MARQUETTE, Mich. - No stranger to each other, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team will face GLIAC-rival Michigan Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It will be the fourth meeting between the UP-schools this season. The game will take place on Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT) in Springfield, Illinois. 

Northern (22-9) is making their third straight trip to the big dance, coming off of a GLIAC Tournament title as the No. 4 seed in which they defeated No. 5 Grand Valley, No. 1 Michigan Tech, and No. 2 Lake Superior State.

The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the Round of 32 to take on No. 2 Lake Superior State or No. 7 Lincoln on Sunday, March 16 at 6 p.m. ET. The regional championship game will take place on Tuesday, March 18 at 8 p.m. ET, with the winner advancing to the Elite 8. 

The game can be watched for free on the GLVC Network or listened to live on 100.3 The Point, with Jack Hall 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. 

Saturday, March 15 - vs. Michigan Tech (Springfield, Ill.) at 1 p.m. ET
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Hear from Matt Majkrzak
"Of the three championships we won, this one was the most fun. Throughout the year, there were a lot of points where I didn't expect this season to end in a championship. We really, really earned this one by going through the heart of the league"



About the 'Cats
For the second time in three seasons, head coach Matt Majkrzak and NMU won the GLIAC Tournament, defeating the No. 2 seed Lake Superior State Lakers 78-63. The Wildcats never trailed in the game and thoroughly dominated the first half with a 40-18 lead at halftime, the lowest point total for LSSU in a half as well as any NMU opponent this season. 

Without Dylan Kuehl for most of the first half due to injury, It would have taken a full team effort to get the job done and that's exactly what the Wildcats put forth. Jackson Dudek led the way with a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds, shooting 8-12 from the field. He earned the GLIAC Tournament MVP honors after averaging 15.7 points and shooting 67.9% over the three games. Brian Parzych also made the All-Tournament team.

As has been the case for much of the season, it was a true test of grit and perseverance for the Green and Gold, having to knock off the conference's top-seed in Michigan Tech and No. 2 seed in Lake Superior State, both nationally ranked squads that they lost to twice in the regular season, in order to raise the hardware. 

Now winners of six straight, the Wildcats enter the big dance with a 22-9 record. It's the third straight season with 20+ wins, the first time in program history reaching that mark in back-to-back-to-back years. Northern is also one of only six programs in Division II to make the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons and win three straight conference championships (regular season or tournament). 

Now an All-GLIAC First Teamer and All-Defensive Team member in each of his first three seasons, the offense has been led by Dylan Kuehl, as he was the only player in the GLIAC to reach double figures in every conference game in the regular season, averaging 17.6 points over those 20 games. Overall, he averages 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. 

Since entering the starting lineup 13 games ago, Jackson Dudek is averaging 13.7 points per game while shooting 61.3% from the field. 

For an offense that averaged 79+ points per game in each of the last three seasons, defense has been more of the mode of operation this season. The offense scores at a rate of 74.3 points per game while the scoring defense is allowing only 68.3, good for a top-40 mark nationally. 

With veteran guards, the Wildcats take care of the ball as well as any team in the country. Committing just 9.9 turnovers per game, Northern ranks 13th nationally. It has been a staple in Majkrzak's resurrection of the program, as NMU has averaged less than 11 turnovers per game in each of his six seasons at the helm. Northern is also 32nd in Division II with a 1.38 assist/turnover ratio.


A Look at Michigan Tech
The Huskies are ranked No. 23 in the nation and won eight straight before the Wildcats knocked them out of the GLIAC Tournament. 

Tech averages 77.3 points per game overall. The offense is led by GLIAC Player of the Year Marcus Tomashek, who is 11th in the country at 23.3 points per game. 

Head coach Josh Buettner was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Dawson Nordgaard was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team and Josh Terrian earned All-Defensive team recognition. 

The Huskies got the better of Northern in both regular season meetings this season, 88-65 in Marquette on January 9 and 67-64 in Houghton on February 20. Most recently, the Wildcats defeated the Huskies in Houghton, 69-68, in the GLIAC Semifinals.