GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (14-5, 11-4 NSIC) looks to extend its eight-game winning streak at home this weekend, hosting No. 10 Minnesota State (17-2, 13-2 NSIC) on Friday at 8 p.m. and Southwest Minnesota State (9-10, 6-9 NSIC) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The series: Friday marks the 102nd meeting between Augustana and Minnesota State in a series that dates back to the 1932-33 season. The Vikings are 49-52 against the Mavericks and lost the meeting between the two schools earlier this season 83-67 on Dec. 4 in Mankato, Minn. Head coach
Tom Billeter is 5-12 against MSU. Saturday's tilt between Augustana and Southwest Minnesota State will be the 19th time the two programs have met. The Vikings are 10-8 against the Mustangs; the series first saw action during the 1972-73 season. SMSU topped Augustana 66-64 earlier this season on Dec. 3 in Marshall, Minn. Billeter is 5-5 against the Mustangs.
Last time out: Augustana stretched its winning streak to eight games with conference road victories over Concordia University, St. Paul and St. Cloud State.
Cameron McCaffrey and
Cody Schilling combined for 54 points to guide Augustana past CU 83-69 last Friday. McCaffrey netted a game-high 29 points for the Vikings, while Schilling contributed another 25. The duo also combined for six 3-pointers. On Saturday against SCSU,
Derrick De Zeeuw's put back as time expired erased an 87-87 tie and lifted Augustana past the Huskies 89-87. De Zeeuw finished with a career-high 21 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the floor. He also added nine rebounds. The junior also hit two free throws with 41 seconds left to give the Vikings a three-point lead.
Last-second heroics: Derrick De Zeeuw (Brandon, S.D.) made good on probably the biggest offensive board of his career last Saturday against St. Cloud State. His put back as time expired allowed the Vikings to collect a two-point victory over the Huskies on the road. With the game locked at 87-87,
Cody Schilling threw up what would have been the game-winning basket with one second left, but his attempt failed to draw rim--allowing De Zeeuw to snag the offensive board and sink the follow with 0.1 seconds remaining.
Close games in 2010-11: The Vikings have had six games be decided by three points or less this season, and they have fared much better in those contests during the new year. During the 2010 portion of the season, Augustana was 0-3 in games decided by three points or less, dropping close contests to Dakota State (52-51), Southwest Minnesota State (66-64) and Minnesota State Moorhead (64-61). In 2011, however, the Vikings are 3-1 in those situations, grabbing wins over Bemidji State (69-67), Wayne State (79-76) and St. Cloud State (89-87). Augustana's lone loss in a three-point game in 2011 was a 76-74 defeat to SCSU on Jan. 3.
Streakin': Augustana is currently enjoying an eight-game winning streak--a feat that has been matched 10 other times in school history. The eight-game cluster that the Vikings have strung together right now was matched last season, too. Augustana collected at least eight-game winning streaks during the following seasons:?1933-34, 1939-40, 1946-47, 1948-49, 1974-75, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1993-94, 2009-10 and 2010-11. A win on Friday against Minnesota State would be the ninth straight for Augustana, marking the longest streak since the 1987-88 season when the Vikings opened with 12 straight victories. The longest winning streak in school history is 15 games, which came during the 1974-75 campaign.
More on streaks: Augustana has never put together a nine-game conference winning streak in the post World War II era. The last time the Vikings reached that mark was during the 1933-34 season when they rattled off 10 straight wins in South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference play. Here's a breakdown of those wins (sites unknown):
Date Opponent (most recent name) Score Name at time of game
Jan. 11, 1934 South Dakota-Springfield 36-32 Southern
Jan. 12, 1934 Yankton 44-36 Yankton
Jan. 16, 1934 Northern State 41-40 Northern Normal
Jan. 23, 1934 Black Hills State 41-30 Spearfish
Jan. 30, 1934 Huron 39-32 Huron
Feb. 2, 1934 Yankton 42-22 Yankton
Feb. 5, 1934 Dakota Wesleyan 34-33 Dakota Wesleyan
Feb. 13, 1934 Sioux Falls 35-34 Sioux Falls College
Feb. 17, 1934 S.D. School of Mines 42-29 S.D. School of Mines
Feb. 20, 1934 Dakota State 45-30 Eastern
Nationally ranked: Friday's tilt with No. 10 Minnesota State will be the first game against a nationally ranked opponent for the Vikings this season.
Regionally speaking: Augustana checked in at No. 9 in the first Central Region rankings of the year released last Wednesday by the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee. The top eight teams from each region advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Rank School DII 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 220-150. 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).
