Big Final Weekend Awaits Golden Eagles as they Travel to St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will enter this weekend at St. Cloud State on Thursday and at home on Saturday against nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth with a ton to play for in the NSIC. As it turns out, the opponent on Thursday night, St. Cloud State sits in the final spot at the six seed in the NSIC North. With the Huskies losing seven in a row, the Golden Eagles have a golden opportunity to get into the six seed with a win at St. Cloud State and at home against Minnesota Duluth. The Golden Eagles have saved the best weekend for last and control their own destiny this weekend.

• NOTHING BETTER THAN THIS. Man, what a weekend it could be for the Golden Eagles. The final weekend of the regular season sets up to be a wild one all across the NSIC, but a lot of eyes will be glued to St. Cloud and Crookston. Should the Golden Eagles defeat the Huskies on Thursday night in Halenbeck Hall and the Huskies fall on the road at Bemidji State on Saturday, the Golden Eagles will be the sixth and final seed in the NSIC North. The Golden Eagles easiest way to the NSIC North sixth seed is to sweep the weekend over the Huskies and Bulldogs. This weekend should be fun, exciting and maybe a nervous weekend for Golden Eagle nation.

• BOUNCE BACK. This past weekend on the road didn't go as planned for the Golden Eagles, but this weekend is a golden and needed opportunity to bounce back. The last time the Huskies and Golden Eagles played, it was a dominant performance for SCSU in a 32-point victory over the Golden Eagles. Both the Huskies and Golden Eagles control their own destiny this weekend.  It's March basketball two weeks early.

• THREE'S A LUCKY NUMBER. It's crazy to say this, but senior weekend is upon us this weekend. In the regular season finale on Saturday, Minnesota Crookston will honor three seniors: redshirt seniors Brian Sitzmann and Zach Westphal and senior Silas Xia. Sitzmann will undoubtedly leave his mark on the Golden Eagles, becoming one of six in program history with 100 career three-point makes and he and Westphal are the only current Golden Eagles who were on the 2019 NSIC Tournament team. All three will be missed, but they left a good mark on the program.

• BIG WEEKEND FOR THE BIG MAN.  The Golden Eagles might have found their big man for the future. Nathaniel 'Naz' Powell has made his mark in the Golden Eagle lineup since entering the starting lineup in December. On Saturday night against Northern State, the Nottingham, England native finished with 16 points on 7-13 shooting from the field, while pulling down five rebounds. That career-high didn't last long. Powell followed that up with a 17 point, five rebound performance against MSUM. Powell has upped his average to over seven points and just under five rebounds per game. Powell will be looked upon for that same consistency this weekend.
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• START TO FINISH.  One player Head Coach Dan Weisse has leaned heavily on this season has been redshirt sophomore Uzo Dibiamaka. The Adelaide, South Australia native is the only Golden Eagle to have started in all 25 games this season and is fifth in the conference in minutes played at 34.4 per game. Dibiamaka constantly has the ball in his hands and that shows with his 3.1 assists per game. It's been a good first season as a Golden Eagle for Dibiamaka.

• NOTHING EASY AT THE RIM.  Minnesota Crookston's defense this season has been head and shoulders above where it was last season. The improvement on that end has been a big key as to why they have a chance at the top six in the NSIC North. At the rim, Minnesota Crookston is allowing opponents to shoot just 62.5 percent, which is two percent less than the Division II average, according to cbbanalytics.com. The Golden Eagles also allow opponents to shoot just 43.5 percent from inside the paint, which is three percent the D-II average. Compare that to a season ago, when opponents shot a whopping 73.1 percent at the rim and 58 percent inside the paint.

