MARQUETTE, Mich. - Currently in fifth place in the GLIAC standings, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team will look to make one final push to secure a top-4 spot and postseason home court, traveling to Roosevelt, Parkside, and Purdue Northwest to finish the regular season.
Northern (16-9, 10-7) narrowly fell 67-64 to No. 22 Michigan Tech on Thursday to push its losing stream to three games. Now in fifth, NMU is trailing Parkside (11-7) for the coveted fourth seed, while only a half-game lead on Grand Valley and Wayne State (10-8) who are in sixth and seventh.
The Wildcats will first stop in Chicago to take on Roosevelt (8-17, 5-12) on Monday, February 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The team will then travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin for a big battle with the Parkside Rangers (14-12, 11-7) on Thursday, February 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET before closing the regular season at Purdue Northwest (6-20, 3-15) on Saturday, March 1 at 4 p.m. ET.
The games can be watched on FloHoops or listened to live on 100.3 The Point, with Casey Ford on the call.
Follow The Action
Follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the race.
Monday, February 24 - at Roosevelt at 8:30 p.m. ET
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Thursday, February 27 - at Parkside at 8:30 p.m. ET
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Saturday, March 1 - at Purdue Northwest at 4 p.m. ET
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About the 'Cats
The Wildcats are coming off of three straight narrow defeats to ranked opponents, falling 80-74 to then No. 15 Lake Superior State in overtime, dropping a 91-84 decision to then No. 20 Ferris State, and most recently falling just short at No. 22 Michigan Tech 67-64.
Dylan Kuehl is sixth in the conference averaging 16.3 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season which includes a career-high 31-point outing vs. the Bulldogs two weekends ago.The two-time GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week is second in the conference shooting 50.3% from the floor and sixth on the glass, pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game. 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.
Since entering the starting lineup seven games ago,
Jackson Dudek is averaging 13.6 points per game, scoring in double figures in all but one.
Defense continues to be the mode of operation for Northern. While its offense holds 8th out of 11 teams in the conference at 73.5 points per game, the scoring defense ranks 3rd, allowing 68.1. NMU is also allowing a league-low 32.0 opponent rebounds per game and holds a +3.7 margin on the glass.
A Look at Roosevelt
The Lakers are 5-12 in the conference and 6-7 on their home court this season.
Averaging 72.6 points per game, the offense is led by the duo of Forte Prater (18.2 points per game) and Enari Thomas (17.2), sitting at second and fourth in the conference. Prater's 449 FG attempts is the most across the GLIAC.
The Wildcats handled Roosevelt earlier this season in Marquette, 77-55.
A Look at Parkside
A half-game ahead of NMU in the GLIAC standings with an 11-7 record. The Rangers were on a five-game winning streak before falling at Lake Superior State and Ferris State last weekend. At home, the Rangers have been strong at 9-3.
Parkside scores 66.8 points per game while they allow 67.8, the second-lowest in the conference. Josiah Palmer (15.5) and Jack Rose (15.3) pace the offense while Palmer's 4.9 assists per game leads the GLIAC.
NMU defeated the Rangers 73-62 back on December 7.
A Look at Purdue Northwest
The Pride are 3-15 in conference play while holding a 4-8 mark at home.
The offense averages 77.9 points per game, but the defense is allowing a GLIAC-high 81.1. Offensively, Collin Albert (15.5), Detalian Brown (12.9), and Jailen Nelson (11.6) lead the way. Dalton Gayman's 7.3 rebounds per game is tops in the league.
The Wildcats and Pride matched up on December 5 in Marquette, a 70-54 victory for NMU.
