CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will look to end the regular-season on a strong note on the road against Northern State University and No. 10 Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Golden Eagles will take on Northern State at 8 p.m. Fri., Feb. 19 at Wachs Arena. They will then face MSU Moorhead Sat., Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. at Nemzek Fieldhouse.
The Golden Eagles are 3-21 (1-19 NSIC) on the 2015-16 season,
Dan Weisse's second season leading the ship. Northern State comes into the weekend with a
#5StoryLines1. Can
Derrick Redd, Jr. finish out his career at UMC in a strong fashion?
2. Can
Gable Smith build off a good game against U-Mary?
3. Can
Jim Warmack build off a strong showing off the bench last weekend?
4. Who will provide points off the bench for the Golden Eagles?
5. Can the Golden Eagles end the regular- season with some wins?
#Tidbits- The UMC men's basketball team enters their final weekend of the regular-season with a 3-21 (1-19 NSIC) record. The Golden Eagles are in their second season under Head Coach
Dan Weisse. UMC has been in a lot of games this season, losing 12 games by 10 or less points this season. The Golden Eagles will head to Northern State University and No. 10 Minnesota State University Moorhead. Minnesota Crookston played Northern State a few weeks ago and took them to overtime, but fell 84-80.
- The Golden Eagles have just two players in
Derrick Redd, Jr. and
Jim Warmack, who played in games last season, while
Gable Smith and
A.J. Walton both redshirted. The other 10 players on the team are newcomers. UMC is currently starting four players who are in their first seasons playing NCAA Division II basketball. The upside is that UMC has just one senior and four-of-five starters who are either freshmen or sophomores with
C.J. Polk,
Kobe Critchley,
Gable Smith and
Nate Lorenz. In addition, key bench players
Chase Knickerbocker and
Jim Warmack have their best years in front of them, while junior college transfers
Xavier Hall and
Ben Grygiel will still have one year to play for UMC.
- UMC Head Coach
Dan Weisse was a three-year assistant for Chad Walthall at MSU Moorhead, helping to pave the way for their current success. Weisse was with the Dragons up until taking the Minnesota Crookston Head Coach position prior to the 2014-15 season.
-
Kobe Critchley has been an impact freshman for the Golden Eagles. Critchley is averaging 9.6 points per game on the 2015-16 season. Critchley has scored in double figures in 14 games during his freshman season.
-
Gable Smith has been a blocking machine for the Golden Ea gles in his first season playing with UMC after
redshirting his initial season. Smith is leading the NSIC with 439 blocks this season. In addition, he holds the school record for block in a career with that mark.
- The UMC offense has shown a lot of improvement in Coach Weisse's second season. UMC is averaging more than 10 points a game more over last season as they have increased their scoring average from 58 to 66.5. In addition, the Golden Eagles are a better three-point shooting team, as they are hitting at a 34.4 clip up from 32.2 percent. They are also an improved shooting team overall, improving from 38.7 to 40.8 percent as a team.
- Northern State comes in with a 15-11 mark on the season. They are in a three-way battle with U-Mary and Minnesota Duluth for second in the NSIC North. The Wolves have good balance with five players averaging double figures in scoring this season. Northern State has been led by Skye Warwick, who is averaging 14.9 points per game and shooting 44.3 percent from beyond the arc. Mack Arvidson is coming off the bench with 10.2 points per game and shooting 44.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Wolves are a great three-point shooting team with five players averaging 40 percent or better from beyond the arc. Northern State is shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.
- MSU Moorhead is No. 10 in NCAA Division II. The Dragons are led by one of the NSIC's best in 6-9 post Isaac Sevlie, who is averaging 22.4 points and 7.1 rebounds. In addition, MSU Moorhead has sophomore point guard Tanner Kretchman, who has picked up where the departed Jordan Riewer left off. Kretchman is averaging 13.4 points per game and dishing out 5.4 assists per game. The Dragons are also a strong shooting team, hitting at a 40.6 percent clip from beyond the arc. Kretchman is shooting 43.9 percent from beyond the arc, while Ayob Ayob is shooting 45.1 percent and Aaron Lien is shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.
