Sports
Been a long time: Northern Michigan University men's basketball … – Marquette Mining Journal
Mar 11, 2023
Northern Michigan University’s Max Bjorklund, center, dribbles between Ferris State defenders Jimmy Scholler, right, and Vejas Grazulis during their GLIAC men’s basketball game played at the Berry Events Center in Marquette on Dec. 9. Grazulis is a graduate of Marquette Senior High School. (Photo courtesy NMU)
MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team will make its first appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament in more than two decades tonight in the Midwest Regional opening round in Indianapolis.
The single team that emerges from the eight vying for the regional crown will advance to the NCAA D-II Elite Eight to also be held in Indiana, though this will be in Evansville, from March 21-25.
Seeded No. 5 in the region, the Wildcats (24-7) open against a former GLIAC member, No. 4 Hillsdale (23-6), at 7:30 p.m. EST. This is the last of four regional quarterfinal games being held today in Indianapolis.
The game will be broadcast on WUPZ 94.9 FM The Bay, as the Wildcats’ regular station, WUPT 100.3 FM, will be carrying tonight’s overlapping CCHA playoff hockey game between that Wildcats team and Michigan Tech.
Fans can follow the men’s hoopsters @NMUMensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on Twitter, or by visiting the NMU athletics website, nmuwildcats.com, under the men’s basketball schedule page for video, audio, live statistics and a preview.
The Midwest Regional is being hosted by its No. 1 seed, the University of Indianapolis, which would be NMU’s second-round opponent if Northern wins and Indy gets by No. 8 McKendree in its opening game at 5 p.m.
Today’s afternoon games feature the other two current GLIAC teams to also qualify for the 64-team national tourney.
No. 6 Ferris State of the GLIAC takes on No. 3 Ashland at noon, while No. 7 Wisconsin-Parkside of the GLIAC faces No. 2 Missouri-St. Louis at 2:30 p.m.
Today’s winners advance to the Midwest semifinals on Sunday. The Wildcats would play at 7:30 p.m., to be preceded by today’s two afternoon winners facing off at 5 p.m.
And the regional championship is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.
This is NMU’s first national tourney appearance since 2000, when the Wildcats lost to Northern Kentucky 89-57 after winning three games to take their most recent GLIAC Tournament crown.
And just like in 2000, NMU last weekend defeated Michigan Tech to clinch that conference title and the automatic NCAA bid.
In 2000, the Wildcats won 73-70, according to records kept by NMU Sports Information, while last Saturday, Northern dropped the Huskies 79-66.
NMU’s last NCAA tourney victory was a year earlier in 1999, when the Wildcats opened with an 83-77 win over Lewis before falling to Kentucky Wesleyan 93-72.
And the last time Northern won multiple games in the NCAA tourney was 1981, when they downed Wright State 70-69 and Western Illinois 93-87 before losing to Mount St. Mary 88-74.
Prior to their first NCAA appearance in 1979, the Wildcats competed in the NAIA tournament, having won as many as five games in one year in that event during the 1950s and ’60s.
But back to this year, NMU’s current winning streak of six games includes three games in their GLIAC tourney championship run last week.
Earlier in the tourney, the Wildcats dropped Saginaw Valley State 75-66 in Marquette, then went to Ferris and defeated the Bulldogs 67-59 before facing MTU in the finals.
That streak and an eight-game string spread across December and January are cornerstones of a season that has tied the program record in victories with 24. That feat has been accomplished three times, most recently in the NCAA tourney-qualifying season of 1999-2000 when the Wildcats were 24-6.
But tonight’s task to break that record won’t be easy, as Hillsdale, playing at home in the far southern Lower Peninsula on Nov. 20, handed NMU its first loss this season, 74-53, after the Upper Peninsula team’s 4-0 start.
In that game, Chargers senior Jack Golhke led all scorers with 26 points, while NMU’s most proficient scorer was senior Max Bjorklund, but with just 11 points. The Wildcats struggled with their shooting, making only 35% from the field (21 of 60) and just 14% on 3-pointers (3 of 22).
In Northern’s defense, it was also the Wildcats’ third game in four days just after they posted home wins against Minnesota-Crookston and Concordia-St. Paul where they scored at least 90 points in each of those triumphs.
Just in recent weeks, Hillsdale was the No. 3 seed in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament and lost to No. 2 Ashland 76-69 in the semifinals. The Chargers average 75.3 points per game and have the fourth-lowest turnover average in NCAA Division II at 9.0 per game.
Gohlke, who averaged a team-leading 13.9 ppg with 3.2 triples per game, was joined on the GMAC First Team by fellow senior Peter Kalthoff, who was close in scoring at 13.4 ppg and has 7.1 rebounds per contest.
In addition, GMAC Second Team berths were bestowed on Hillsdale sophomore Joe Reuter at 12.8 ppg and a six-rebound average and senior Kyle Goessler at 11.1 ppg and 2.6 assists per game.
Bjorklund, who won this year’s regular season GLIAC scoring title after he’d been named conference Preseason Player of the Year back in October, also earned GLIAC Tournament MVP honors after averaging a shade under 20 ppg in the event, scoring 23 in NMU’s first two games and 13 in the final against Tech.
Freshman Max Weisbrod joined Bjorklund on the All-Tournament team after the former scored 14 or 15 points in each of the three games and had a total of 13 assists and 15 rebounds in the trio of games.
Teammate Sam Schultz also made a big impact in the title game, coming off the bench to score 17 points in just 21 minutes playing time as he made 6 of 8 from the field, adding in six rebounds and no turnovers.
And redshirt freshman Dylan Kuehl had 14 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double in the final.
Before that, NMU came back to defeat SVSU after trailing throughout the first 35 minutes, then beat Ferris by holding the Bulldogs to a poor shooting day.
Here are some other notes about the game gleaned by NMU SI:
• Northern and McKendree each enter the NCAA tournament riding a six-game win streak, longest in the regional field;
• Northern averages 80.1 ppg and holds opponents to 70.1 ppg;
• For as young as the ‘Cats are, they have the lowest turnover clip per game in the GLIAC at 9.6, which is also seventh lowest in Division II.
• The Wildcats also clean up the glass well, averaging 6.6 more rebounds per game than the competition. That is fourth best in the Midwest and 15th in the country.
• Bjorklund’s 20.2 ppg is the best scoring average in the Midwest region as he shoots 44.9% from the floor, 38.0% on 3-pointers and 78.0% on free throws. He was named to All-GLIAC First Team and has racked up 1,713 career points in his collegiate career at NMU and Bemidji State.
• Kuehl averages 12.8 ppg and leads the team with 6.8 rebounds a contest to lead the GLIAC in the regular season. His 54.9% in overall shooting is best among freshmen in the Midwest and second-best for Division II freshmen. Kuehl was named to the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team.
• Weisbrod averages double figures in scoring at 12.3 ppg and leads the team in assists at 5.1 per game. His season-assist total of 157 ties him for 19th in the country. Both assist numbers are second-best in the country for first-year players. He also makes 44.1% on triples, fourth best in the Midwest. He was named GLIAC Freshman of the Year and to the All-GLIAC Second Team.
Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.
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