Northern Michigan University’s Gerald Gittens Jr., left, looks for a teammate to pass to while defended by Wisconsin-Parkside’s Fawaz Surakat during their GLIAC men’s basketball game played at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Dec. 7. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — The high-flying men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University gets a bit of a break this weekend with a final home game before the holiday break against an NCAA Division III opponent.

The Wildcats host Northland College of Ashland, Wisconsin, and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference at 2 p.m. Saturday after compiling 7-2 overall and 2-0 GLIAC records so far this fall.

NMU must be getting close to the national rankings, considering that the other three conference schools at 2-0 are all at least receiving votes in this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II poll — Ferris State (10-1) is fifth, Lake Superior State (8-2) is 17th and Grand Valley State (6-3) received two votes and is outside the top 25.

And Northern has played three either current or previously ranked teams so far, losing to current No. 6 Minnesota State-Moorhead 82-71 on Nov. 22, falling at then No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth 79-67 on Nov. 23 and defeating then-No. 25 Upper Iowa 79-76 last Saturday.

Northland is struggling at its own level at just 0-9, including a 106-43 setback at Michigan Tech last Saturday. The Lumberjacks are being outscored by 33.8 points per game, though six players average at least five ppg, led by Jahlani Thornton at 9.4 points per game and 7.4 rebounds a contest.

NMU and Northland have met 84 times dating all the way back to the 1923-24 season. The Wildcats have won the last 23, an 86-47 victory in Marquette in 2010 their most recent matchup.

The Wildcats’ Dylan Kuehl was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week after the back-and-forth win over Upper Iowa at neutral-site Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. He led NMU with 19 points and seven rebounds in a game with 26 lead changes, scoring eight straight points late in the game.

Saturday’s game will be broadcast on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point, or fans can follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the game. Or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men’s basketball schedule for links to live video, live audio, live statistics, ticket information, a game preview and series history.

Last Saturday, in addition to Kuehl’s feats, teammate Julien Smith scored 15 points, including the game’s final seven points and the Wildcats’ final nine points over the last 90 seconds.

Here are some nuggets on this NMU team as compiled by NMU Sports Information:

• Kuehl leads Northern at 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, scoring at least 12 points, making at least five field goals and shooting at least 50% in each of his last seven games. He broke the 1,000-point level earlier this season, the 35th Wildcat to do so. Kuehl was also a GLIAC Preseason First Team honoree after being named GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team each of his first two playing seasons.

• Smith is next in NMU scoring at 13.4 ppg, followed by Sam Privet at 10.4 ppg, Brian Parzych at 9.4 ppg and Gerald Gittens Jr. at 8.8 ppg.

• The Wildcats lead the GLIAC allowing just 28.6 rebounds per game and are second in scoring defense at 68.7 ppg.

• Sixth-year head coach Matt Majkrzak looks to guide Northern to its third straight NCAA Division II tournament appearance after two of the best seasons in program history and winning GLIAC Coach of the Year last spring. The Wildcats were 25-8 in 2022-23, winning their first GLIAC tourney title since 2000. Then last season, NMU went 22-11 and won the conference regular-season title for the first time since 1993 at 14-4, which included a program-tying best 13-game winning streak. His record is 93-58, a .616 winning percentage.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.