There will be University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) basketball doubleheaders at Romano Gym this Friday and Saturday.

The women tip-off first both days hosting the University of Minnesota Crookston Friday, then Bemidji State University on Saturday. Coming off a three week road trip, head coach Mandy Pearson has locked down what they need to secure a sweep.

“Our defense needs to improve. We’ve had moments where we’re pretty good, but we’re making some mistakes and we’re losing focus. I think that our team is pretty dedicated to getting better,” Pearson shared. “Honestly our number one thing, and what we focus on, is we want to be playing our best basketball at the middle to end of February.”

They tip-off at 5:30 p.m. Friday then 3:30 p.m. Saturday. They also host the number one ranked team in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) in Minnesota State University-Mankato Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

The UMD men are in for the same three game gauntlet. Falling at Northern State then beating Moorhead last weekend they now sit 13-5 overal, and fourth in the conference.

One of their secret weapons is their deep bench. Lincoln Meister has scored 120 points despite not starting a single game.

“He’s been really patient with continuing to get more and more minutes and I think he’ll just continue to get better and better throughout his career,” Justin Wieck said, the UMD men’s basketball head coach. “Being able to bring in a guy who is very different than Austin, 6’9” 240, has a really good shot blocking presence. But also, that presence around the rim. You’ve seen him catch a lot of lob dunks, which hasn’t been a part of our offense since I’ve been here and just kind of started.”

The men tipoff against Crookston Friday at 7:30 p.m., then battle Bemidji Saturday at 5:30 p.m. They also host the Mavericks on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.