GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (9-5, 6-4 NSIC) travels to Wayne State (9-5, 5-5 NSIC) on Saturday to meet the Wildcats for a 6 p.m. Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contest.
The series: Saturday will be the 29th meeting between Augustana and Wayne State in a series that first saw action during the 1938-39 season. The Vikings are 16-12 against the Wildcats, while Augustana head coach
Tom Billeter is 6-3 against WSC. The two teams played three times last season; Augustana won two of those contests. The Wildcats were victorious in the last tilt, defeating the Vikings 75-52 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
Last time out: Augustana put together its second weekend conference sweep of the season on Saturday and Sunday, topping Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth on the road. On Saturday against the Beavers,
Cameron McCaffrey,
Cody Schilling and
Leif Nomeland combined for 55 points and the Vikings held off BSU down the stretch to pick up a 69-67 win. McCaffrey led all scorers with 20 points, Schilling netted 19 and Nomeland collected 16. Nomeland was also one rebound away from his first career double-double.
Derrick De Zeeuw also reached double figures with 10 points; he nearly posted his second straight double-double with nine rebounds. On Sunday against the Bulldogs, Nomeland netted a career- and game-high 21 points to lead Augustana past UMD 76-49. Nomeland's 21 points came on 9 of 14 shooting from the floor; he also hit two 3-pointers.
Nice weekend for Nomeland: Sophomore
Leif Nomeland (Osakis, Minn.) put together the best weekend of his career against Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth. Nomeland averaged 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27) from the floor and 50 percent from behind the arc (2 of 4). He opened the weekend with a 16-point (then a career high), nine-rebound outing against BSU on Saturday, helping his team to a 69-67 victory. He followed that performance with a career-high 21 points to key a 76-49 Viking win on Sunday at UMD. He also added seven rebounds against the Bulldogs. Other weekend totals for the sophomore included three assists and one steal.
Rebounding machine: Junior
Derrick De Zeeuw (Brandon, S.D.)?has developed into one of the NSIC's top rebounders, proving that with two stellar games on the boards this past weekend. De Zeeuw grabbed nine rebounds against Bemidji State on Saturday and added 10 on Sunday against Minnesota Duluth. The double-figure effort on Sunday marked the third time this season he has had at least 10. De Zeeuw has led the Vikings on the glass in 10 games this season.
Clean play: Augustana tied a season-low with five turnovers against Minnesota Duluth on Sunday. The Bulldogs turned those mistakes into just two points--a season low for an opponent. The Vikings are 3-1 in games in which they commit less than 10 turnovers.
Killer combo: The backcourt tandem of
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore.) and
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) is one of the NSIC's best. The Vikings are the only team in the conference to have two players averaging more than 16 points in all games. Schilling's 17.8 points per game are complimented by McCaffrey's 17.6 per outing.
Looking for four: A win by the Vikings on Saturday would be their fourth straight--a streak Augustana hasn't gotten to since last season. The last time the Vikings strung together a quartet of wins was during December and January of the 2009-10 campaign when Augustana rattled off victories in eight consecutive games. The streak started with a 82-77 win over Northern State on Dec. 5, 2009, and ended when Upper Iowa squeaked out a 70-67 victory over the Vikings on Jan. 10, 2010. Augustana's current three-game winning streak has been matched twice this season.
Travel-partner weekend: Augustana's one-game weekend is the result of playing its travel partner, Wayne State. On weekends that the Vikings are on the road, WSC plays the same two teams Augustana does on alternate nights. Twice a year, the two teams meet for a single-game weekend. The Vikings will also play the Wildcats at home on Feb. 19.
On the road: The Vikings will look for their fourth road win of the season at Wayne State. They have lost three this season in enemy waters (Southwest Minnesota State, Minnesota State and MSU?Moorhead).
Tommy boy: Junior guard
Ethan Thomforde (Apple Valley, Minn.) reached double figures for the first time this season with his 10 points against Minnesota Duluth on Sunday. Thomforde was a perfect 4 of 4 from the field and drilled both of his 3-point attempts against the Bulldogs. It was the second double-figure scoring contest of his career.
Starting units: Augustana's current starting lineup of
Cameron McCaffrey,
Chad Hettermann,
Cody Schilling,
Leif Nomeland and
Derrick De Zeeuw is 3-1 this season.
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 215-150. He is assisted by Jeff Trumbauer,
Collin Authier and Luke Wiersma.
Vikings add two for 2011-12: Head coach
Tom Billeter has signed Appleton, Wis., native Ben Reker and Evan Pierce from Pittsburgh, Pa., for the 2011-12 season. Reker is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward, while Pierce is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard who spent a semester at Division I Wagner.
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).
