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The 25th-ranked Augustana men's basketball team (22-6) will travel to Mankato, Minn., this weekend to compete in the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament. The Vikings are making their third-straight appearance in the tournament, and ninth appearance overall. Augustana, the No. 3 seed, will open the tournament by facing No. 6 seed New Mexico Highlands in a noon contest at the Taylor Center, located on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato.
The winner of the eight-team regional tournament advances to the NCAA Division II?Elite 8 Championships March 24-27 in Springfield, Mass.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS WEB SITE: Minnesota State University, Mankato, has set up a regional championship web site containing information for tickets, parking, game times, live stats and webcast. The site can be found at: http://www.msumavericks.com/sports/2010/2/28/GEN_0228101325.aspx?id=186
TICKETS: Ticket prices for all the games at the Central Regional Tournament are as follows: $15 for reserved general admission, $10 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 5-17), seniors, and college students with a valid student ID.
The MSU ticket office will be open 90 minutes prior to the start of the first game of each day and Bresnan Arena will open 60 minutes prior to the scheduled start of each game. Fans can also purchase tickets online by going to: www.msumavericktickets.com. There will be a total of four sessions. Tickets purchased online can be picked up at the “Will Call” window at the Taylor Center on game day. Online ticket availability will close at 9 p.m., the day prior to each session.
RADIO: All Viking men's basketball games can be heard on KIKN (FM-100.5). The game can also be heard on the internet at: www.kikn.com. Veteran broadcaster Jeff Fylling will call all of the action, beginning with a 20-minute pre-game show.
LIVE STATS: Augustana will provide live stats for its home games this season. Fans wishing to follow the action on the web can go to the following link:
http://www.goaugie.com/sports/2009/10/28/mbasketballgameday.aspx?id=1819
COACHES SHOW: Fans can follow Viking football by listening to the Augustana Coaches Show on ESPN Radio 99.1 FM. Jeff Fylling and Viking head coach Tom Billeter and other Augustana coaches will sit down each Monday at 5 p.m. to discuss all of the happenings within Augustana Athletics. Fans can also catch the show live at Champps, located in the Western Mall in Sioux Falls.
REGIONAL?TOURNAMENT?HISTORY: Augustana is making its third-straiht, and ninth overall, appearance in the NCAA Division II?regional tournament. The Vikings are 6-11 all-time in the regional tournament.
In addition, head coach Tom Billeter has enjoyed a lot of success in the regional tournament. In six previous regional tournaments, Billeter has compiled a 9-6 record. Billeter's teams are also 6-0 in first-round games. Billeter led North Dakota State to four-straight regional tournaments from 1994-97 and has now guided Augustana to three-straight regional appearances. He had a 6-4 regional record at NDSU, while his record with the Vikings stands at 3-2.
20-WIN SEASONS: Augustana has won at least 20 games in each of the past three seasons. The Vikings are 64-24 during that time. In addition, head coach Tom Billeter has led his Augustana and North Dakota State teams to 20-win seasons seven times in his 12-year head coaching career. He led NDSU to four 20-win seasons in five seasons.
VIKINGS CLOSE IN ON WINS RECORD: This season Augustana tied the school record wins in a regular season with 22. Now the Vikings have their sights set on the overall single-season wins record of 23. The 1988-89 team set both records. That squad went 22-6 in the regular season and finished the postseason with a 23-7 record.
