GAME NOTES (PDF) | WATCH LIVE | LISTEN LIVE | LIVE STATS
This week
Augustana (17-9), the No. 5 seed, will travel to No. 4-seeded MSU Moorhead (18-8) Wednesday for the opening round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament. Tip-off for the first-round game at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m.
The series
Augustana and MSU Moorhead will meet for the 16th time on Wednesday and the second time in a week. The Vikings lead the series 8-7 and beat the Dragons 75-61 last Friday in Moorhead, Minn. The win snapped a three-game MSUM winning streak in the series. Head coach
Tom Billeter is 5-5 against MSUM. For more on the series, turn to page 10.
Last time out
Augustana closed out the regular season with two road wins at MSU Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston this past weekend.
Cody Schilling scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Augustana to a 75-61 victory over MSUM last Friday night. Schilling's 18 points was a game high and was one of four double-figure scoring efforts from a Viking.
Drae Murray had 17,
Yuriy Malashenko added 12 and
Leif Nomeland scored 11. The Vikings outrebounded MSUM 36-27 and nailed 10 3-pointers. They led by as many as 26 points in the second half.
Cameron McCaffrey scored half of his game-high 24 points in the final six minutes to help Augustana to a 70-61 victory over UMC on Saturday. McCaffrey went 7 of 11 from the field, drilled three 3-pointers and did not miss any of his seven free throws. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Schilling finished with 11 points. Nomeland had 13, and Murray scored 10.
Schilling almost there
Wednesday will likely be a record-breaking day for Augustana men's basketball.
Cody Schilling (Ellsworth, Minn.) needs just six points to become the outright leading scorer in Viking history. Schilling combined for 29 points this past weekend at MSU Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston to bring his total to 1,825. He's just five points away from tying Carl Gonder's career-scoring mark of 1,830 points. Six points is well short of Schilling's season average of 16.7 points per game this season.
Rk Points Player Years
1. 1830 Carl Gonder 1980-84
2. 1825
Cody Schilling 2008-12
3. 1795 Mark Smed 1979-83
4. 1764 Greg Nagel 1974-78
5. 1704 Jason Garrow 1988-92
6. 1681 Scott Beckstrand 1990-94
7. 1642 Arvid Kramer 1975-79
8. 1628 Bill Gross 1969-73
9. 1510 Brett Szabo 1987-91
10. 1381 Rich Chapman 1973-77
It's Friday
Tom Billeter's crew put together arguably its best performance in February last Friday at MSU Moorhead, beating the Dragons 75-61. The key road win saw the Vikings lead by as many as 26 points against a team that beat Augustana in December in Sioux Falls and a squad that is ranked higher regionally.
Mac attack
Junior guard
Cameron McCaffrey (Portland, Ore.) took over down the stretch against Minnesota, Crookston this past Saturday. McCaffrey scored 10 of Augustana's final 14 points to sink the Golden Eagles, who had cut the Viking lead to two points with 2:48 to play. UMC gave Augustana fits earlier this season in Sioux Falls, too, hanging within three points with less than two minutes to play.
The game of Leif
The left hand of
Leif Nomeland (Osakis, Minn.) drained five 3-pointers this past weekend and scored a combined 24 points. Nomeland went 3 of 5 from behind the arc on Friday at MSU Moorhead and scored 11 points. He followed with a pair of treys and 13 points against Minnesota, Crookston on Saturday. Nomeland has been in double figures nine times this season and 20 times as a Viking.
NSIC finishes
Augustana has finished in the top half of the NSIC in each of its four seasons in the league, never finishing lower than sixth in the 12-team alliance. While the Vikings have the No. 5 seed for the NSIC Tournament, they tied for fourth in the final standings with MSU Moorhead. The Dragons, which split with Vikings in 2011-12, received the tie breaker for seeding purposes via the point-rating system, which factors in the strength of schedule in conference games played.
2008-09 Sixth
2009-10 Third
2010-11 Third
2011-12 Fourth (tie)
Vikings in the NSIC Tournament
Since joining the NSIC in 2008-09, Augustana has placed itself in the conference tournament every year. The Vikings, however, have had little success in tournament games, going winless in three first-round games. Augustana fell to St. Cloud State in 2009 and 2011 and was defeated by Wayne State in 2010.
March 4, 2009 at St. Cloud State L 91-84
March 3, 2010 Wayne State L 75-52
March 2, 2011 St. Cloud State L 79-73
Potential pairings
A win by Augustana on Wednesday at MSU Moorhead would pair the Vikings against the winner of Bemidji State and Wayne State. BSU won the conference title outright with a 16-6 NSIC mark, while WSC locked up the eighth seed with a 9-13 record in conference games. The Vikings beat BSU earlier this season in Sioux Falls and split with WSC. The semifinal game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Rochester, Minn.
The other games
Other first-round games in the NSIC/Sandford Health Men's Basketball Tournament, which are all hosted by the higher seeds, include No. 8 Wayne State at No. 1 Bemidji State, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State, and No. 6 Winona State at No. 3 St. Cloud State. All games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The semifinals and finals will be played at Taylor Arena in Rochester, Minn., on March 3 and 4. Midco Sports Network (channels 26 or 622 for Midcontinent Communications subscribers) will broadcast all semifinal games and the championship tilt. For the complete bracket, turn to page 21.
Selection Sunday
Following the conclusion of the NSIC Tournament on Sunday, March 4, the NCAA will make its selections for the NCAA tournament, which includes eight teams from each of the country's eight regions. The winner of the conference tournament will be guaranteed a spot in postseason play. The NCAA produces a live webcast of the selections, which will be streamed at NCAA.com.
Regionally speaking
Augustana stayed at No. 9 in the latest Central Region rankings released last Wednesday by the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee. The Vikings have a Division II and in-region record of 14-9. Colorado School of Mines, which is 21-2 in both Division II and in regional play, took over the top spot in this week's rankings, replacing Winona State. The top-eight teams in the final region rankings advance to the NCAA tournament. The Vikings have made nine postseason appearances in program history, including in 2008, 2009 and 2010 under
Tom Billeter.
Rk School DII Region
1. Colorado Mines 21-2 21-2
2. Winona State 20-3 20-3
3. Metro State 20-5 20-5
4. St. Cloud State 16-6 16-6
5. MSU Moorhead 15-6 15-6
6. Bemidji State 18-7 18-7
7. Southwest Minnesota State 15-8 15-8
8. Adams State 14-6 14-6
9. Augustana 14-9 14-9
10. Nebraska-Kearney 14-9 14-9
What the coaches say
Augustana was 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 seven weeks. Winona State is the only other NSIC school ranked as the Warriors checked in at No. 2. Augustana was ranked as high as 14th on Dec. 13. To view the complete poll, turn to page 8.
History lesson
Augustana enters its 90th season of men's basketball in 2011-12. The Vikings are 934-1041 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.
