Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan men's basketball team is set to begin its 2024-25 season at the NCAA D2 Midwest Region Tip-Off in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The Wildcats will face Maryville on November 8 and Missouri-St. Louis on November 9, with both games scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

Fans can listen to the games on 94.9 The Bay, with Casey Ford providing commentary. Updates will also be available on X (formerly Twitter) via @NMU_WBBall and @NMU_Wildcats.

Head Coach Matt Majkrzak expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming season: "I'm excited about the new faces that we have. Dylan is up there with the best players in the conference and he's grown as a leader, Brian Parzych was our best player two years ago before he got hurt, and then we have a mix of some returners, some transfers, and freshmen."

Majkrzak is entering his sixth season as head coach, aiming for a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after successful campaigns in recent years. Under his leadership, NMU won its first GLIAC Tournament title since 2000 in the 2022-23 season and secured a regular-season conference title last year.

Dylan Kuehl has been named to the GLIAC Preseason First Team following his standout performances over previous seasons. In addition to returning players like Kuehl and Parzych, NMU has added several new talents through transfers and freshmen recruits.

The Wildcats will play their home games at Vandament Arena this season after renovations expanded its capacity and modernized facilities.

Maryville enters this matchup after finishing last season with a record of 12-14 in their conference while Missouri-St. Louis had a record of 13-16 last year.