MARQUETTE, Mich. - After a 3-0 road trip to close out the regular season, the Northern Michigan men's basketball team is home for the GLIAC Quarterfinals for the fourth straight season, hosting Grand Valley State on Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the 4-5 matchup. 

NMU closed out the regular season with a 19-9 record overall, claiming a 13-7 mark in the conference. Grand Valley enters the playoffs at 16-12 overall, finishing a game behind Northern in the conference at 12-8. 

The game 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. 

Wednesday, March 5 - vs. Grand Valley State at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets  |  Watch on Flo  |  Live Stats  |  Listen  


About the 'Cats
The Wildcats won three straight road games over Roosevelt, Parkside, and Purdue Northwest last weekend to secure the No. 4 seed. Over those three, Dylan Kuehl led the way averaging 19.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Now a top-4 seed with a home playoff game for the 4th straight season, Northern is tied with Ferris State for the longest active streak in the conference.

The offense has been led by Kuehl all season, as he is the only player in the GLIAC to reach double figures in every conference game, averaging 17.6 points over those 20 games. Overall, he is 5th in the conference averaging 16.6 points per game, 4th at 6.9 rebounds per game, and 2nd shooting 50.4% from the field.  

Since entering the starting lineup 10 games ago, Jackson Dudek is averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 59.3% from the field. Also re-inserted into the lineup ten games ago, Gerald Gittens is averaging 11.2 points per game over the last six. 

For an offense that averaged 79+ points per game in each of the last three seasons, defense has been the mode of operation throughout this year. While its offense holds 8th out of 11 teams in the conference at 74.0 points per game, the scoring defense ranks 3rd, allowing only 68.4, good for a top-35 mark nationally. NMU is also allowing a league-low 31.9 opponent rebounds per game and holds a +3.6 margin on the glass.

The Wildcats take care of the ball as well as any team in the country. Committing just 9.8 turnovers per game, Northern ranks 12th 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. 


A Look at Grand Valley State
Winners of three straight as well, the Lakers defeated Davenport 67-54 and Roosevelt 106-51 last weekend to move up to the No. 5 seed. 

At 75.6 points per game, four Lakers average double figures per game: Kaden Brown (13.6), Jalen Charity (11.6), William Dunn (11.3), and Ethan Alderink (10.8). Brown's mark of 39.9% from beyond the arc leads the conference.

 Defensively as a unit, GVSU allows opponents to shoot just 40.6% from the field, good for 14th in the nation. The Lakers also defend the three-point line better than anyone in the conference, allowing just 30.8%.

NMU is 38-58 all-time vs. the Lakers. Northern was victorious 78-70 in Allendale on January 4 and won again in Marquette on January 30, 79-52. Kuehl scored 21 points in each game for the 'Cats. The Lakers defeated Northern 92-77 in last season's GLIAC Tournament Semifinals. 


Matt Majkrzak Preview



GLIAC Tournament

Wednesday, March 5 | Quarterfinals
Campus sites, higher seed is host
Game 1     No. 1 Michgan Tech vs. No. 8 Roosevelt, 6 p.m.
Game 2     No. 4 Northern Michigan vs. No. 5 Grand Valley State, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3     No. 3 Ferris State vs. No. 6 Wayne State, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4     No. 2 Lake Superior State vs. No. 7 Parkside, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 8 | Semifinals
Hosted by TBD
Game 5 Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 6 Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4

Sunday, March 9 | Championship 
Hosted by TBD
Game 7 Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6