The Scoop
The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will open up 2018 on the road as they take on University of Minnesota Duluth Fri., Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. and St. Cloud State University Sat., Jan. 6 at 6 p.m.

Previewing the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston is off to their best start in program's history of NCAA Division II. The Golden Eagles have won three-straight games coming into this weekend. Minnesota Crookston is coming off their first NSIC weekend sweep since 1999 with their wins over Upper Iowa University and Winona State University last weekend.

The Golden Eagles come in with an 8-6 (5-3 NSIC) mark. Minnesota Crookston is currently ranked fourth in the NSIC North coming into the weekend. Minnesota Crookston is led by the conference's leading scorer Harrison Cleary, who is averaging 24.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Cleary is the nation's top free throw shooter at 97.1 percent. In addition, Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas) comes in tallying 16.9 points per game. Cleary is shooting 49.3 percent from beyond the arc, while Hodge is shooting 45.7 percent from behind the three-point line.

Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) comes in notching 11.0 points per game. In the post, Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) comes in tallying 8.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Smith leads the country in blocked shots with 4.1 blocked shots per game. Darin Viken (Jr., G, Fosston, Minn.) is coming off a big weekend as he tallied 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Viken is shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Minnesota Crookston is tallying 81.5 points per game, while allowing 74.0 points per game. The Golden Eagles have limited their foes to 61.7 points per game in their three-consecutive wins. Minnesota Crookston is shooting 48.1 percent from the field, 43.4 percent from beyond the arc and 77.1 percent from the charity stripe. 

Previewing the Bulldogs
Minnesota Duluth comes in with a 4-8 (1-6 NSIC) mark. The Bulldogs are averaging 70.8 points per game and giving up 76.2 points per game. UMD is led by forward Brandon Myer, who is notching 19.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest. At guard, Logan Rohrscheib is tallying 13.8 points per game and is shooting 34.5 points per game. Luke Harris is notching 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in the post. Trevor Entwisle comes in tallying 8.5 points per game. 

The Bulldogs are shooting 41.7 percent from the field, while shooting 34.2 percent from beyond the arc. UMD is shooting 80.4 percent from the charity stripe. They are picking up 32.0 rebounds per game, while allowing their foes to grab 33.8 rebounds per game. Minnesota Duluth fell 98-90 to the Golden Eagles earlier this season. Minnesota Duluth looked to 23 points from Rohrscheib in that game, while Myer notched 18. 

Previewing the Huskies
St. Cloud State comes in with a 9-4 (5-2 NSIC) record. The Huskies look to Jon Averkamp at forward, who has 20.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Gage Davis has also been key for St. Cloud State is the last five games after missing the first seven games due to suspension. Davis is averaging 16.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. 

Brindley Theisen is notching 12.5 points per game and is shooting 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. In the post, Sean Smith has been a beast both offensively and defensively. Smith is averaging 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and is averaging 2.5 blocked shots per game.

The Huskies are averaging 77.2 points per game, while giving up 69.0 points per game to their foes. St. Cloud State is shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc. They are a 72.1 percent free throw shooting team coming into the weekend. St. Cloud State has the edge on the boards over their opponents 37.2 to 31.8 on the season. They also have great ball movement as they are averaging 16.3 assists per game coming into the weekend.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 25-70 Season at UMC: Fourth Season

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Matt Bowen
Record at UMD: 59-95 Season at UMD: Sixth Season

St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach: Matt Reimer
Record at SCSU: 59-46 Season at SCSU: Fourth Season

Date: Jan. 5, 2018
Time: 8 p.m.
Opponent: University of Minnesota Duluth
Site: Duluth, Minn. (Romano Gymnasium)
Live Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/#liveEventsTab
Date: Jan. 6, 2018
Time: 6 p.m.
Opponent: St. Cloud State University
Site: St. Cloud, Minn. (Halenbeck Hall)
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/stcloudstate/mbball/
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/scsu/#liveEventsTab
Radio (Saturday): 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM
Officials (Friday): Pat Bauschelt, Brad Yorkovich, Travis Gardner
Officials (Saturday): Rhett Lamoreaux, Josh Johnson, Nathan Berseth
Last (UMD): Minnesota Crookston won 98-90 in Crookston Dec. 2.
Series: Minnesota Duluth leads 29-4 
Last (SCSU): St. Cloud State won 69-57 in Crookston Dec. 1.
Series: St. Cloud State leads 23-3. Minnesota Crookston is 2-5 in last
seven games.

