Winona, Minn. -  The Winona State University men's basketball program is set to take the court in the first NCAA competition for any Warrior team in nearly ten months, when they travel to the University of Minnesota Duluth this weekend for games on Jan. 2 and 3. Both games are scheduled for a 4pm start time. 

As announced Nov. 13 by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the 2020-21 men's and women's basketball seasons will feature a 16-game schedule beginning the first weekend of January and concluding the regular season on the final weekend of February.   Each NSIC program will open the 2020-21 campaign with a pair of contests against a foe in the opposite division before moving into divisional play on Jan. 8.  Teams will play two contests on back-to-back days against the same opponent, using a single gender site format to mitigate COVID-19 risk.  The top four teams in the North and South Divisions will advance to the 2020-21 NSIC / Sanford Health Men's Basketball Championship Tournament on Feb. 25-28 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

This weekend the Warriors will face off against the Bulldogs who were selected fourth in the North in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Preseason poll.  UMD will feature a youthful lineup in a team that has seven true freshman, but does return All-NSIC second team pick Drew Blair.   

Winona State will give fans, families and followers of Warrior basketball a first look into an much-anticipated squad that features both some standout returning players and some intriguing transfer talent.

Winona State returns Kevion Taylor (Sr., F, Milwaukee, Wis.), who was named the the NSIC South Preseason Player of the Year.  Taylor was a All-NSIC First Team selection in 2019-20 and finished last season among the NSIC leaders in total scoring, 3-pointers per contest and rebounding.  He currently has 214 Warrior triples in his career and has scored 1,368 points. 

WSU is far from a one-man show however, as they return a dynamic play-maker in point guard Devin Whitelow (Sr. G, Peoria, Ill.); as a sophomore, Whitelow set a NCAA record for assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.96 and last year as a junior ran the show in all 30 Warrior contests, notching 104 assists. Also returning is 6'9" Andrea Lo Biondo (Sr., C/F, Legnano, Italy), who patrolled the paint for the Warriors defensively but also was able to step out to the perimeter.  He started every game for Winona State last season and led the team in FG%, at .505 for the year.  Lo Biondo also contributed 43 three-pointers, the third-highest total on the the team while hauling in 197 rebounds. Alec Rosner (Jr., G, Appleton, Wis.) saw significant minutes in 2019-20, and his 40 steals were second only to departed standout Caleb Wagner who had 41. Luke Martens appeared in 30 games for Winona State, averaging over 17 minutes a game. 

Nick Klug (Jr., G, Burlington, Wis.) and Dalante Peyton (Sr., G, St. Paul, Minn.) each appeared in 28 contests in 2019-20 for Winona State, while Alier Riak (Sr., G. Perth, W. Australia) saw action 19 times, giving the Warriors some experience depth in those roles, as does redshirt sophomore Bill Flowers (RS-So., G, Chicago, Ill.). 

Head coach Todd Eisner, heading into his sixth season at Winona State, will also likely look to highly touted transfer Owen King  (Jr., G, Caledonia, Minn.), who joined the Warriors this year.  King, a multi-sport standout at nearby Caledonia High School, competed for two years at South Dakota State, where he appeared in 40 contests over two years for the NCAA Division I program. At 6'3" and gifted with a diverse skill set, King could be the answer for the question left by Warrior graduate Caleb Wagner, who was a All-NSIC First Team pick last year, leading the Warriors in points scored with 625 on the season.   

As the season unfolds, Warrior fans, families and followers may get a glimpse of the 2020-21 Winona State recruiting class.  New faces on the Winona State sideline include Malik Abdul-Wahid (Fr., F, Brookfield, Wis.), Connor Dillon (Fr. G, Peoria, Ill), Declan Dillon (Fr. G, Peoria, Ill), Carsen Arenz (Fr. F, Onalaska, Wis.) and Carter Lomas (Fr., F, Wauzeka, Wis.).  Joining King in the transfer transactions is Alou Dillon (Jr., F., Wauwatosa, Wis.), currently rehabbing a knee injury. 

Coaching Notes:

At 495-234 over 22 seasons in college basketball, Todd Eisner, is well positioned to reach 500 collegiate victories this season.  The Chilton, Wisconsin native has eclipsed the 20-win mark 13 times in his college career. additionally, Winona State men's basketball has been honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award in each of his five seasons with the Warriors. 

Eisner and his staff are looking forward to picking up where they left off last season, as Winona State churned out a 18-12 overall record.  The last team WSU faced was UMD, who downed the Warriors 76-72 in the NSIC / Sanford Health quarterfinals.  The Warriors defeated Minnesota-Duluth in their regular season matchup last year, 85-57 at home.   The 2020-21 season will offer Eisner the first time to have two regular season shots at the Bulldogs; he is 4-0 vs. UMD in regular season action since taking over Winona State in 2015. 

Associate head coach Zach Malvik was named to the 2020 Winona State University Athletic Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of the dominant Warrior teams including the 2005-06 season and as an individual athlete in 2019. 

New Winona State assistant coach Jonah Bradley will make his Warrior debut this weekend; Bradley joined Eisner's staff this past summer, after a successful stint in the Nebraska high school and AAU ranks. 

Miscellaneous: 
 
Winona State men's basketball will play their first four contests of 2020-21 on the road, with two-game trips to Minnesota-Duluth this weekend and Southwest Minnesota State on Jan. 8-9.   When the Warriors return to Winona for their Jan. 15 home game against the University of Sioux Falls will mark the first official men's basketball contest on WNB Financial Court.  Winona State athletic director Eric Schoh collaborated with WNB Financial this past summer, signing an exclusive naming rights contract.  Beginning with the 2020-21 season, Warrior teams compete in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court.  Read more at this link.

The Warrior men's basketball program is thankful for the support of HyVee, Inc.  The Winona HyVee pharmacy announced their donation of COVID-19 testing services to Winona State in November, allowing for Warrior men's and women's basketball teams to meet NCAA and NSIC testing protocols.  More on this partnership led by associate athletic director Melanie Brunsdon and head athletic trainer Stacy Czaplewski is available here.