MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan men's basketball team will be traveling to North Canton, Ohio, for the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional, where they will take on Rockhurst on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m.
The Wildcats (27-6) earned the No. 5 seed and will take on the No. 4 seed Hawks (23-6). NMU made it to the GLIAC Championship, where they lost to Grand Valley 67-57, while Rockhurst lost 101-92 to Drury in the GLVC quarterfinals.
The game will be on 100.3 The Point, with Casey Ford on the call.
Tournament Schedule
Saturday, March 14
Game One: #3 Michigan Tech vs #6 Lake Erie | 12:00 p.m.
Game Two: #2 Grand Valley State vs #7 Ashland | 2:30 p.m.
Game Three: #1 Walsh vs #8 William Jewell | 5:00 p.m.
Game Four: #4 Rockhurst vs #5 Northern Michigan | 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 15
Game Five: Game 1 Winner vs Game 2 Winner | 5:00 p.m.
Game Six: Game 3 Winner vs Game 4 Winner | 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 17
Game Seven: Game 5 Winner vs Game 6 Winner | 7:00 p.m.
Follow the Action
Follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) and @nmu_mbb on Instagram for updates throughout the weekend.
About the Wildcats
Now ranked No. 20 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, the Wildcats return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season. NMU defeated Ferris State 91-62 and Lake Superior State 79-67 before falling to Grand Valley 67-57 in the GLIAC Tournament.
NMU secured the GLIAC regular-season championship, the fourth conference title of the
Matt Majkrzak era. Northern previously won the regular-season title in 2023-24 and the GLIAC Tournament championships in 2022-23 and 2024-25.
The success has been led by one of the most decorated players in program history,
Dylan Kuehl, who was recently named the D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year, becoming the first Wildcat to earn the region's top individual honor. Kuehl also earned GLIAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Majkrzak was selected as GLIAC Coach of the Year.
Cal Klesmit earned First Team All-GLIAC recognition and
Jackson Dudek was named to the Second Team.
Kuehl is averaging 21.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season while shooting 55.7% from the field. In GLIAC play, his 23.8 points per game led the conference, while his 58.6% field-goal percentage ranked second, 1.5 blocks per game ranked third, and 6.4 rebounds per game ranked 10th. He capped the regular season with a dominant showing in the title-clinching win over Parkside, scoring a career-high 41 points on 15-20 shooting. A four-time All-GLIAC selection, Kuehl has totaled 2,147 career points, ranking second in program history, and was also named to the Trevor Hudgins Award Top-15 Watch List earlier this season.
Under Majkrzak, the Wildcats have established themselves as one of the most efficient teams in the nation. Northern averages 16.5 assists per game and ranks second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82). The Wildcats also commit the fewest turnovers per game in the nation (9.1).
Northern pairs that ball movement with elite efficiency, ranking 14th nationally in effective field-goal percentage (.567) and fourth in scoring margin (17.1) while also boasting one of the country's top defenses, allowing just 65.3 points per game. On the glass, the Wildcats lead Division II with a +11.0 rebounding margin.
NMU's success from beyond the arc is in large part thanks to Klesmit, a First Team All-GLIAC honoree. He finished third in GLIAC play with 2.9 three-pointers per game while leading the conference at 45.5% from deep. He has knocked down five or more triples eight times this season while averaging 12.1 points per game.
A Look at Rockhurst
The Hawks are 23-6 and are ranked No. 24 in the NABC poll. As the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament, they fell to Drury in the first round, 101-92.
Rockhurst is one of the best free-throw teams in the nation, ranking in the top three in both made free throws per game (20.2) and percentage (80.2). They have an offense that can fill it up, as their 87.2 points per game sit 13th in the country. They are led by a senior backcourt of Drenin Dinkins (22.8 points per game) and Jayley Wesley (21.8). Similar to NMU, Wesley was named the conference Player of the Year while head coach Kyle Blackbourn was tabbed GLVC Coach of the Year.
