DULUTH, Minn. – For the second consecutive season the Winona State University Warriors and Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will square off in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament for the right to advance to the Sanford Pentagon. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Romano Gymnasium on the campus of UMD.
Winona State (12-16, 9-13 NSIC) is the six seed out of the South and Minnesota Duluth (17-9, 14-8 NSIC) is the three seed from the North. WSU is aiming for a return trip to the Pentagon for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
The Warriors will look to avenge last year's playoff loss that saw the Bulldogs come into McCown Gymnasium and end Winona State's season in overtime, 89-77.
WSU already owns a victory at UMD this season, knocking off the Bulldogs on their home court, 65-53, on February 1, 2019. The Bulldogs did play that game without their top scorer, Brandon Myer.
Kevion Taylor led the Warrior offense in Duluth that night (15 points) as has been Winona State's leading scorer all season. The sophomore forward ranks 11th in the NSIC in scoring average (16.6 ppg) and is ninth in rebounds/game (6.4).
Caleb Wagner is averaging 13.0 ppg and 3.5 assists/game. Tommy Gathje (9.3 ppg) is coming off a senior night performance in which he netted a season-best 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from downtown. Fellow senior Mason Domask is shooting 46% from beyond the arc this season.
Point guard Devin Whitelow rounds out the scoring leaders (8.0 ppg) and ranks fifth in the NSIC in assists/game (4.5). The sophomore's 6.58 assist/turnover ratio leads the nation and is poised to smash the current NCAA record across all three divisions.
Winona State's up-and-down season has hinged on its three-point shooting and the play of its defense which ranks fourth in the NSIC (71.1 ppg). In NSIC play this year, the Warriors are 8-2 when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer. When allowing 75 points or more to a conference foe, WSU is 1-11. The Warriors enter the tournament ranked seventh in the NSIC in three-point shooting (39.5%), which has trended upward over the second half of the season. In regulation games this season, the Warriors are 8-0 when knocking down at least 13 three-pointers in a contest. Overall, WSU is 10-3 when sinking at least 11 shots from downtown.
The Warriors' 78.5% clip at the free throw line this season ranks third in the NSIC as WSU has made the most of its opportunities to the charity stripe. Winona State leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.76) and ranks second in turnover margin (+3.32). Offensively, the Warriors have committed the fewest turnovers in the league (223) and rank seventh in forcing opponent miscues (316).
Scouting Duluth
The Bulldogs enter the postseason on a three-game winning streak and are 8-5 at home this season. Duluth is 6-2 in the month of February dating back to its home loss to Winona State.
The Bulldogs' scoring offense (76.1 ppg) ranks just above Winona State's (75.1) this season. Duluth also sports one of the top scoring defenses in the NSIC – ranking second (70.1). The Bulldogs also rank fourth in both rebounding offense (37.0) and rebounding defense (32.6).
Myer leads the Bulldogs and ranks fifth in the league in scoring (21.6). He is also the top rebounder in the NSIC (10.5). Sean Burns is shooting a conference-best 59% while averaging 14.7 ppg, and ranks eighth in rebounding (7.3). Logan Rohrscheib is third on the team in scoring this season (11.2).
