GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (5-3, 2-2 NSIC) makes its final road trip of 2010 this weekend with Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference treks to Minnesota, Crookston (4-3, 0-3 NSIC) on Friday and Minnesota State Moorhead (5-2, 2-1 NSIC) on Saturday. Tipoff for both games is 8 p.m.
The series: Friday's tilt with Minnesota, Crookston will be the eighth meeting between the Vikings and Golden Eagles. Augustana, which is 6-1 against UMC, has won the last five contests in the series. The Vikings' lone loss in the series that began in 2003 was on Nov. 24, 2004, when the Golden Eagles topped the Vikings 90-88 in Crookston, Minn.
Tom Billeter is 6-1 against UMC. Saturday will be the 12th game in the series between Augustana and MSU Moorhead. The Vikings are 7-4 against the Dragons and have won the last three games in the series. The two teams first played during the 1966-67 season. Billeter is 4-2 against MSUM.
Last week: Augustana picked up its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference wins of the season last weekend, topping U-Mary 68-55 on Friday and Northern State 90-85 on Sunday. On Friday against the Marauders,
Cody Schilling scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Vikings to the win. Schilling's play was complimented by 12 points from
Cameron McCaffrey and 10 from
Leif Nomeland.
Derrick De Zeeuw and
Nathan Truex each added eight points. On Sunday against the Wolves, McCaffrey netted a season-high 27 points--including 22 in the second half--to guide Augustana past NSU. McCaffrey finished 7 of 19 from the floor and also handed out four assists. The Vikings also got 17 points from true freshman
Trevor Hass and 16 from
Cody Schilling. Hass connected on five 3-pointers.
Derrick De Zeeuw was just a bucket and rebound short of a double-double, recording eight points and nine rebounds.
Out of a slump: The Vikings were on the verge of their worst losing streak since the 2006-07 season heading into last week's conference games with U-Mary and Northern State. A loss against U-Mary on Friday would have been the fourth straight for Augustana--the worst skid since the Vikings closed the 2006-07 season with six straight losses.
Tre's for Trevor: Maybe it's no coincidence that the first three letters of his name are slang for a 3-pointer. True freshman
Trevor Hass (New London, Wis.) found his stride against Northern State last Sunday, connecting on five 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 17 points. All five of Hass' field goals were from behind the arc; he also drained both of his free throws in the Viking win.
Second-half surge: A 27-point outing by
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore.) against Northern State last Sunday was the result of a huge second half by the sophomore. McCaffrey unloaded 22 of those 27 points in the game's final 20 minutes, allowing Augustana to hold off a lingering Wolves squad. Double-figure scoring efforts have been the norm for last season's NSIC?Freshman of the Year as he has eclipsed double digits a team-best seven times in 2010.
Big bench: The Augustana bench had its biggest game of the year last Sunday against Northern State. The Viking reserves scored a season-high 37 points in the win. Augustana's bench has combined for double-figures every game this season.
Home and away comparison: The Vikings will aim for their first road win of the season this weekend at Minnesota, Crookston and MSU Moorhead. Augustana dropped two games on the road to open the 2010-11 NSIC season, falling to Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State.
Merry Christmas!: This weekend's road trip north will be the last action of 2010 for the Vikings. In years prior, the Augustana may have scheduled a few additional non-conference games over the holiday break. However, the NCAA now mandates a week off for it student-athletes over the holidays per its “Life in Balance” initiative.
Road warriors: The Vikings will travel nearly 800 on this weekend's journey.
NSIC adjustment: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule was moved to a 22-game slate for the 2010-season--an increase of two games from the former league schedule. With that change, the Vikings were only able to play four non-conference contests this year.
According to the coaches: Augustana was selected fourth in the 2010-11 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Vikings received 138 points from the conference's 14 head coaches. Winona State received 10 first-place votes and 165 points to take the No. 1 position. St. Cloud State was second (four first-place votes, 157 points), and Minnesota State was third (143 points).
1. Winona State (10) 165
2. St. Cloud State (4) 157
3. Minnesota State 143
4. Augustana 138
5. U-Mary 119
6. Southwest Minnesota State 98
7. Concordia-St. Paul 89
8. Northern State 84
9. Wayne State 71
10. Bemidji State 64
11. MSU Moorhead 51
12. Minnesota Duluth 42
13. Upper Iowa 40
14. Minnesota, Crookston 13
( ) First Place Votes
Roster breakdown: The Vikings return three starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament squad that set a school record for wins with 24. Augustana features eight guards and eight forwards on its 2010-11 roster. There are also two seniors, three juniors, five sophomores, one redshirt freshman and five freshmen.
NCAA Tournament time: The Vikings advanced to the NCAA?Tournament for the third consecutive season in 2009-10 and also made it to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. The Augustana men's basketball program has nine NCAA?Tournament appearances under its belt. As of late, the Vikings have been consistent enough to qualify for the “dance” three times every decade. Head coach
Tom Billeter has led the Vikings to three of those appearances in his eight-year tenure.
Coaches' corner: Now in his eighth season at Augustana, Billeter has steadily solidified the men's program. His Vikings have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and advanced to the Central Region championship game in 2009 and 2010. Over the last three seasons Augustana has compiled a 67-26 record, and each of the last three campaigns have resulted in 20 wins or more. Billeter owns a career record of 211-148. He is assisted by Jeff Trumbauer,
Collin Authier and Luke Wiersma.
Vikings add one for 2011-12: Head coach
Tom Billeter announced Nov. 9 that Appleton, Wis., native Ben Reker has signed a letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Augustana beginning in 2011-12. Reker is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward who is currently a senior at Appleton West High School. As a junior a year ago, Reker averaged 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He was named all-conference second team and guided his team to a 17-8 record. Reker also shot 56 percent from the field as a junior.
Follow live: There are several ways to get up-to-the-second updates from Augustana basketball games--both home and away. Jeff Fylling calls all the games live on KIKN-FM 100.5; that broadcast can also be picked up at www.kikn.com/stream. All of the Vikings' home games are video webcasted at www.GoAugie.com/webcast. Each conference road contest is also webcast by the host institution. A link for broadcasts on the road can be found on the “schedule” page on the men's basketball home page. Live statistics for all of Augustana's home games can be viewed by logging onto www.GoAugie.com/livestats. For live stats of each road game, check out www.GoAugie.com/livecentral or go the “schedule” page on the men's basketball home page.
The Augustana Coaches' Show: Live from the Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeff Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics.
Stay connected: Follow Augustana all season long on its official online home, www.GoAugie.com. You can also get the latest news and updates on the Vikings on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GoAugie) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GoAugie). To view video highlights and the latest episode of the Augustana Sportscene, log onto the Vikings' official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/GoAugie).