• FOLLOW THE LEO. This weekend, the Golden Eagles might need to rely on redshirt junior Leonard Dixon, much like they have a majority of the way this season. Dixon has scored in double-figures in 14 of his last 15 games played. The only game that he didn't score in double-figures was when he was held scoreless on Saturday night against Northern State. It was the first time in Dixon's career that he was held scoreless. However, Dixon would finish with 13 points on 3-7 shooting from deep against the Dragons on Sunday. The Demascus, Ore., native has 54 makes from deep on the season and will look for more in a must-win game against St. Cloud State.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 65-135 Season at UMC: 8th Season


St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach: Matt Reimer
Record at SCSU: 119-91 Season at SCSU: Seventh Season


Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Justin Wieck
Record at UMD: 65-30 Season at UMD: Fourth Season


NSIC Rankings

Scoring Offense: 16th
Scoring Defense: 9th
Scoring Margin: 15th
Free Throw Pct.: 16th
Field Goal Pct.: 15th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 3rd
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 13th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 5th
Rebounding Margin: 13th
Blocked Shots: 6th
Assists: 14th
Steals: 15th
Turnover Margin: 15th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 16th
Offensive Rebounds: 7th
Defensive Rebounds: 8th


#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

ST. CLOUD STATE. The Huskies have struggled as of late, losing seven in a row and have lost 10 of their last 11 games. Despite the struggles, Matt Reimer still has his squad in control of their own destiny to be the six and final seed in the NSIC North. The Huskies have Anthony RoberTS at their disposal, who is one of the premier players in the NSIC. Halenbeck Hall should be a fun place to be on Thursday night.

DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORER. Saying Anthony Roberts is a dynamic scorer might be doing injustice to the junior from Chicago. Roberts is averaging just over 19 points per game and is playing 38.4 minutes per game, both of which are top five in the NSIC. Roberts scored in double-figures in 22 consecutive games to start the season, before being held to just nine in the loss to UMary last Saturday. Trying to keep Roberts in check is easier said than done, but it will be needed for the Golden Eagles to defeat the Huskies tomorrow night.

THREE-POINT BARRAGE. Sophomore Matthew Willert has been a streaky shooter this season from behind the arc, but when he gets going, he is tough to stop. Willert has started in 20 games for the Huskies, but has played in all 25 games, making 56 shots from deep, including four in the earlier contest with the Golden Eagles in Crookston. Willert finds more ways to score as well. The Buffalo, Minn., got to the charity stripe 13 times in a game against MSUM two weekends ago, making 11.

DONALDSON IS DYNAMITE. Caleb Donaldson is one of the best second options in the entire NSIC. The Bloomington, Ill., native is averaging 17.7 points per game and has a pair of 31-point games and a 29 point output earlier this season. Donaldson has shot just 35 shots from deep on the season, making 12. In the last game against the Golden Eagles, the junior scored just six points on six attempts from the field.

MINNESOTA DULUTH. The Bulldogs are one of the best teams in the nation, being voted in the top-17 in both the  NABC and D2SIDA polls. However, the Bulldogs were swept for the first time this past weekend on the road at UMary and Minot State, which was the first double-digit loss of the season. UMD is a National Championship contender who beat the Golden Eagles by just seven earlier this year in Duluth.

BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Drew Blair can score the basketball at will. The lefty from Stevens Point, Wis. has scored in double-figures in all but one game, which came on Saturday in the Minot Dome when he scored just four points. Blair has a 33, 29, 28 and 27 point line this season, while making 61 three's and has a double-double to his record as well. The two-time NSIC Player of the Week has been tough this season and was also named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 list for the best player in all of Division II.

SCORE THE BALL. That's what the Bulldogs do really well. Minnesota Duluth is averaging just over 86 points per game this season and have scored over 100 points three times this season, including 123 against Northland College earlier this season. The Bulldogs have five scorers averaging over 10 points per game, which is why the Bulldogs are one of the best offensive teams in the entire nation.

AWESOME AUSTIN. One player who has scored in double-figures in every game this season is Austin Andrews. The sophomore has been named NSIC Player of the Week four times this season and is averaging almost 20 and 10 on the season. Andrews has 12 20-point games to his name this season, including 21 against the Golden Eagles in Crookston. The future is very, very bright for Eden Prairie native.