PREVIEW: Big Week For First-Place Ferris State Bulldogs In Men's Hoops Action

This Week's Action: The Ferris State University men's basketball squad, which sits in first place in the GLIAC North Division standings, will face two tough tests this week in conference play. FSU visits Saginaw Valley State on Thursday (Jan. 19) night for an 8 p.m. (ET) league affair in University Center before returning home to host Wayne State on Saturday (Jan. 21) starting at 3 p.m. (ET) inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

Last Week's Results: The Bulldogs posted a pair of impressive wins as GLIAC North Division play began last week. FSU won a high-scoring 111-103 road contest on Thursday (Jan. 14) evening at Lake Superior State and then recorded a decisive 91-59 triumph over Northwood in its first home contest of 2017 at Wink Arena on Saturday (Jan. 16).

Media Coverage: Both games will be carried live on flagship station Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network online at FerrisStateBulldogs.com. For a full listing of links for this weekend, including live internet stats, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

FSU At A Glance: Ferris State currently holds a 13-3 overall record to date this year and owns sole possession of first place in the GLIAC standings with a 7-2 league mark. The Bulldogs have won their last eight games in a row and have scored 80-plus points in all eight victories, including topping the century mark three times in the last five outings. Thursday's tilt at SVSU will be a rematch of last season's NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship Game won by the Cardinals in Kenosha, Wis.

Looking Back To Last Season: A year ago, the Bulldogs won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Championship for the second consecutive year and reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in the third season under head coach Andy Bronkema's direction. The Bulldog men's basketball squad closed a memorable 2015-16 campaign with a 24-10 overall record. FSU reached the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second year in a row and claimed a second-straight GLIAC Tournament Championship while finishing with its first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since the late 1980's.

History Of Success: The Ferris State men's basketball program has a long track record of success that includes more than 1,000 all-time victories, 13 GLIAC Championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. Since 2004, the Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen three times and won six conference regular season or tournament titles.

Scouting The Foes: Saginaw Valley State is the defending NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Champion and owns an 11-5 overall record to date this season. However, the Cardinals have lost their last four outings in a row to date and are only 4-5 in the GLIAC. SVSU is led in scoring by senior guard Garrett Hall at 16.9 points per game to date. The Cardinals are also 8-2 at home this year.

Wayne State is off to a 9-4 start this season and owns a 6-3 league record. After winning their first six GLIAC outings, the Warriors have lost their last three in a row under longtime head coach David Greer. Junior guard Ronald Booth is totaling a team-high 15.5 points per game for the Warriors, who will visit Grand Valley State on Thursday before facing the Bulldogs.

Bevo Francis Honoree: FSU sophomore center Zach Hankins has been chosen to the 2017 Bevo Francis Award Watch List as one of the top 50 small college players in the country. Named for the famed Rio Grande College legend who became one of the most popular players in the world, the Clarence "Bevo" Franics Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within small college basketball. Hankins is among only 100 players competing in affiliations of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and the NCCAA who were selected as part of the initial watch list for the Bevo Francis Award.

The Head Coach: Andy Bronkema - (Cornerstone), 4th season, 70-38 (.648). Bronkema took over the Bulldog program three plus years ago following six years as an assistant coach, including the previous three as the program's top assistant. A collegiate standout at NAIA Division II Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., Bronkema was voted All-Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) three times and twice garnered NAIA Honorable Mention All-America laurels. He was a multi-sport prep standout at McBain (Mich.) High School. In the last two years, Bronkema has led FSU to back-to-back GLIAC Tourney Championships and berths in the NCAA Tournament.

The Coaching Staff: A familiar face is serving as Ferris State men's basketball head coach Andy Bronkema's top assistant coach again this year as Jim Lake returns to the staff. The 41-year old Lake is in his fourth campaign as the full-time assistant, but previously served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Bulldogs in two different stints over the last decade, from 2003-06 and again from 2011-13. He also was an AAU coach for the Grand Rapids Storm and a prep head coach.

In addition to full-time assistant coach Jim Lake, FSU's Andy Bronkema also has two other familiar faces serving as assistants on his fourth staff in Bill Killian and Raymoan McAfee. A FSU professor, Killian has been involved with the program for the last 13 years in his second stint and his association with Ferris basketball dates back to the late 1980's. McAfee wrapped up his collegiate career in 2013-14 as a two-year letterwinner and is back on the staff for the third year in a row. Newcomer Lenny Starck joins the staff this year and is a longtime coach with more than 25 years of experience on the prep level.

The Fourth Season: FSU is in its fourth season under head coach Andy Bronkema after winning the GLIAC Tournament Championship and reaching the NCAA-II Tournament for the second-straight year last season. Prior to last season, the Bulldogs also finished the 2014-15 campaign with a 23-9 overall record. In addition to winning the GLIAC Tournament Championship in his second year, the Bulldogs' season was also highlighted by an NCAA Tournament appearance and several other accomplishments including a top 20 national ranking, a 15-game regular season win streak, an exhibition victory over NCAA Division I Bowling Green and signature wins such as the team's first-ever victory at Findlay's Croy Gymnasium.

Number One In The Nation: Ferris State presently leads the nation in blocked shots at 6.5 per game this year. In addition, sophomore center Zach Hankins presently ranks first individually in the country in blocks with 64 on the season while ranking third in D2 Basketball in field goal percentage (.689). A year ago, Ferris State ranked first nationally at all levels of NCAA Basketball in blocked shots over the course of the year.

Rankings Information: This week, Ferris State is listed 25th in the nation in the D2SIDA National Media Poll sponsored by the Division II Sports Information Directors of America. The Bulldogs are also ranked fourth in the D2SIDA Midwest Regional Rankings. The official NCAA Regional Rankings, which determine the national tournament field, will not begin being announced until late February.

What's Coming Up: After this week's action, the Bulldogs begin a three-game road swing thru the GLIAC North. FSU will travel to the Upper Peninsula to face Northern Michigan (Jan. 26) and Michigan (Jan. 28) before playing a Big Monday clash at West Michigan rival Grand Valley State to close the month (Jan. 30). After the grueling stretch, Ferris State plays five of its final seven regular-season games back at home inside Jim Wink Arena.

Thursday Night Home Action: The Bulldogs have yet to play an evening home game this year inside their home facility, Wink Arena. However, Ferris State will play at home on four consecutive Thursday nights in the month of February with competition against SVSU (Feb. 2), Lake Superior State (Feb. 9), Northern Michigan (Feb. 16) and the regular-season finale against rival GVSU (Feb. 23).

Series History: Ferris State maintains a 56-37 lead heading into Thursday's 94th series meeting with SVSU. The Bulldogs have won 20 of the last 31 series' encounters overall and topped the Cardinals twice in 2014-15 before SVSU won all three meetings a year ago ..... The Bulldogs own a 43-39 all-time series' edge over Wayne State in men's basketball action and posted a 71-68 win at Jim Wink Arena in the most recent matchup last season. However, WSU has claimed 16 of the last 26 games to date.