From left in Northern Michigan University’s white uniforms, Charlie Miller, Sam Privet and Brooks Hinson watch as the ball heads out of bounds during a GLIAC men’s basketball game played against Lake Superior State at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — Think of this weekend as a time for positioning for the men’s basketball team at Northern Michigan University.

With six games to go in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season, the Wildcats have continued to remain in a tie atop the league, right now as part of a three-way deadlock with Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State.

While none of the trio play each other this week, NMU and the Huskies have what likely will be a pivotal encounter at Vandament Arena in Marquette exactly one week from today.

In the meantime, Northern needs wins today and Saturday to ensure that the Upper Peninsula rivalry game remains meaningful in the quest for the conference championship.

The Wildcats travel to Detroit to take on Wayne State at 7:30 p.m. today and then head west and a little south to Hammond, Indiana, to face Purdue Northwest at 4 p.m. EST Saturday.

Both games will be streamed online on FloCollege and can also be heard on Marquette radio station WUPT 100.3 The Point.

Fans can follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) and @nmu_mbb on Instagram for updates, or access the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men’s basketball schedule for links to live video, live statistics and a preview.

NMU, MTU and Grand Valley are all 11-3 in league games with the two U.P. schools at 20-4 overall and the Lakers at 18-4 in all games.

They’ve all but clinched the top three spots in the GLIAC, each three games clear of Wayne State, the only other team with a winning record in league games at 8-6.

While Purdue NW (6-8 GLIAC) isn’t really part of the conversation for the top spot in the GLIAC in a tie for fifth place, the Warriors could make some noise if they can pull off a win against the Wildcats today or Michigan Tech on Saturday.

Grand Valley doesn’t have another game left against any of the other top four teams, so they have the clearest path to the regular-season title. But these Lakers just lost on Saturday in Detroit to Wayne State 70-68, breaking a nine-game winning streak that extended back to a 72-60 loss at NMU on Jan. 3. However, that nine-game streak did include an 85-80 win over the Wildcats in Allendale on Jan. 29.

All three of the tri-leaders continue to be nationally ranked, Tech at No. 13, NMU at No. 17 and Grand Valley at No. 19 in this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II poll. Northern dropped one position from last week.

But the Wildcats have to feel fortunate they’re still in a tie for the top spot in the GLIAC, considering they lost at home to Lake Superior State 71-68 on Saturday, two days after swashbuckling Saginaw Valley State 83-61 also at Vandament Arena.

In last Thursday’s game vs. SVSU, NMU raced out to a double-digit lead in the game’s first 12 minutes, then kept a lead at least that large for the remainder of the contest.

Graduate student forward Dylan Kuehl led the way with 32 points despite not making either of his two 3-point tries as he sank 14 of 19 from the field along with 4 of 5 free throws, not to mention grabbing a game-high eight rebounds and blocking three shots. The three blocks matched what all other players combined in the game did, something Kuehl has pulled off on at least two other occasions this season.

Teammate Cal Klesmit added 24 points, going a sizzling 7 of 8 on triples and 8 of 9 overall from the field.

Two days later vs. LSSU, the Wildcats dug themselves a double-digit deficit in each half only to come back from it. In the first half, they managed to not only recover, but take the lead at halftime that lasted a few minutes into the second half.

The second time, they recovered enough to tie the game with five minutes left, but could never get the lead back.

On that day, Kuehl again led Northern with 26 points, hitting 3 of 4 on 3s and 10 of 15 overall from the field, sharing team rebounding honors with eight, though he had seven turnovers.

In conference games, Kuehl continues to lead the way in scoring at 22.1 points per game along with his 56.9% field goal rate, while he’s second with 1.7 blocks per contest. He has scored in double figures in every game against Division II competition this season.

Nationally as a team, the Wildcats are No. 1 with a plus-11.6 per-game rebounding margin, also second with a 1.71 assist-to-turnover ratio, fifth with a plus-19.2 ppg scoring margin and ninth with 39.5% 3-point accuracy.

Klesmit also gets a lot of credit for the statistical success, as he’s second in GLIAC games with 3.4 triples per game, No. 1 by shooting 49.5% on those long-range shots and 10th in scoring at 14.5 ppg.

Bennett Basich has been an oncoming force once the Wildcats got to league play, averaging 11.8 ppg and 6.8 rebounds in GLIAC games, scoring in double figures in 10 of the past 12 games.

Jackson Dudek also averages 12.5 ppg with a career 44.4% rate on 3s being fifth among active players with at least 80 attempts.

Looking at the opposition this week, Wayne State (11-9 overall) has won three straight and is 8-3 at home, including the most recent win over tri-leader GVSU.

Jordan Briggs leads the Warriors at 17.8 ppg, with Carlos Paul III at 12.6 ppg and Jotham Nweke at 10.6 ppg. 

Northern defeated WSU 83-62 on Jan. 24 as Dudek led three NMU players scoring in double figures with 21 points while Briggs led the Warriors with 16.

Purdue NW (10-11 overall) lost to Grand Valley but defeated Davenport 62-56 last week. Kyle Ross leads the Pride at 14.8 ppg and 7.5 rebounds, too.

The Wildcats’ previous matchup with PNW was an 82-75 victory after they trailed by four points at halftime. Kuehl put in 28 points, while Ross had a 23-point, 10-rebound line.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.