HOUGHTON, Mich. – The No. 9 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men's basketball team completes the non-conference slate and the calendar year with a trip south, partaking in the Florida Tech Winter Classic this weekend.
Michigan Tech will face the host, Florida Tech, on Friday at 5:00 p.m. before a 7:00 p.m. contest on Saturday against Lynn. A live stream and live stats of the tournament can be found on Michigantechhuskies.com/live.
About the Panthers
Florida Tech has played to a .500 record through the first ten games of the season with a 5-5 standing overall and a 2-2 ledger in league play. The Panthers most recently bested Eckerd (87-85) in overtime on Tuesday night, winning five of the last six and will play three games in five days by the conclusion of the Florida Tech Winter Classic.
Florida Tech takes over 28 3-pointers per game, averaging 10 makes as part of their 75.4 points per outing. Xavier Ford-Belton and Ca'Darrius Sowell lead the team in points and rebounds as they each post 10.8 points, with Ford-Belton adding 7.7 rebounds compared to 5.6 for Sowell.
Noah Van Bibber paces the team in 3-pointer attempts (52), 3-pointers per game (2.11) and total 3-pointers made (19), averaging 9.6 points in 17.7 minutes. Greyson Williams adds nine points and leads the team in assists (4.5) and steals (1.2).
The Panthers were predicted to finish last in the Sunshine State Conference coach's poll under first-year head coach Will Murphy.
About the Fighting Knights
Lynn enters the Florida Tech Winter Classic after falling on Tuesday night to Tampa (79-78) for an overall standing of 7-2 while playing to a 3-2 record in the SSC. LU will also navigate three games in five days to conclude the weekend.
The Fighting Knights rank top-10 in the country in assist/turnover ratio (1.82), assists per game (20.4), offensive rebounds per game (17.67), rebounds per game (46.89), scoring offense (97.0), three-point attempts per game (37.8) and 3-pointers per game (13.6). Lynn also has the 11th-best bench in the country, earning 39.11 points from its reserves.
Polk has netted a season-high 24 points and six 3-pointers made this season, averaging 2.7 triples per game on 37.5 percent.
Of the 95.1 points Lynn averages, the Fighting Knights see four players average double-digit scoring, led by Max Polk with 16.3 points. Braydon Luli adds 14.8 points and a team-high 1.5 steals and 3.6 assists. John Roland puts up 13.3 points and a team-leading eight boards, including 4.6 on offense. Justin Bubak chips in 12.3 points and 4.8 boards.
Lynn was tabbed to finish fourth in the Sunshine State Conference coaches' poll in the second season under the guidance of head coach Bill Morosco.
About the Huskies
Michigan Tech travels to Florida for the second time in two months, after opening the season 2-0 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Since then, the No. 9 nationally-ranked Huskies have played to a 7-1 record for an overall standing of 9-1, including a 2-0 ledger in league play as part of their seven game win-streak.
The defense has been the storyline for Michigan Tech as they have a top-five field goal percentage defense nationally, holding opponents to 36.7 percent from the field. The Black & Gold rank second in the country in scoring defense, holding the opposition to 58.7 points per game. Additionally, Michigan Tech has the 12th-best three-point percentage defense (27.0%) and brings down 29.40 defensive rebounds, which is 22nd in the country.
Nate Abel leads the team with 6.8 rebounds, as Gabe Smith (6.2) and Marcus Tomashek (5.0) round out the top-rebounders.
Tomashek, the Huskies' All-American, has scored in double-figures in eight games this season and scored his first 20-point game since the opening weekend in the win over UW-Stout on Saturday, finishing with 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Smith and Ty Fernholz add 9.4 and 9.9 points per game, respectively. Fernholz knocks down 2.7 triples per game with a game-high of six 3-pointers in the win over St. Cloud State, while Smith has five games of double-digit scoring with a season-high 17 points in the season opener.
One Last Thing
At 9-1 through 10 games, the Huskies are on pace to have the best record in program history as they currently hold a similar record to the 2001-02 team and the 2002-03 teams that went 27-3 and 29-3, respectively. Head coach Josh Buettner played a role in the success in those two seasons as a freshman and sophomore for the Black & Gold.
