Minnesota Crookston Heads to Minnesota Duluth, Concordia-St. Paul as Start of Three Games Away from Crookston


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will head on the road again for a big two game stretch this weekend. The weekend at Minnesota Duluth and Concordia-St. Paul will start the stretch of three straight games on the road, culminating in a trip to top-five MSU Moorhead. Minnesota Crookston will look to get back in the win column after falling to Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

·   I'LL GRAB THAT DENG REBOUND. Aguek Deng has been outstanding on the defensive end this season and has been one of the more important players on that end of the floor. The redshirt junior is also a key reason why the Golden Eagles are giving up less than ten points per game to opponents than last year. Deng leads in the NSIC in blocks and blocks per game and is top five in defensive rebounds per game and rebounds per game, so he also gives the Golden Eagles extra possessions with close to two offensive rebounds per game. The Golden Eagles have improved on the defensive side of the ball and Deng plays a role in that.

• SET THE NETS ABLAIZE. When Blaize Sagna touches the floor, something he does a lot on a nightly basis (2nd in the NSIC in minutes played), there is almost a 100 percent chance that Blaize is going to score a lot. The junior from London is top five in almost every offensive category, including leading the NSIC in scoring and total points and is second in free throw attempts. Sagna has scored in double-digits in every game this season and has eight games with over 20 points this season and five games with a 30 piece.

·  FEEL FOR THE GAME. Peter Fuchs, Jr., missed all of last year due to an injury that was sustained in the preseason. The Golden Eagles are happy to have him this season. The redshirt freshman from Wausau, Wis., has started the last four games for the Golden Eagles and is averaging seven points per game, including three straight games with exactly seven points in his first three career starts. Fuchs, Jr., is the third leading scorer for the Golden Eagles and Minnesota Crookston is happy he is healthy this season.

·   VALUABLE MINUTES FROM MARIO.  Mario Adams has had to play key minutes this year out of necessity and it could pay off in the short and long term for the Golden Eagles. This past weekend, Adams played a career-high 23 minutes in the loss to the University of Sioux Falls and averaged four points and two rebounds on the weekend. Adams has seen his minutes increase the last four games and has played in double-digit minutes in each of his last four ball games.

·   NO EASY LOOKS. There are still a handful of games left to go, but the way the Golden Eagles have blocked shots this season, they might be on pace to record a block in every game this season. It would be the second time in three seasons that the Golden Eagles would have achieved that, doing so two years ago. The Golden Eagles have nearly doubled their opponents block totals and they lead the Northern Sun in that category. Their ability to not just block shots, but also alter a lot of looks has been key to the improvement for the Golden Eagles this year.

·   FIRST FOR EVERYTHING. This weekend, Minnesota Crookston will head to Duluth looking for their first ever win in the Division II era in Romano Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles do have three wins in the series against the Bulldogs, all of those wins have come in the friendly confines of Crookston. The Golden Eagles have been close to knocking off the Bulldogs on their home floor; The Golden Eagles fell by seven in 2021, nine in 2019, four in 2018, eight in 2016 and seven in 2015. The Golden Eagles have been close in the past and will look to break down that door this weekend against the 'Dogs.

• EXACT SAME NUMBER. When the Golden Eagles play their opponent, there isn't much of a disparity from behind the arc. Minnesota Crookston outshoots their opponents percentage wise, shooting four percent better than the opposing five. Golden Eagle opponents have shot almost 50 more three's on the season, which shows how good the Golden Eagles three-point defense has been this season. Minnesota Crookston averages 21 points per game from behind the arc (7.3 3PM per game), as do their opponents. When the Golden Eagles are successful and shoot the ball well from long range, there is a good chance they will put a win in the left hand column.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 7-39 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (Second as Head Coach)


Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Justin Wieck
Record at UMD: 109-47  Season at UMD: 6th Season


Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears
Head Coach: Matt Fletcher
Record at CSP: 20-68  Season at CSP: 4th Season


Minnesota Crookston @ Minnesota Duluth
Date: Friday, Jan 26
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: Duluth. Minn. / Romano Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/
Live Stats: https://umdbulldogs.com/sidearmstats/mbball/
Series Record: UMD leads the all-time series 39-3
Last Meeting: 109-69 win for UMD in Crookston
Officials: Joshua Schoaf, Jordan Kruger and Patrick Molan


Minnesota Crookston @ Concordia-St. Paul
Date: Saturday, Jan 27
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: St. Paul, Minn. / Gangelhoff Center
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/cspbears/
Live Stats: https://cspbears.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Record: CSP lead 25-9
Last Meeting: 86-76 win for CSP earlier this year in non-conference play
Officials: Brad Yorkovich, Garland Sanchez Jr., and Joel Myers


