GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (10-5, 7-4 NSIC) returns home this weekend for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tilts with Upper Iowa (5-10, 4-7 NSIC) on Friday at 8 p.m. and Winona State (12-3, 8-3 NSIC) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The series: Friday's meeting with Upper Iowa marks the 10th meeting between the two schools. Augustana has won all but one contest in the series that began during the 1961-62 season; UIU's lone win came on Jan. 15, 2010, when the Peacocks topped the Vikings 70-67 in Fayette, Iowa. Augustana won the last contest 84-73 on Feb. 12, 2010, in Sioux Falls. Head coach
Tom Billeter is 6-1 agains the Peacocks. Saturday will be the 13th meeting between Augustana and Winona State. The series, which is tied at 6-6, first saw action during the 1937-38 season. The Vikings have won the last three games with the Warriors, including two wins last season (88-84 victory on Jan. 15, 2010, in Winona, Minn., and 82-81 victory on Feb. 13, 2010, in Sioux Falls). Billeter is 4-4 against the Warriors.
Last time out: Yuriy Malashenko hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime and help the Vikings pick up a 79-76 double-overtime victory over Wayne State Saturday night in Wayne, Neb.
Cody Schilling led all scorers with 25 points; he also added 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Cameron McCaffrey (15) and De Zeeuw (10) were also in double figures for the Vikings.
Streakin': Augustana's win at Wayne State on Saturday was the Vikings' fourth straight and third consecutive conference road win. The four-game winning streak is the best since 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 managed a 70-67 victory over the Vikings on Jan. 10, 2010. Within those games, the Vikings also put together a four-game conference winning streak The three straight wins by Augustana in conference road games has not been done since the 2008-09 season when the Vikings beat WSC (67-47, Dec. 13, 2008) Minnesota State Moorhead (80-74, Jan. 9, 2010) and Minnesota, Crookston (64-59, Jan. 10, 2009).
Clutch bucket: Freshman
Yuriy Malashenko's (Jordan, Minn.) 3-pointer with three seconds left against Wayne State on Saturday allowed his team to push the game into overtime and eventually notch a 79-76 double-overtime road victory over the Wildcats. Malashanko is a 43.8 percent shooter from behind the arc this season. While he's only taken 16 3-pointers this season, the forward has canned seven of them.
Schilling logs double-double: Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Wayne State on Saturday, guiding Augustana to the double-overtime victory over Wildcats on the road. Schilling finished 9 of 15 (56.3 percent) from the field, handed out two assists and recorded two steals in the Viking win. The junior scored six points in the second overtime period, allowing his team to outscore the Wildcats 12-9 and pull away for the Victory. The double-double was Schilling's first this season and sixth of his career.
Precision shooters: Augustana's performance from the field in its past two games--both wins--has been downright relentless--at least in the eyes of opposing coaches. The Vikings shot 51.7 percent (30 of 58) against Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 9 and followed it with a 50 percent (27 of 54) outing against Wayne State last Saturday. Augustana is shooting 44.0 percent on the season.
Overtime games: The Vikings' double-overtime affair against Wayne State last Saturday was the first overtime game since the final contest of last season when St. Cloud State ended Augustana's season with an 84-75 overtime win in the Central Region final in Mankato, Minn. It was the first double-overtime game for the Vikingss since Jan. 10, 2008, when Nebraska-Omaha defeated the Vikings 98-97 in a North Central Conference game in Omaha, Neb. Since the 2000-01 season, Augustana is 7-7 in overtime games.
Starting combo: Augustana's current starting combination of
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore),
Chad Hettermann (Johnsburg, Ill.),
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.),
Leif Nomeland (Osakis, Minn.)?and
Derrick De Zeeuw (Brandon, S.D.)?has the best record of any unit this year at 4-1. The Vikings have experienced four different groups in 2010-11. Nomeland is the newcomer to this most recent corp, having made the first starts of his career in the past five games.
Home and away: The Vikings are 5-2 at home this season and 3-1 in NSIC home games. Augustana is 4-3 in road games (all conference). Here's a breakdown:
W-L FG% 3-FG% FT% REB PTS TO
Home 5-2 41.3 30.9 73.0 36.9 71.1 11.3
Away 4-3 46.3 28.6 71.8 34.3 71.0 12.1
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.
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
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 216-150. 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).
