home, Davenport is 1-6, with its lone road victory coming at Tiffin, 62-61. 

Davenport averages 67.3 points per game and allows 70.1. They are last in the conference in team FG percentage at 42.1%, but have the ability to get hot with four games shooting at least 50.0%. The Panthers hold the GLIAC single-game high with 20 made threes, coming against Kuyper in December. 

Senior guard Jovan Tucker is 8th in the league at 15.6 points per game, while Joey Cabana (11.0) and Matyas Vrabel (10.2) are also in double figures. Vrabel is 3rd across the conference pulling down 7.1 rebounds a contest.

NMU is 15-3 all-time vs. Davenport, winning each of the last five games by an average of 15.4 points. Northern defeated the Panthers 60-52 on January 2, with Dylan Kuehl pacing all scorers with 19 points. 

 
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.