MARQUETTE, Mich. – Fresh off a share of the GLIAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed, the Northern Michigan Wildcats open the conference tournament Wednesday in the quarterfinals.
In the 1-vs.-8 matchup, Northern Michigan (25-5, 16-4 GLIAC) hosts the Ferris State Bulldogs (10-17, 7-13 GLIAC) on Wednesday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. at the Vandament Arena. A win would keep the Wildcats at home for the remainder of the tournament.
NMU has won each matchup this season with the Bulldogs by an average of 25.5 points.
The game will be streamed on FloCollege and can also be heard live on 100.3 The Point, with Casey Ford on the call.
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About the Wildcats
The No. 18 Wildcats took care of business to finish the regular season, defeating Roosevelt 100-87 and Parkside 98-75 to secure the GLIAC Regular Season Championship. It is NMU's fourth consecutive season with a title. They've previously won the regular season title in 2023-24 and the GLIAC Tournament championship in 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Leading the way was one of the most well-rounded players in the country,
Dylan Kuehl. He opened the weekend with 36 points and then followed it with a career-high 41 points in the finale to clinch the title. He shot 28-40 (75.0%) from the floor while adding 16 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks, and several highlight-level dunks. Those performances earned him his third GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week nod.
He is averaging 21.3 points per game this season, putting him inside the nation's top-15 scorers. He is shooting 56.7% from the field while averaging 6.3 rebounds per contest. Within the GLIAC slate, his 23.8 points per game finished first, 58.6 FG% second, 6.4 rebounds per game ranked 10th, and 1.5 blocks per game ranked third.
His 2,089 career points are third on the program's all-time list, just 21 back of second and 135 from first. He was recently named to the Trevor Hudgins Award Top-15 Watch List.
The Wildcats have established themselves as one of the most efficient teams in the nation, as they are first in rebounding margin (11.1), second in assist/turnover ratio (1.86), fourth in scoring margin (17.8), 11th in three-point percentage (38.9), and 16th in both scoring defense (65.3).
NMU's success from beyond the arc is in large part thanks to
Cal Klesmit, who finished third in GLIAC play with 2.9 threes per game and first in shooting 45.5% from deep. He can take over a game from three, notching five or more triples eight times this season. He is averaging 12.3 points per game this season.
Jackson Dudek is also at 12.3 points per game. His 43.4% career three-point percentage is sixth among all active players with at least 80 attempts. He is the reigning GLIAC Tournament MVP and will look to guide the Wildcats again for a postseason run.
The Wildcats defeated Ferris State 95-66 on Jan. 12 in Marquette and 75-53 on Feb. 21 in Big Rapids. Kuehl (21.5 ppg) and Dudek (12.5 ppg) have scored in double figures in each contest.
A Look at Ferris State
Entering the tournament at 10-17, the Bulldogs have lost five straight and are 3-10 on the road this season. They most recently lost at Grand Valley State (72-64) and at Davenport (79-64).
Offensively, five Bulldogs average double figures: Tae Boyd (13.3), Mykel Bingham (13.0), Tyler Hamilton (12.9), Donovan Brown-Boyd (12.3), and Chang Hoth (11.3).
Averaging 75.1 points and allowing 79.0 per game, Ferris can defend the perimeter with their length. They rank second nationally in three-point percentage defense (28.2).
