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This week
Augustana (10-7, 7-6 NSIC) is back at the Elmen Center this weekend, hosting Concordia University, St. Paul (8-9, 5-8 NSIC) Friday at 8 p.m. and No. 13 St. Cloud State (15-2, 11-2 NSIC) Saturday at 6:05 p.m.
The series
Augustana and Concordia University, St. Paul will meet for the 13th overall time on Friday and for the second time this season. The series first saw action during the 2000-01 season. The Vikings are 7-5 against the Golden Bears but fell to CU 81-77 on Jan. 12 in St. Paul, Minn. Head coach
Tom Billeter is 5-5 against CU. Saturday marks the 82nd contest between Augustana and St. Cloud State and the second tilt between the two programs this season. The series commenced in 1947-48. The Vikings trail 36-45 and have lost five of the last six tilts, including an 86-61 defeat on Jan. 2 in St. Cloud, Minn. Billeter is 7-13 against the Huskies. For more on both series, turn to pages 10 and 11.
Television
Midco Sports Network will carry Saturday's contest against St. Cloud State 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 (HD) for Midcontinent Communications subscribers.
When on the tube
The Vikings are perfect in five games when playing on Midco Sports Network this season. Augustana has wins over the University of Sioux Falls; Dakota State; Minnesota State; Minnesota, Crookston; and Bemidji State on MidcoSN.
Last time out
Augustana suffered losses in a pair of conference road games last weekend, falling to Upper Iowa and then No. 8-ranked Winona State. UIU's Josh Hughes drilled a 3-pointer with three seconds left to erase a 66-66 tie and lift his Peacocks to a 70-66 victory over Augustana Friday night.
Drae Murray scored a game-high 21 points for Augustana;
Cameron McCaffrey added 13.
Cody Schilling grabbed eight rebounds to along with his seven points. UIU shot 47 percent from 3-point range, connecting on 9 of 19 from behind the arc. WSU received double-figure scoring performances from four different players to collect an 85-79 victory over the Vikings Saturday night. The Warriors made 45 trips to the free-throw line, connecting on 34 of those tries. Schilling poured in a game-high 27 points for Augustana, which shot 53.8 percent (28 of 52) from the floor.
Leif Nomeland netted 16 points, and McCaffrey added 10.
Road woes
Augustana dropped its fourth straight road game with its loss to Winona State last Saturday. The Vikings are 2-5 in away venues this season, with their two road wins coming at Northern State and U-Mary on Dec. 9 and 10, respectively.
Hot shooting
Augustana put together its best shooting performance in a conference game this season last Saturday, connecting at a 53.8-percent clip (28 of 52) against Winona State. The Vikings have shot better than 50 percent five times this season. Augustana's season high in the category came on Nov. 22 against Dakota State when the Vikings went 31 of 55 from the floor for 56.4 percent.
Hey Drae
Senior point guard
Drae Murray (Huntsville, Texas) still sits atop the NSIC in steals at 2.46 per game. Murray has had at least one steal in all but one game this season. Five times in 2011-12, Murray, a transfer from Sam Houston State, has made at least four swipes. His season high was a seven-steal outing against U-Mary on Dec. 9. He also ranks 21st in the country at 2.4.
Home and away breakdown
The Vikings have fared much better in the Elmen?Center than in enemy waters this season. Augustana is 6-2 at home and better in most statistical categories when playing on campus in Sioux Falls.
Tom Billeter's crew has better marks at home in field-goal percentage, 3-point field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounds, points and turnovers.
W-L FG% 3-FG% FT% REB PTS TO
Home 6-2 48.9 37.6 74.9 34.5 80.2 10.6
Away 2-5 45.0 36.7 75.0 30.7 67.9 12.4
Scoring threat
Senior guard
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) has proven he is liable to explode for big games throughout his productive career at Augustana. Schilling went off for 27 points against Winona State last Saturday--his third game of at least 27 points this season. For his career, Schilling has scored at least 25 points 12 times.
Jan. 9, 2009 at MSU Moorhead 29
Dec. 3, 2010 at Southwest Minnesota State 30
Jan. 4, 2011 Concordia-St. Paul 25
Jan. 15, 2011 at Wayne State 27
Jan. 22, 2011 Winona State 37
Jan. 28, 2011 at Concordia-St. Paul 25
Feb. 11, 2011 at Northern State 26
Feb. 23, 2011 at U-Mary 34
Feb. 26, 2011 Minnesota,?Crookston 44
Nov. 15, 2011 vs. Sioux Falls 28
Jan. 7, 2012 Bemidji State 29
Jan. 21, 2012 at Winona State 27
Charity-stripe tries
A season-high 30 fouls by Augustana last Saturday against Winona State sent the Warriors to the line 45 times, marking a season-high by an opponent. WSU converted 34 of those attempts. It was the most free throws by a Viking opponent since March 1, 2003, when Nebraska-Kearney made 46 trips to the foul stripe.
We meet again
The Vikings' contests against Concordia University, St. Paul and St. Cloud State this weekend are the second meetings with the two teams this season. In fact, all of Augustana's remaining regular-season opponents for the 2011-12 campaign will be repeat match ups. The difference in these second encounters IS the location, which moves to the venue of the school who was on the road in the last meeting.
How they rank
Last Saturday's game with then No. 8-ranked Winona State was Augustana's first contest this season against a nationally ranked opponent. The Vikings tested the Warriors but fell 85-79. The Vikings will face another nationally ranked club on Saturday as St. Cloud State enters ranked No. 13?in the country.
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.
National news
After appearing in the NABC/Division II national polls for six straight weeks, Augustana fell out of the top 25 in the Jan. 10 edition of the rankings. The Vikings have now been out of the top 25 for three weeks. NSIC schools in the rankings include Winona State (No. 6) and St. Cloud State (No. 13). Augustana was ranked as high as 14th on Dec. 13. To view the complete poll, turn to page 8.
Schilling closing in
It could be a record-breaking year for
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.). With his combined 34 points last weekend against Upper Iowa and Winona State, Schilling passed former Viking post man Arvid Kramer. He now sits at sixth with 1,671 career points. Schilling needs 159 points to tie Carl Gonder's career scoring mark of 1,830 points.
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. 1671 Cody?Schilling 2008-12
7. 1642 Arvid Kramer 1975-79
8. 1628 Bill Gross 1969-73
9. 1510 Brett Szabo 1987-91
10. 1381 Rich Chapman 1973-77
History lesson
Augustana enters its 90th season of men's basketball in 2011-12. The Vikings are 927-1039 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.
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.
