Marquette, MI – March 5th, 2026 – After last night’s 91–62 win over Ferris State Bulldogs men’s basketball, Northern Michigan Wildcats men’s basketball has secured the opportunity to host the remainder of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Wildcats will host both the semifinals and championship game this weekend.
This marks the first time Northern Michigan has hosted the GLIAC Men’s Tournament in two years, dating back to the 2023–24 season when the Wildcats fell in the semifinals to Grand Valley State Lakers men’s basketball, 92–77. It will also be the first GLIAC tournament hosted at the newly built Vandament Arena, after the previous tournament in Marquette was played at the Berry Events Center.
Last season, Northern Michigan hosted Grand Valley State in the GLIAC quarterfinals and earned an 85–72 victory. The Wildcats then traveled to Houghton, Michigan for the semifinals after Michigan Tech Huskies men’s basketball earned the right to host the remainder of the tournament. Northern Michigan faced the Huskies in the semifinals and spoiled the host’s tournament run with a 69–68 win, led by 26 points from Dylan Kuehl.
In the championship game, the Wildcats faced Lake Superior State Lakers men’s basketball. Northern Michigan controlled the game throughout, capturing the 2024–25 GLIAC Tournament championship behind 19 points and nine rebounds from Jackson Dudek.
Now the No. 1 seed Wildcats will look to defend their title. Semifinal action begins Saturday, March 7, at Vandament Arena. Northern Michigan will face No. 4 seed Lake Superior State at 2:00 p.m. in a rematch of a February 8 meeting that saw the Lakers hand the Wildcats a 71–68 home loss.
The second semifinal, scheduled for 4:30 p.m., will feature No. 2 seed Michigan Tech taking on No. 3 seed Grand Valley State, with the Lakers winning both regular-season matchups. The winners of the two semifinal games will meet in the GLIAC Championship Game at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.
On the women’s side, the No. 4 seed Northern Michigan Wildcats women’s basketball defeated No. 5 seed Michigan Tech Huskies women’s basketball last night at Vandament Arena for the third time this season. Sydney Whitehouse led the Wildcats with a career-high 25 points in the 74–66 victory.
Northern Michigan will now travel to face the No. 1 seed Grand Valley State Lakers women’s basketball, the defending champions, who are hosting the remainder of the women’s tournament. That semifinal matchup is scheduled for 2:00 p.m on Saturday, March 7th., followed by No. 2 seed Wayne State Warriors women’s basketball taking on No. 3 seed Ferris State Bulldogs women’s basketball. The winners will meet in the championship game on March 8 at 3:00 p.m.