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
So. PG 0 Harrison Cleary, 6-1, Oak Creek, Wis. 24.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.1 APG
Jr. SG 1 Alan Hodge, Jr., 6-0, Dallas, Texas 16.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Fr. 3G 2 Ben Juhl, 6-1, Clive, Iowa 11.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Jr. SF 13 Darin Viken, 6-2, Fosston, Minn. 3.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG
R-Jr. PF 24 Gable Smith, 6-7, Lodi, Wis. 8.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.1 BPG

Top Bench Players
So. F/C 44 Javier Nicolau, 6-10, Castellon, Spain 3.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG
R-Fr. G 10 Gabrys Sadaunykas, 6-4, Vilnius, Lithuania 1.9 PPG, 1.3 RPG

Minnesota Duluth
Projected Starters
So. PG 2 Trevor Entwisle, 5-11, Neenah, Wis. 8.5 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.8 RPG
So. SG 1 Logan Rohrscheib, 6-2, Eau Claire, Wis. 13.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Jr. 3G 5 Mamadou Ngom, 6-3, Minneapolis, Minn. 4.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG
So. SF 10 Brandon Myer, 6-7, Superior, Wis. 19.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG
So. PF 32 Luke Harris, 6-8, Northfield, Minn. 9.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG

Top Bench Players
Sr. G 30 Jake Wilson, 6-5, Zimmerman, Minn. 6.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Jr. F 11 Sean Burns, 6-5, Robbinsdale, Minn. 5.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Jr. F 14 Ryan Kaczynski, 6-4, Shoreview, Minn. 2.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Sr. G 21 Kyle Schalow, 6-2, Sherwood, Wis. 1.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG

St. Cloud State
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 12 Adam Heede-Andersen, 6-0, Copenhagen, Denmark 2.8 PPG, 3.8 APG
Jr. SG 10 Brindley Theisen, 6-2, St. Cloud, Minn. 12.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG
R-Jr. 3G 20 Gage Davis, 6-4, Bolingbrook, Ill. 16.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.2 APG
Sr. SF 24 Jon Averkamp, 6-6, Germantown, Wis. 20.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Jr. PF 40 Sean Smith, 6-8, Athens, Ga. 11.8 PPG, 8.9 RPG

Top Bench Players
Sr. F 14 Andy Foley, 6-5, St. Cloud, Minn. 6.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG
So. G 4 Trevon Marshall, 6-0, Evanston, Ill. 5.9 PPG, 1.7 APG
Fr. F 34 Tristen Hull, 6-7, Burbank, Calif. 3.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG

#5StoryLines
1. Can the Golden Eagles get the ball movement and defense that they have had in several of their wins?

2. Can Minnesota Crookston limit UMD's Brandon Myer this weekend?

3. Can the Golden Eagles limit Jon Averkamp and Gage Davis against St. Cloud State?

4. Who will step up off of the bench for the Golden Eagles?

5. Will Gable Smith continue to be a pest in the paint with his blocked shots? 

#ShiningAsASophomore
Minnesota Crookston sophomore guard Harrison Cleary has overcome the sophomore slump in his second season as a Golden Eagle. Cleary was NSIC Freshman of the Year last season. Cleary leads the league with 24.3 points per game. He is also the national leader in free throw shooting at 97.1 percent, having missed just two shots at the charity stripe all season. He is a 49.3 three point shooter on the season. Cleary is coming off a big weekend against Upper Iowa and Winona State as he led the team to their first NSIC sweep since 1999. Cleary tallied 28.0 points, 4.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds last weekend.

#Denied
Minnesota Crookston redshirt junior Gable Smith has always been a shot block machine with a school-record 180 blocks. Smith has taken it to a new level this year with an NCAA Division II leading 4.07 blocks per game. He is coming off eight blocks last Sunday in a win over Upper Iowa. Smith has also been crucial on the boards where he leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. Offensively, he is shooting 64.9 percent from the field and is averaging 8.1 points per game. Smith will look to continue to be a factor in all aspects of the game coming into this weekend against UMD and St. Cloud State. 

#FosstonProud
Minnesota Crookston  junior Darin Viken has been in the hard work and it has paid off as he earned his first career start last Sunday against Upper Iowa. Viken averaged 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the weekend sweep of Upper Iowa and Winona State. He shot 5-of-9 for 55.5 percent from beyond the arc in the two wins. Viken notched a career-high 15 points in the victory over Upper Iowa. He will look to continue to be a factor this weekend on the road.

#Number1
Minnesota Crookston junior guard Alan Hodge, Jr. is coming off a big game against Upper Iowa as he notched 22 points, seven boards and four assists in the win over the Peacocks. Hodge has been a major factor this season for the Golden Eagles. He is averaging 16.9 points per game and is shooting 45.9 percent from beyond the arc.