Storylines
• Augustana men's basketball (13-11, 10-8 NSIC) will play its final regular season home games of the 2013-14 season this weekend hosting MSU Moorhead and Northern State.
• The Vikings enter the weekend tied for seventh overall in the NSIC and fourth in the South Division.
• Augustana is currently tied with Upper Iowa, at 10-8, for fourth in the South Division standings.
• The top four teams in each division will host the first round of the NSIC Basketball Tournament on Feb. 26.
• Augustana will welcome MSU Moorhead (16-6, 12-6 NSIC) at 8 p.m. on Friday night to start the weekend.
• The Vikings will then wrap-up the weekend hosting Northern State (14-10, 9-9 NSIC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
• Augustana will honor four seniors on Saturday who will be playing their final regular season game at the Elmen Center.
•
Yuriy Malashenko,
Evan Pierce,
Ben Shellim and
Isaac Jorgensen will be honored on Saturday.
A rare weekend
• Augustana was swept at home for the first time since the 2004-05 season last weekend falling 78-62 to Winona State and 84-79 to Upper Iowa.
• Augustana has now lost three straight home games, marking just the first time that has happened since the 2004-05 season.
• Augustana had not lost consecutive home games (away games played in between) since the 2006-07 season (at the Sioux Falls Arena).
• The last time Augustana lost consecutive home games (away games played in between) at the Elmen Center was during the 2005-06 season.
• On Friday night, Winona State held Augustana to just 22 first-half points as the Vikings shot just 8 of 23 from the field allowing the Warriors to jump out to a 17-7 lead in just over six minutes.
• Winona State shot 52 percent from the field and out-rebounded Augustana 37-27.
• Augustana lost a 17-point lead against Upper Iowa on Saturday night losing 84-79.
• Upper Iowa took its first lead of the game with 1:44 left and held on for the win.
• Upper Iowa hit 11 3-pointers, including three straight to end the first half and bring the Peacocks within four going into the locker room.
•
Casey Schilling led Augustana with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
About Augustana
• Augustana is 13-11 on the season and is has scored 78.7 points per game.
• Augustana has allowed 71.0 points per game this season and holds a +7.7 scoring margin.
• The Vikings have shot 45.8 percent from the field, including 38.0 percent from 3-point range.
• The Vikings are shooting 74.0 percent (422 of 570) from the free throw line as a team.
• Augustana has grabbed 35.9 rebounds per game and holds a +3.3 rebound margin through 24 games.
• The Vikings are averaging 12.0 turnovers and own a +1.0 turnover margin.
• Augustana is averaging 12.8 assists per game and owns an assist/turnover ratio of 1.1
About MSU Moorhead
• MSU Moorhead enters the weekend with a 16-6 overall record, including 12-6 in NSIC play.
• The Dragons split a pair of home games last weekend, defeating St. Cloud State 91-88 on Friday night before losing 70-67 to Minnesota Duluth on Saturday.
• MSU Moorhead has had a tough time on the road this season, going 5-4 in its nine home games. The Dragons are 11-2 at home in 2013-14.
• MSU Moorhead is averaging 85.5 points per game and owns a +11.8 scoring margin over its opponents.
• MSU Moorhead is shooting 48.1 percent from the field, including 38.7 percent from 3-point range.
• The Dragons have shot 69.5 percent from the free throw line and average 39.3 rebounds (+7.5) per game.
• Tarell Clark leads the Dragons averaging 11.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field.
• Urbane Bingham ranks second on the team with 11.6 points per game while grabbing 4.1 rebounds.
• Chad Walthall is in his fourth season as the head coach at MSU Moorhead.
• Walthall owns a career record of 187-108, including 71-39 at MSU Moorhead (50-34 NSIC).
About Northern State
• Northern State is 14-10 on the season, including 9-9 in the Northern Sun.
• The Wolves enter the weekend having lost four straight games, all at home.
• Last weekend, Northern State lost 88-80 to Minnesota Duluth and 76-58 to St. Cloud State.
• Northern State is averaging 76.0 points per game while allowing 74.2 (+1.8).
• NSU is shooting 47.9 percent from the field, including 37 percent from 3-point range.
• The Wolves have shot 68.4 percent from the free throw line and have shot 26 more free throws than their opponents this season.
• Seth Bachand leads NSU averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 61.2 percent from the field, which ranks second in the NSIC.
• Skye Warwick ranks second in the NSIC averaging 2.6 3-pointers per conference game and third on his team in scoring 10.5 points per game.
• Paul Sather is in his fourth season as the head coach at Northern State.
• Sather owns a career record of 153-110, including 59-48 at Northern State (39-44 NSIC).
Series history
• Augustana will look to even the all-time series with MSU Moorhead in the 18th meeting between the two teams.
• Augustana is 8-9 all-time against MSU Moorhead and has lost two straight meetings with the Dragons.
• Friday's game will be the first time Augustana has played MSU Moorhead at the Elmen Center since Dec. 18, 2011.
• MSU Moorhead has won five of the last 6 meetings.
• Last season, MSU Moorhead defeated Augustana 79-62 in Moorhead, Minn. on Feb. 8.
• Saturday's game will be the 65th all-time meeting between Augustana and Northern State.
• Augustana is 34-30 all-time against the Wolves and has won 10 straight games over NSU.
• Augustana and Northern State met twice last season, both in Aberdeen.
• The Vikings won the regular season game 72-62 on Feb. 9 and defeated the Dragons 85-61 in the second round of the NSIC Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena.
--- GoAugie.com ---