(S6) Minnesota Crookston Travels to (N3) Winona State for First Round of NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament
•  The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team opens up postseason play this Wednesday with a trip down to Winona, Minn., to do battle with the Warriors for the second time this season. Minnesota Crookston got swept at home last weekend at the hands of Minnesota Duluth in overtime and a loss to St. Cloud State. Minnesota Crookston will look to advance past the first round for the second-straight season, which would be a first in program history. Last season, the Golden Eagles shot lights out in the first round to knock-off Augustana to advance to the Sanford Pentagon for the first time in school history. The Golden Eagles will look for the same result this season.

•  THE FUN STARTS NOW. The best type of basketball is playoff basketball. A season ago, the Golden Eagles found that out first hand with a dominating win over Augustana, their first road win in a long time. This season, it's obviously unknown as to what will happen on Wednesday night, but the Golden Eagles, who have been playing better as of late, have a chance to make program history by making the Pentagon in back-to-back years.
 
•  SENIOR NIGHT. Last Saturday night, Minnesota Crookston honored three seniors who have meant so much to the program. Malcolm Cohen, Javier Nicolau and Harrison Cleary were all giant pieces on last year's team and are even bigger pieces this season. The Golden Eagles weren't able to get a win over St. Cloud State, but if they can get a W over Winona State, they can extend their outstanding careers as Golden Eagles.

•  TOUGH TO STOP. In Friday night's overtime loss to Minnesota Duluth, the Golden Eagles were extremely balanced offensively. Although they had just two in double-figures, led by Harrison Cleary's 25 and Malcolm Cohen's 19, the Golden Eagles had Brian Sitzmann score nine, while Ibu Jassey Demba, Tyrese Shines and Javier Nicolau all score eight apiece for the Golden Eagles. That balanced offense saw the Golden Eagles get out to a lead as big as 22. In the last meeting with the Warriors, the Golden Eagles had three in double-figures.

•  GUARD THE ARC. Come Wednesday, one of the keys for Minnesota Crookston will be to guard the 3-point line effectively. In terms of 3-point makes, this game will feature the No. 1 and No. 2 shooters in Winona State's Kevion Taylor and Minnesota Crookston's Harrison Cleary. As a team, the Warriors have made 315 3's, which leads the conference and is good for 10th in the entire nation. The Warriors make almost 12 3's per game, so guarding the arc will be huge on Wednesday from McCown Gymnasium.

•  LEAN ON THE STAR. The Golden Eagles will undoubtedly look to senior guard Harrison Cleary to help them advance to the next round. The senior guard is currently averaging 27.2 points per game, which leads the conference and is third in the nation. The Oak Creek, Wis., native is the NSIC's all-time leading scorer. In last season's first round win over Augustana, Cleary scored 22 points. If Cleary can get that and then some, and Cohen can score 21 points, like he averaged last weekend, Minnesota Crookston will be feeling good about themselves offensively.

•  RADIO/TV. Fans will be able to tune into this playoff matchup in a variety of ways. Fans can tune into the smooth vocals of Leo Blavin on KROX 105.7 FM/1260 AM, following Chris Fee's call of the women's game in Mankato on the same airwaves. Fans can also watch the game, via livestream or with their Roku TV and the NSIC app.


"Look Good, Play Good"
White Jersey: 6-8
Black Jersey: 5-9 

2019-20 NSIC Rankings
Scoring Offense: 11th
Scoring Defense: 15th
Scoring Margin: 15th
Free Throw Pct.: 1st
Field Goal Pct.: 16th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 13th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
Rebounding Offense: 16th
Rebounding Defense: 13th
Rebounding Margin: 15th
Offensive Rebounds: 10th
Defensive Rebounds: 16th
Blocked Shots: 5th
Assists: 16th
Steals: 9th
Turnover Margin: 5th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 12th 


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 55-110 Season at UMC: Sixth Season


Winona State Warriors
Head Coach: Todd Eisner
Record at Winona State: 77-57 Season at WSU: Fifth Season


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 180, Oak Creek, Wis.) 27.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.3 APG
RSo. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 7.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG
RSr. SF 12 Malcolm Cohen (6-6 210, Detroit, Mich.) 10.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. PF 10 Ibu Jassey Demba (6-7 200, Birmingham, England) 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Sr. F/C 44 Javier Nicolau (6-10 220, Castellon, Spain) 7.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 13 Tyrese Shines (6-3 190, La Grange, Ill.) 6.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG
R-So. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-8 240, La Crosse, Wis.) 4.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG
R-So. G/F 25 Zac Olson (6-5 225, Waterville, Minn.) 2.2 PPG
Fr. G/F 22 Quintin Winterfeldt (6-4 195, Waupun, Wis.) 2.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG

Winona State
Projected Starters
So. G 5 Alec Rosner (6-2 195, Appleton, Wis.) 8.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Sr. G 10 Caleb Wagner (6-1 185, Muskego, Wis.) 20.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Jr. G 20 Devin Whitelow (5-9 165, Peoria, Ill.) 6.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Jr. F 24 Kevion Taylor (6-5 220, Milwaukee, Wis.) 19.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 107 3PM
Jr. F 33 Andrea Lo Biondo (6-9 208, Legnano, Italy) 9.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 11 Luke Martens (6-3 198, Apple Valley, Minn.) 5.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Jr. G 12 Dalante Peyton (6-3 185, St. Paul, Minn.) 1.4 PPG
So. G 22 Nick Klug (6-1 170, Burlington, Wis.) 2.3 PPG


#Tidbits

WINONA STATE. This one should be fun. The first round of the NSIC Playoffs pits two programs that are very familiar with each other. This will be the fourth matchup between these two since the start of last season, also meeting in the NSIC Playoffs a season ago. Earlier this season, Winona State shot 54.5 percent from the field and cruised to a 14-point victory over the Golden Eagles in mid-January.

52. One of the keys for Minnesota Crookston this Wednesday night will be shutting down the duo of Kevion Taylor and Caleb Wagner. The last time these two teams met, Taylor and Wagner scored 27 and 25, respectively. If the Golden Eagles can slow down the duo that averages almost 40 points per game, they have to like their chances to win.

PEAK AT THE RIGHT TIME. The Warriors earned the number three seed in the NSIC South by playing some of their best ball towards the end of their season. Since their win over Minnesota Crookston, the Warriors have lost just three times, two of which came at the hands of number one seed Sioux Falls. The Warriors are currently on a three-game winning streak, including a seven-point win over MSU Mankato in the regular season finale last Saturday.

DEFEND THE HOMECOURT. Winona State has developed quite the homecourt in recent seasons. Since the 2008-09 season, the Warriors have not had a losing record at home. The Warriors worst seasons at home came in 2016-17 and last year, when they went 7-6. McCown Gymnasium is one of the toughest places to play in the NSIC, no doubt about it. It will be a monumental task for the Golden Eagles on Wednesday, as the Warriors have lost just one home playoff game in the last ten years, which came in 2017, a loss to Minnesota Duluth in overtime.

WHAT TO WATCH
1. Can Minnesota Crookston make it back-to-back trips to the Pentagon?

2. Can the Golden Eagles continue to shoot the ball well?

3. What have the Golden Eagles learned from the previous meeting?

4. Can the Golden Eagles put forth a full forty minutes?

5. More upsets in NSIC Playoffs?