GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (12-5, 9-4 NSIC) will look to extend its six-game winning streak this weekend, traveling to Concordia University, St. Paul (11-6, 8-5 NSIC)) on Friday at 8 p.m. and St. Cloud State (10-7, 9-4 NSIC) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The series: Augustana meets both of this weekend's opponents for the second time this season. The Vikings are 6-4 against Concordia University, St. Paul. Augustana beat CU 75-65 on Jan. 4 in Sioux Falls. Augustana head coach
Tom Billeter is 4-4 against the Golden Bears. Friday will be the 79th meeting between Augustana and St. Cloud State in a series that dates back to the 1947-48 season. The Vikings are 35-43 against the Huskies and have lost the last three contests between the two programs. Earlier this month, SCSU topped Augustana 76-74 in Sioux Falls. Billeter is 6-11 against the Huskies.
Last time out: The Vikings lengthened their winning streak to six games with home victories over Upper Iowa and Winona State last weekend. Double-figure scoring efforts from four Vikings and a 60.8 percent shooting performance led Augustana past UIU 97-77 last Friday evening.
Cameron McCaffrey and
Cody Schilling each scored 24 points,
Leif Nomeland had 13 and
Trevor Hass added 10. McCaffrey also dished out five assists. On Saturday against WSU, Schilling drilled a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime and scored a career-high 37 points to lead his team past the Warriors 95-90. Schilling was spectacular, scoring his 37 points on 11 of 20 shooting from the field and 13 of 14 shooting from the charity stripe. After the junior canned the 3-pointer to push the game to overtime, he proceeded to score six points in the extra period to lift the Vikings to the win.
Streakin': Augustana is in the midst of a six-game winning streak with a chance to push that to eight games this weekend. Two wins this weekend against Concordia University, St. Paul and St. Cloud State would match a winning streak put together back in 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. The current conference winning streak--also at six games--is one that has not been matched in two decades. The last time the Vikings had six straight wins in conference tilts was during the 1990-91 season when they were in the North Central Conference.
Double the fun: True freshman
Yuriy Malashenko (Jordan, Minn.) charted the first double-double of his young career against Winona State last Saturday. Malashenko scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. It was the third double-double by a Viking this season.
Hot hands: Augustana's 60.8 percent shooting performance against Upper Iowa last Friday marked a season high and was its best outing since the Vikings shot 63.2 percent against Concordia University, St. Paul on Jan. 30, 2009.
Player of the Week nod: The NSIC announced Monday that
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) was named its Player of the Week for his performance in the Vikings' wins over Upper Iowa and Winona State. Schilling averaged 30.5 points, four rebounds and four assists per game last week. Schilling scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out four assists in the Vikings' 97-77 victory over UIU on Friday. He followed that with a spectacular outing against WSU on Saturday, scoring a career-high 37 points and hitting a 3-pointer as time expired to push the game to overtime and allow the Vikings to notch a 95-90 win. The performance was the best for a Viking since Corey McIntosh also had 37 points against South Dakota on Jan. 12, 2008. For the weekend, Schilling shot 60 percent (18 of 30) from the field and was 22 of 23 (95.7 percent) from the free-throw line. His assist-to-turnover ratio was 4.00, and he also had two steals.
Regionally speaking: Augustana checked in at No. 9 in the first Central Region rankings of the year released Wednesday by the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee.
Rank School D2 In-Region
1. Fort Lewis 14-3 14-3
2. Minnesota State Mankato 14-2 12-2
3. Metro State 12-3 12-3
4. Colorado School of Mines 11-3 11-3
5. Adams State 10-3 10-3
6. Winona State 10-4 9-4
7. Mesa State 10-6 10-6
8. Mary 12-4 11-4
9. Augustana 10-4 10-4
10. New Mexico Highlands 10-4 9-4
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
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 218-150. He is assisted by Jeff Trumbauer,
Collin Authier and Luke Wiersma.
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).