UMD Men’s Basketball Ready for Toughest Test Yet In Second-Ranked Northern State

Tip-off for Friday night's game is set for 7 p.m.

DULUTH, Minn. – Last weekend, the UMD men’s basketball team took a pair on the chin as they were swept at home by MSU-Moorhead. And for this young Bulldogs team, it served as a wake-up call after a great start to the season.

“I think the biggest takeaway would be that there’s no easy games. This is the top conference and everyone is going to give you their best shot every night. So we have to come out and prove we’re able to play with the best of the best,” said freshman forward Charlie Katona.

“Even though we lost Saturday, we felt pretty good about how we played. We went toe-to-toe with maybe the best team in the league. For us to do that with freshmen and sophomores, we’ve got some guys who are really competitive. They’re not going to back down from anybody, which is the way it should be,” head coach Justin Wieck said.

And it doesn’t get any easier for UMD as they now get set to travel to Northern State to take on the #2 team in the country, led by NSIC North Division Preseason Player of the Year Parker Fox.

“He’s the kind of guy that catches at 12 feet, he’s going to go dunk it every time. We got some different things that we need to do to try and neutralize that. But on top of that, they’v got a bunch of guys that can really shoot the ball. They can really pass it. They’re smart guys. Their starting five all play 35-36 minutes a game so they are really dependent on those five guys that are older guys. Guys that have won a couple league titles in these last couple years,” said Wieck.

Tip-off for Friday night’s game is set for 7 p.m.