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This week
No. 16-ranked Augustana (2-1) finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule at home Tuesday, hosting Dakota State (4-3) at 7:05 p.m.
The series
Augustana and Dakota State will meet for the 35th time Tuesday in a series that dates back to the 1922-23 season. The two programs were frequent competitors in the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference in the 1920s and 1930s. Last season, the Trojans snuck in a one-point, 52-51 victory over the Vikings in Sioux Falls, breaking Augustana's 12-game winning streak in the series. Head coach
Tom Billeter is 3-1 against DSU.
Television
Midco Sports Network will carry Tuesday's contest live from the Elmen Center. Tom Nieman will handle play-by-play, while Brad Newitt will provide color commentary. MidcoSN can be found on channels 26 or 622 for Midcontinent Communications subscribers.
Last time out
Augustana split a pair of games at the Western Oregon/Phoenix Inn D2 Shootout in Monmouth, Ore., beating Saint Martin's 70-54 on Friday and falling to host WOU 60-58 on Saturday. Double-figure scoring efforts from four different players helped the Vikings beat SMU.
Cameron McCaffrey, an Oregon native making his collegiate debut in his home state, led the Vikings with 13 points.
Drae Murray,
Cody Schilling and
Leif Nomeland each added 10.
Eric Jorgensen just missed double figures with eight points. WOU rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit en route to its win over Augustana. Trailing by two points with the ball and 42 seconds left, the Vikings missed three field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers that could have given them the lead. Schilling led Augustana with 16 points, while Murray scored 11, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out six assists. McCaffrey contributed nine points, and
Brennan Olson logged a career-high eight points.
Starts under Billeter
Augustana nearly had its third consecutive 3-0 start to the season, but Saturday's close loss to Western Oregon gave the Vikings a 2-1 record through their first three games. Under the leadership of
Tom Billeter, Augustana has started 3-0 three times, 2-1 five times and 0-3 once.
2003-04 0-3
2004-05 3-0
2005-06 2-1
2006-07 2-1
2007-08 2-1
2008-09 2-1
2009-10 3-0
2010-11 3-0
2011-12 2-1
Balancing act
A proper blend of scoring allowed the Vikings to earn a double-figure victory over Saint Martin's (Wash.) this past Friday. Four players--
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore.),
Drae Murray (Huntsville, Texas),
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) and
Leif Nomeland (Osakis, Minn.)--each had at least 10 points. Augustana last had four score in double figures on Feb. 19, 2011, when McCaffrey, Schilling, Nomeland and
Trevor Hass did it in a 69-47 home win over Wayne State.
Against the NAIA
Since the 2000-01 season, Augustana has played 32 games with programs from the NAIA, winning all but three of them. The Vikings' only losses to NAIA clubs during that span have come to Dakota State and Bellevue (Neb.). DSU beat Augustana 52-51 on Nov. 25, 2010; BU topped the Vikings 65-55 on Dec. 31, 2005, and 73-72 on Dec. 17, 2003.
Feels like home
Augustana went 10-5 at home last season. The Vikings last played in the Elmen Center on March 2 in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament against St. Cloud State.
From downtown
Augustana connected on 10 3-pointers Saturday against Western Oregon--accounting for more than half of the Vikings' scoring on the evening.
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore.),
Drae Murray (Huntsville, Texas) and
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) each drilled three, while
Alex Richter (Lakeville, Minn.) hit one. In 2010-11, Augustana made 10 or more 3-pointers five times. That trend resulted in five wins for the Vikings. The last time Augustana clipped double-figures in 3-pointers and didn't win was on Jan. 29, 2010, in a 82-79 loss to Concordia University, St. Paul.
What the coaches say
Augustana is the favorite to win the conference, according to the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released Oct. 26 by the conference office. The Vikings received nine first-place votes and 164 points in the poll voted on by the conference's 14 head coaches.
1. Augustana (9) 164
2. Winona State (3) 158
3. Minnesota State (1) 140
4. Concordia-St. Paul (1) 135
5. MSU Moorhead 122
6. St. Cloud State 108
7. Bemidji State 82
8. Southwest Minnesota State 78
9 Minnesota Duluth 76
10. Northern State 67
11. Wayne State 54
12. University of Mary 46
13. Upper Iowa 31
14. Minnesota, Crookston 13
National news
Augustana is ranked 16th in the 2011-12 National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Preseason Poll released Tuesday. The Vikings received 69 points in the poll voted on by members of the NABC. Defending national champion Bellarmine (Ky.) enters the 2011-12 season as the nation's top-ranked team. The Knights earned 200 points and eight first-place votes. The first regular-season poll is due out Nov. 29. To view the complete poll, turn to page 8. The Vikings were also ranked No. 8 by the Sporting News in its preseason national poll released in September.
A look back
The Vikings finished the 2010-11 season 18-9 overall and 15-7 in the NSIC. Augustana was third in the final conference standings. The Vikings were not selected for the NCAA tournament after making appearances in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Schilling closing in
It could be a record-breaking year for
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.). The senior is ninth on the career scoring list at Augustana with 1,445 points. He needs 385 points to tie Carl Gonder's career scoring mark of 1,830 points. He scored 572 points last season.
Rk Points Player Years
1. 1830 Carl Gonder 1980-84
2. 1795 Mark Smed 1979-83
3. 1764 Greg Nagel 1974-78
4. 1704 Jason Garrow 1988-92
5. 1681 Scott Beckstrand 1990-94
6. 1642 Arvid Kramer 1975-79
7. 1628 Bill Gross 1969-73
8. 1510 Brett Szabo 1987-91
9. 1445 Cody?Schilling 2008-12
10. 1381 Rich Chapman 1973-77
McCaffrey nearing a grand
Junior guard
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore.) will likely go past 1,000-career points early in the season. McCaffrey is at 950 points through three games in 2011-12. The 2009-10 NSIC Freshman of the year owns a career average of 15.6 points per game.
History lesson
Augustana enters its 90th season of men's basketball in 2011-12. The?Vikings are 919-1033 all-time and have racked up 37 winning seasons, including the past five seasons under
Tom Billeter.
On the radio
Veteran radio man Jeff Fylling is back as the “Voice of the Vikings” for 2011-12. Join Fylling for each broadcast on KIKN-FM 100.5. You can also stream the broadcast at kikn.com/stream.
Coaches' corner
Tom Billeter begins his ninth season as head men's basketball coach at Augustana in 2011-12. He is 129-105 as the leader of the Vikings and 226-155 all-time as a head coach. He served as the head coach at North Dakota State for five seasons (1992 to 1997). Billeter is assisted by Jeff Trumbauer, Luke Wiersma,
Chad Hettermann and Hans Hoeg.
Video webcasts
The NSIC and Penn Atlantic have again teamed up to webcast each conference basketball game in 2011-12. A complete broadcast schedule is available at www.northernsun.org.
Augustana Sportscene
Augustana Sportscene is a 30-minute weekly television show highlighting Augustana athletics and is hosted by Director of Athletics Bill Gross. The show includes Viking highlights, interviews with various coaches and student-athletes and promotion of upcoming Augustana athletic events. Augustana Sportscene airs Monday's at 10:30 p.m. and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. on Midco Sports Network and at various times on Mediacom's MC22.
Augustana Coaches' Show
Live from Rookies in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs On ESPN 99.1 each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeff Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics. You can also stream the show live at www.ESPN991.com.
