The Ferris men’s basketball team is coming off their 11th straight victory after downing the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals in a 107-83 win Saturday, Feb. 3.
The Bulldogs have not only been making noise in conference play but have earned attention on a national level as this week the team jumped to No. 3 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll.
The nationally third-ranked squad improved to 23-1 overall on the season and 13-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The 23rd victory stands as the most wins out of any team in Division II men’s basketball.
The team also completed a season sweep of the Cardinals after last Saturday’s contest.
The Bulldogs currently hold a two-game lead in first place over the Lake Superior State Lakers and are the only team in the GLIAC to clinch the conference tournament thus far.
The Bulldogs enter the month of February with a daunting schedule with multiple marquee matchups. The team will enter a four-game road stand this week beginning with a matchup on Thursday, Feb. 8 against the Tiffin Dragons.
Some of the intriguing matchups consist of games against Northern Michigan, who sits in third place in the GLIAC, Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State.
“We have some big road GLIAC games and as the conference comes to an end we’re just trying to finish out strong and host the GLIAC Tournament,” Ferris sophomore guard Greg Williams said. “ We have back to back long road trips these next two weeks. First in Ohio against Ashland and Tiffin and then we go up to the U.P. to play Michigan Tech and Northern.”
The men’s team has dominated a great deal of the teams that they have played this season.
The Bulldogs have a mentality of running up and down the floor and stretching defenses, thus resulting in them being first in almost every offensive category in the conference.
After last Saturday’s victory against the Cardinals, the Bulldogs have now hit the 100-point mark three times this season, which is the most out of any team in the conference.
Ferris also improved to 14-0 on the season in Jim Wink Arena, proving that it is one of the toughest places to play in Division II basketball.
The Bulldogs lead the conference with 85.0 points per game and are second in field goal percentage.
The team, under fifth year head coach Andy Bronkema, has won three-straight conference tournament championships and appear to be on track to put themselves in contention to do the same this year.
“We have a couple road trips coming that are huge for us if were able to stay locked and loaded,” Ferris senior forward Noah King said.
The Bulldogs will be back in action as they begin their four-game road stretch on Thursday, Feb. 8, to take on the Tiffin Dragons in Ohio.
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