GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (17-7, 14-6 NSIC) closes regular-season action this weekend at home, hosting Minnesota State Moorhead (14-10, 11-9 NSIC) on Friday at 8 p.m. and Minnesota, Crookston (7-17, 3-17 NSIC) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The series: Friday will be the 13th game in the series between Augustana and MSU Moorhead. The Vikings are 7-5 against the Dragons and have won the last three games in the series. The two teams first played during the 1966-67 season. Augustana dropped a 64-61 contest to the Dragons back in December. Head coach
Tom Billeter is 4-3 against MSUM. Saturday's tilt with Minnesota, Crookston will be the eighth meeting between the Vikings and Golden Eagles. Augustana, which is 7-1 against UMC, has won the last six contests in the series, including a 81-68 victory earlier this season. The Vikings' lone loss in the series that began in 2003 was on Nov. 24, 2004, when the Golden Eagles topped the Vikings 90-88 in Crookston, Minn. Billeter is 6-1 against UMC.
Last time out: Augustana held Wayne State to just 11 second-half points en route to a 69-47 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory last Saturday night in Sioux Falls.
Leif Nomeland's 17 points--15 of which came in the second half--paced the Vikings.
Cameron McCaffrey added 15 points,
Trevor Hass had 12 and
Cody Schilling netted 10. Augustana shot 56.6 percent (30 of 53) from the floor, marking the sixth time this season the Vikings have eclipsed the 50-percent mark.
Old timers: The weekend home series against MSU Moorhead and Minnesota,?Crookston will be the last for Augustana seniors
Chad Hettermann (Johnsburg, Ill.) and
Adam Peterka (Miller, S.D.). Hettermann, a 6-foot-4 guard who has snagged 90 steals in his tenure, has appeared in 113 games for the Vikings and has made 34 starts. He heads into the weekend with 218 career points. Peterka, a 5-foot-10 guard, has played in 61 games as a Viking. He has scored 45 career points. Hettermann and Peterka will be recognized before Saturday's game.
Welcome back: This year's basketball alumni weekend is set for Saturday in conjunction with the game against Minnesota, Crookston. Last year's seniors will be presented with commemorative player banners during halftime. All other basketball alumni in attendance will also be recognized.
Defensive stoppers: Leif Nomeland (Osakis, Minn.) outscored the entire Wayne State team in the second half in Augustana's game with the Wildcats last Saturday. WSC managed just 11 second-half points, hitting five field goals and not getting to the charity stripe once. Nomeland netted 14 second-half points. The 11 points scored by the Wildcats in the second half was the lowest output by an opponent in one half of play since Feb. 9, 2008, when Minnesota Duluth scored 14 points in the first half of a 62-46 Augustana win.
Movin' on up: Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) is inching closer to a spot on the list of Augustana's top-10 scorers. He's just 20 points away from moving into a tie for the 10th spot with John Eggers, who played for the Vikings from 1965 to 1968 and accumulated 1,329 points.
Rank Pts. Player Yrs.
1. 1,830 Carl Gonder 1980-84
2. 1,795 Mark Smed 1979-83
3. 1,764 Greg Nagel 1974-78
4. 1,704 Jason Garrow 1988-92
5. 1,681 Scott Beckstrand 1990-94
6. 1,642 Arvid Kramer 1975-79
7. 1,628 Bill Gross 1969-73
8. 1,510 Brett Szabo 1987-91
9. 1,381 Rich Chapman 1973-77
10. 1,329 John Eggers 1965-68
11. 1,309
Cody Schilling 2008-11
What's left: This weekend's contests against Minnesota State Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston mark the end of the regular season for the Vikings. Augustana will likely host a first-round game in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Tournament on March 2 as the top four teams in the final conference standings get home games to open. Semifinal and championship games will be played in St. Paul, Minn., on March 5 and 6. Augustana currently has two-game lead on the No. 3 spot.
Nice to see you again: Augustana is 5-2 this season when facing teams for the second time. The Vikings have beat St. Cloud State, Concordia, Southwest Minnesota State Northern State and Wayne State in second meetings. They have lost to Minnesota State and U-Mary in second meetings.
Regionally speaking: Augustana climbed one spot and is ranked No. 5 in the latest Central Region rankings 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. Minnesota State 19-3 17-3
2. Colorado School of Mines 16-3 16-3
3. Fort Lewis (Colo.) 17-5 17-5
4. U-Mary 18-4 17-4
5. Augustana 14-6 14-6
6. Metro State (Colo.) 16-5 16-5
7. Mesa State (Colo.) 15-7 15-7
8. New Mexico Highlands 14-6 13-6
9. Adams State (Colo.) 12-6 12-6
10. Winona State 12-7 11-7
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. Billeter owns a career record of 223-152. 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).
