Storylines
• Augustana men's basketball (10-6, 7-3 NSIC) returns to action on the road this weekend with a crucial road trip.
• The Vikings will start out the weekend at 20th-ranked Minnesota State (14-3, 8-2 NSIC) at 8 p.m. on Friday night with a chance at tying the Mavericks in the conference standings.
• Augustana will then take on Concordia-St. Paul (4-10, 1-9 NSIC) at 6 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center on Saturday night.
• This weekend will mark the second and final time of the regular season that Augustana will play Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.
• Augustana split those games at home on Dec. 13-14, defeating Concordia-St. Paul 79-70 and falling to Minnesota State 86-81.
• Augustana sits in a six-way tie for third-place in the overall NSIC standings entering this weekend and is tied with Southwest Minnesota State for third in the South Division.
Last time out
• Augustana split a pair of home games last weekend, falling 97-79 to Bemidji State on Friday night and defeating Minnesota Crookston 79-61 on Saturday.
• On Friday night, Bemidji State shot a school record 71.2 percent from the field and was led by Brock Lutes' career-high 34 points.
• Bemidji State hit 37 of 52 shots from the field, including 11 of 19 (58 percent) from 3-point range.
• Augustana shot 42.6 percent from the field, hitting 9 of 21 from 3-point range and shot a season-high 92.3 percent from the free throw line.
•
Casey Schilling led Augustana with 19 points and five rebounds while
Daniel Jansen added 13 points and five rebounds.
• Augustana rebounded with a 79-61 win over Minnesota Crookston on saturday night, behind steady play and three players in double-figures.
• Jansen led the Vikings with 19 points while Schilling added 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Freshman forward
Devin Gilligan added a career-high 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting.
•
Adam Beyer (6) and
Jamall Taylor (5) combined for 11 assists and zero turnovers in the win.
About Augustana
• Augustana is 10-6 on the season and is has scored 78.8 points per game.
• Augustana has allowed 70.1 points per game this season and holds a +8.7 scoring margin.
• The Vikings have shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 36.5 percent (127 of 348) from 3-point range.
• The Vikings are shooting 72.4 percent (288 of 398) from the free throw line as a team.
• Augustana has grabbed 36.2 rebounds per game and holds a +2.6 rebound margin through 16 games.
• The Vikings are averaging 11.7 turnovers and own a +2.8 turnover margin.
About Minnesota State
• Minnesota State enters the weekend ranked 20th in the NABC Top 25 poll and is 14-3 on the season, 8-2 in the NSIC.
• The Mavericks had a six-game win streak snapped last weekend, losing 99-85 at MSU Moorhead on Saturday.
• MSU defeated Northern State 91-80 on Friday night.
• Minnesota State enters the weekend as the NSIC's leader in scoring averaging 87 points per game.
• Minnesota State ranks second in the league in scoring defense allowing 68.1 points per game and first in scoring margin (+18.9).
• Minnesota State leads the NSIC averaging 41.5 rebounds per game (+9.9).
• The Mavericks have shot 50.2 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from 3-point range and 71.0 percent from the free throw line this season.
• MSU has five players averaging double-digits in points, led by Assem Marei's 15.4 points per game.
• Marei also leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game, which ranks fifth in the NSIC.
• Zach Monaghan is averaging 14.2 points and leads the NSIC in assists with 7.53 per game.
• Gage Wooten has scored 13.4 points per game and leads the NSIC shooting 62.1 percent from the field.
• Matt Margenthaler is in his 12th season as the head coach at Minnesota State.
• Margenthaler owns a career record of 268-113, including 82-34 in NSIC contests.
About Concordia-St. Paul
• Concordia-St. Paul enters the weekend with a 4-10 overall record, including 1-9 in conference games.
• The Golden Bears have lost nine of their last 10 games, with their last winning coming on Jan. 3, 69-60) against Minnesota Duluth.
• Concordia-St. Paul is averaging 72.4 (-2.0) points per game and 38.1 rebounds (-0.1) this season.
• CU has shot 40.7 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from 3-point range and 66.1 percent from the free throw line.
• Terez VanPelt leads the Golden Bears and ranks third in the NSIC averaging 18.6 points per game.
• Travon Mitchell is averaging 13.1 points for the Golden Bears and has hit a team-high 29 3-pointers on the season.
• Mike Yahnke leads the Golden Bears in rebounding with 5.8 boards per game while scoring 7.7 points per contest.
• Kelly Boe is in his eighth season as the head coach at Concordia-St. Paul.
• Boe owns a career record of 127-112, including 104-103 at CU and 77-78 in NSIC contests.
• Boe spent the 2000-01 season at Madison Area Technical College where he posted a 23-9 record.
Series history
• Friday will be the 109th all-time meeting between Augustana and Minnesota State.
• Augustana and Minnesota State first met on Jan. 12, 1933 in Mankato, Minn.
• Minnesota State owns a four-game lead in the all-time series, which stands at 56-52 in favor of the Mavericks.
• Minnesota State has won two straight games over Augustana, including an 86-81 win over the Vikings at the Elmen Center on Dec. 14.
• Augustana has won its last two games it has played at the Taylor Center in Mankato.
• Last season, Augustana defeated Minnesota State 82-79 in overtime on Jan. 26.
• Augustana also defeated the Mavericks 70-64 on Feb. 3, 2012 at the Taylor Center.
• Saturday's meeting between Augustana and Concordia-St. Paul will be the 17th all-time.
• Augustana is 11-5 all-time against the Golden Bears in a series that began on Nov. 24, 2000.
• Augustana has won nine of the last 10 games it has played against Concordia-St. Paul, including four straight games.
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