SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 9 Augustana College men's basketball returns to the hardwood this weekend with a pair of road Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference contests. The Vikings (15-1, 9-1 NSIC) will look to its best start in school history when they take on St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth this Friday and Saturday. Augustana and St. Cloud State (9-7, 5-5 NSIC) will tip-off from Halenbeck Hall at 8 p.m. on Friday night before the Vikings square-off with the Bulldogs (8-8, 5-5 NSIC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Romano Gymnasium.
 
With a sweep last weekend, Augustana improved to 15-1 on the season, marking its best start since the 1987-88 team went 14-1 to open the year. The Vikings enter the weekend winners of eight straight games, marking its longest win streak since 2010-11. Augustana's longest winning streak in school history is 15 games which occurred in the middle of the 1974-75 season.
 
Storylines
• Augustana enters the weekend ranked No. 9 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll.
• The Vikings enter the weekend tied for first overall in the NSIC with MSU Moorhead at 9-1 in conference play.
• The Vikings are one of just two one-loss teams remaining in the NSIC.
• Augustana is 15-1 on the season, while MSU Moorhead enters this weekend at 18-1 on the year.
• Augustana is in first place in the NSIC South Division (9-1).
• Augustana enters the weekend ranking second in the NSIC and 27th in the country averaging 84.9 points per game.
• The Vikings rank fifth in the league and 71st in the country allowing just 67.3 points per game.
• Augustana has out-scored its opponents by 17.6 points per game this season, ranking second in the NSIC and 10th in the nation.
• Augustana is shooting 48.8 percent from the field this season, which ranks fourth in the NSIC and 45th nationally.
• Augustana leads the NSIC averaging 39.3 rebounds per game and ranks second allowing just 30.3 rebounds per game.
• Augustana leads the NSIC with a +9.1 rebound margin on the season which ranks 15th in Division II.
• The Vikings have dished out 16.7 assists per game, ranking third in the NSIC and 32nd in the country.
• Junior forward Daniel Jansen enters the weekend averaging 19.6 points per game which ranks second in the NSIC and 42nd nationally.
• Jansen leads the NSIC and ranks 17th in the country with 114 free throw attempts.
• He also leads the NSIC and ranks 11th in the country with 90 made free throws on the year.
• Jansen ranks sixth in the NSIC with 6.4 rebounds per game and fourth with 98 made field goals this season.
• Junior forward Casey Schilling , coming off his first career 30-point game and NSIC Player of the Week honors, ranks fifth in the NSIC averaging 17.6 points per game.
• Schilling ranks second in the league and 57th in the country averaging 8.4 rebounds per game.
• Schilling leads the NSIC and ranks 13th in the country with seven double-doubles on the year.
• Schilling enters the weekend needing just 13 points for 1,000 in his career and three rebounds for 500 in his career.
• Schilling would become just the 14th player in school history to record 1,000-plus points and 500-plus rebounds in a career.
• Schilling would become the 31st member of the 1,000-point club in Augustana history.
• Jordan Spencer is coming off his first career double-double where he scored 16 points and dished out 10 assists.
• Spencer enters the weekend ranking third in the NSIC and 24th in the nation dishing out 5.8 assists per game.
• Spencer ranks second in the league and 11th in the nation with a 3.2 assist to turnover ratio.
 
Last time out
• Augustana swept a pair of home games last weekend starting with an 80-65 win over Concordia-St. Paul on Friday night.
• The Vikings shot 90 percent from the free throw line and got 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists from Jordan Spencer in the win over the Golden Bears.
• Augustana led by five (39-34) at the half but used a 19-9 run in the second half to finally pull away from the Golden Bears.
• Daniel Jansen led the Vikings with 22 points, hitting 5 of 12 shots from the field, including a 3-pointers.
• Jansen also finished the game 11 of 11 from the free throw line.
• Casey Schilling pitched in with 19 points, six rebounds and three blocks while Alex Richter picked up 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting.
• Augustana was then set up for its second showdown of the season with No. 16 Minnesota State.
• The Vikings trailed the Mavericks 72-67 with 6:26 to play but tied the game with just over a minute left to force overtime.
• Augustana dominated the extra session, out-scoring the Mavericks 20-11 en route to a 98-89 victory.
• Casey Schilling led the Vikings with a career-high 31 points to go along with 13 rebounds and four blocks.
• It was a back-and-forth battle all night as neither team held a double-digit lead at any point of the night.
• Both teams had a shot for the win with less than 10 seconds in the game but after a Jansen miss and a Schilling block on the other end the game was sent to overtime.
• Jordan Spencer registered his first career double-double in the win with 16 points and 10 assists to go along with four rebounds.
• Daniel Jansen picked up his fourth straight 20-plus point game, finishing with 29.
• Alex Richter pitched in with 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting.
 
About Augustana
• Augustana is averaging 84.9 points per game while allowing 67.2 points per game on the season.
• The Vikings are out-scoring opponents by 17.6 points per game.
• The Vikings have shot 48.8 percent from the field, including 36.8 percent from 3-point range.
• Augustana averages 17.6 made free throws per game and is shooting 75.4 percent from the line.
• The Vikings have grabbed 39.3 rebounds per game and own a +9.1 rebounding margin.
• Augustana has dished out 16.7 assists per game to just 11.9 turnovers.
• Augustana is averaging 5.6 steals and 2.4 blocks per game.
• Daniel Jansen leads the Vikings averaging 19.6 points per game and has hit a team-high 98 field goals.
• Casey Schilling is averaging 17.6 points per game with a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game.
• Schilling is shooting 54.9 percent from the field and has a team-high 26 steals and 15 blocks.
• Alex Richter has averaged 14.9 points per game to go along with 3.9 rebounds per contest.
• Richter is shooting 54 percent from the field, including 37.9 percent from 3-point range.
• Jordan Spencer is averaging 11.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
 
About St. Cloud State
• St. Cloud State enters the weekend at 9-7 on the season, including 5-5 in NSIC play.
• The Huskies swept a pair of home games last weekend, defeating Minnesota Crookston (70-63) and Bemidji State (80-55).
• SCSU is averaging 81.9 points per game while allowing 73.5 points per game.
• The Huskies are shooting 46.3 percent from the field, including 37.1 percent from 3-point range.
• SCSU has shot 73.2 percent from the free throw line and is averaging 18.4 made free throws per game.
• The Huskies have averaged 33.4 rebounds per game while allowing 36.4 (-3.0 rebound margin).
• SCSU has dished out 14.2 assists per game while committing 9.6 turnovers per contest.
• Jordan Poydras leads the team averaging 15.7 points per game.
• Matt Craggs is averaging 15.1 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.
• Matt Reimer is in his first season as the head coach at SCSU after spending the last 17 years as the assistant coach for the Huskies.
 
About Minnesota Duluth
• Minnesota Duluth enters the weekend at 8-8 on the season, including 5-5 in the NSIC.
• The Bulldogs host Wayne State on Friday night.   
• Minnesota Duluth is averaging 67.9 points per game while allowing 66.7 points per contest.
• The Bulldogs have shot 45.3 percent from the field, including 32.7 from 3-point range.
• UMD is averaging 14.9 made free throws per contest and is shooting 76.1 percent from the line.
• UMD has averaged 33.3 rebounds per game and owns a +2.4 rebound margin on the season.
• The Bulldogs average 10.8 assists per game and 10.5 turnovers per game.
• Brett Ervin leads the Bulldogs averaging 19.3 points per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field.
• Pierre Newton is averaging 12.8 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game.
• Matt Bowen is in his third season at Minnesota Duluth and owns a record of 28-42 at UMD.