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (5-11)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 3 Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 14.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.8 APG
Jr. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 22.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG
R-Jr. F 13 Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 6.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.8 BPG
R-Fr. G 12 Peter Fuchs, Jr. (6-4, Wausau, Wis.) 6.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG
R-Jr. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 5.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Sr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 4.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Jr. F 33 Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 5.8 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Fr. G 11 Myles Adams (6-6, Rosemount, Minn.) 2.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Fr. G 24 Mario Adams (6-6, Rosemount, Minn.) 2.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (13-5)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 1 Joshua Brown (6-4, Minneapolis, Minn.) 10.9 PPG, 5.6 PPG
Gr. G 3 Jack Middleton (6-5, Edina, Minn.) 7.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Gr. G 22 Drew Blair (6-5, Stevens Point, Wis.) 19.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Sr. F 24 Charlie Katona (6-6, Shakopee, Minn.) 12.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Sr. F 32 Austin Andrews (6-6, Eden Prairie, Minn.) 10.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Fr. F 4 Caleb Siwak (6-2, Rosemount, Minn.) 2.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG
R-So. F 12 Mattie Thompson (6-7, Duluth, Minn.) 8.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG
R-Fr. F 13 Nick Katona (6-6, Shakopee, Minn.) 2.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Sr. F 40 Lincoln Meister (6-9, Rochester, Minn.) 6.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears (8-10)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Markus Skeete (6-5, Aurora, Ill.) 15.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG
Fr. G 5 Ben Kopetzki (6-0, Andover, Minn.) 8.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Jr. F 4 Japannah Kellogg (6-8, Ames, Iowa) 9.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG
Jr. G 3 Ian Sluice (6-3, Tulsa, Okla.) 6.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Sr. G 35 Jordan Horn (6-2, St. Paul, Minn.) 20.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 0 Antwan Kimmons (6-0, St. Paul, Minn.) 5.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
So. G 10 Sean Mathieu (6-2, New Orleans, La.) 7.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. F 32 Chet Kloss (6-6, Apple Valley, Minn.) 2.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG


#HEADLINES


1. Back on the road

2. Can the Golden Eagles put a full 40 minutes together

3. Looking to avenge early season loss to CSP

4. Peter Fuchs, Jr., continues to play well in the starting lineup

5. Looking for first ever win in Duluth


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota Duluth has been a perennial power ever since Justin Wieck was hired to lead UMD in the spring of 2018. Since then, the Bulldogs have won 109 games and have been an NCAA Tournament team the last two seasons, including a trip to the Elite Eight a season ago, where they fell to Black Hills State. UMD is currently right on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament this year, sitting at No. 8 in the Central Region, so every game matters for the Bulldogs.

JUST LIKE THEY DREW IT UP. For Bulldogs opponents, it is going to be a great day when Drew Blair is done wearing the maroon and gold. Blair has averaged more than 15 points in every season as a Bulldog and he has upped his average to 19.8 points per game this season, with 10 games of more than 20 points this season. In eight games against the Golden Eagles, Blair is averaging 16 points per game, but has been held to single digits twice, so the Golden Eagles have done good things defensively at times against one of the conference's best scorers.

GREAT ON BOTH SIDES. Minnesota Duluth can fill it up offensively, but they will also get stops when they need to as well. The Bulldogs rank third in both points per game at 80.9 and they give up just 68.8 points per game on defense, which is also third in the NSIC. When the Bulldogs give up more than 80 points, they are 0-3 with losses to Southwest Minnesota State, Minnesota State and Minot State. 80 might be the magic number for the Golden Eagles this Friday night.

BALANCED STARTING FIVE. Minnesota Duluth is a dangerous team because they do a lot of things well. They take care of the ball, shoot the ball well and play defense. They are also very experienced and they use that experience to have a balanced offense. Minnesota Duluth has four starters that average more than 10 points per game, led by Blair and Charlie Katona, who averages over 12 points per game.

Concordia-St. Paul. The Golden Bears and Golden Eagles will meet for the second time this season, with CSP winning the battle of the 'Goldens' in a ten point win in Crookston. Since then, it has been an up and down season for the Golden Bears, who are 8-10 in the NSIC and 3-9 in the NSIC, while in the midst of a three game skid.

KEEP THE SAME RECIPE. The last time these two teams met, CSP played extremely well and did a ton of things right. They shot 56 percent in the first half (50 percent for the game), shot 41 percent from three, had just six turnovers and outrebounded the Golden Eagles by seven. It was a ten point victory for the Golden Bears and they will look for that same recipe this time around on their home floor.

TOUGH TIME GETTING STOPS. Like Minnesota Duluth, Concordia-St. Paul has one of the best offenses in the NSIC, ranking second with 81 points per game. Unlike Minnesota Duluth, the Golden Bears struggle defensively, ranking dead last in points given up per game at almost 84 points per game and have had 12 games where they have given up 80 points per game and a game last Saturday against MSU Moorhead where they gave up 79.

AROUND THE HORN. The big question this Saturday might be what kind of impact Jordan Horn makes on the game. The simple answer to that is probably a big one. The senior playing for his hometown school has played in 10 games this season, but has played in just two games the last two months. Horn is averaging 20.5 points per game on the season and scored 19 points against the Golden Eagles this year. The Golden Bears have missed a combined 18 between their two stars, Horn and Antwan Kimmons this season.