Storylines• Augustana men's basketball (16-13) advanced to the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament with a 66-64 win over Northern State in Aberdeen, S.D. on Wednesday night.
• Augustana entered the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South Division, Northern State was the North Division's No. 4 seed.
• The Vikings will now head to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls to take on regular season NSIC Champion Minnesota State on Saturday, March 1.
• The Mavericks (26-4) enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed out of the South Division and are currently ranked 15th in the country in the NABC Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
• The Mavericks earned a 76-60 win over the North's No. 8 seed Minnesota Crookston on Wednesday night.
• Augustana and Minnesota State will play the final game on the first day of quarterfinal games at the Sanford Pentagon with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m.
• The advancing team will play the winner of the Wayne State and Southwest Minnesota State game on Monday, March 3 at 8:30 p.m.
• Wayne State is the No. 7 seed in the South Division and SMSU is the No. 3 seed.
All-NSIC Teams announced• The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced its All-Conference team on Thursday.
• Augustana's
Daniel Jansen and
Casey Schilling both earned first team All-NSIC honors.
• Jansen and Schilling were two of just three sophomores in the league to earn all-conference honors, the only two to be named to the first team.
• In conference games, Jansen averaged 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field, including 45.6 percent from 3-point range.
• Jansen finished the regular season ranking sixth in points, 19th in rebounding, seventh in 3-point field goal percentage and 11th in offensive rebounds.
• Schilling had a strong resume for player of the year awards from the league, finishing second in scoring (19.0 ppg), fourth in rebounding (8.5 rpg), 10th in assists (3.2 per game), fourth in steals (1.8 per game), sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (45.7 percent), 13th in blocks (0.9 per game) and assists to turnover ratio (1.4).
Last time out•
Ethan Guske hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left that gave Augustana a lead it would hold onto to defeat Northern State 66-64 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament on Wednesday night in Aberdeen, S.D.
• Guske's 3-pointer broke a 60-60 tie and the Vikings hit two free throws in the waning seconds and held Northern State out of the basket.
• Augustana got 32 points from its bench on Wednesday night as
Devin Gilligan finished with 11 points while
Matthew Brazendale pitched in with 10.
•
Casey Schilling finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
• Both teams shot 35 percent from the field, but the Vikings hit nine 3-pointers and Northern just five.
About Augustana• Augustana enters the quarterfinal round of the NSIC Tournament at 16-13 on the season and averaging 79.4 points per game.
• Augustana has allowed 72.9 points per game this season and holds a +6.5 scoring margin.
• The Vikings have shot 45.8 percent from the field, including 38.7 percent from 3-point range.
• The Vikings are shooting 74.1 percent (528 of 713) from the free throw line as a team.
• Augustana has grabbed 36.0 rebounds per game and holds a +3.1 rebound margin through 29 games.
• The Vikings are averaging 12.2 turnovers and own a +0.5 turnover margin.
• Augustana is averaging 13.4 assists per game and owns an assist/turnover ratio of 1.1.
About Minnesota State• Minnesota State enters the weekend at 26-4 on the season and is currently ranked 15th in the NABC Coaches' Top 25 poll.
• Minnesota State is also the No. 1 ranked team in the Central Region.
• The Mavericks earned the No. 1 seed in the South Division for the conference tournament and defeated the North's No. 8 seed, Minnesota Crookston, 76-60 on Wednesday night.
• Minnesota State is averaging 86.3 points per game and holds a +16.5 scoring margin on the season.
• Minnesota State has shot 50.5 percent from the field as a team, including 40 percent from 3-point range.
• The Mavericks shoot 70.1 percent from the free throw line and average 17.6 makes per game.
• Minnesota State averages 40.7 rebounds (+9.4 margin) per game.
• Minnesota State averages just 10.4 turnovers per game and has dished out 17.4 assists per game.
• Zach Monaghan, recently named the NSIC's Player of the Year, averages 15.3 points and 8.1 assists per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field.
• Assem Marei leads the Mavericks in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg).
• Matt Margenthaler is in his 12th season as the head coach at Minnesota State.
• Margenthaler was recently named the NSIC's Coach of the Year for 2013-14, marking the third time he has received the honor.
• Margenthaler owns a career record of 280-114 all at Minnesota State.
Series history• Saturday night's game will be the 110th all-time meeting between Augustana and Minnesota State.
• Augustana is 52-57 all-time against the Mavericks.
• Minnesota State has won three straight games over the Vikings.
• Minnesota State swept the season series this year, winning 86-81 at the Elmen Center on Dec. 14 and 84-77 in Mankato on Jan. 17.
• This marks the second straight year Augustana and Minnesota State will meet in the NSIC Tournament.
• Minnesota State knocked Augustana out of the tournament last season with an 87-66 win in Rochester.
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