SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 3 Augustana University men's basketball (4-1, 1-0 NSIC) returns to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action this Friday and Saturday with a pair of games at the Sioux Falls Arena. The Vikings enter the weekend having won four straight games and will welcome Minnesota State (5-1, 0-0 NSIC) at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 before entertaining Concordia-St. Paul (2-3, 0-0 NSIC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Storylines
• Augustana enters the weekend ranked No. 3 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
• Augustana was the No. 1 ranked team in the NABC Preseason Poll
• Augustana was ranked sixth in the first regular season NABC Top 25 Poll
• The Vikings spent nine straight weeks in the top-10 last season and have now been ranked in the top-10 19 times in program history
• Augustana enters the weekend with a record of 4-1 on the season, including 1-0 in NSIC play
• Augustana has won four straight games since dropping its season opener to Washburn on Nov. 13
• The Vikings opened NSIC play on Monday, Nov. 24 with a 94-69 win over Wayne State on the road
• Augustana finished 20-2 in NSIC play last season winning a share of the regular season conference championship
• Casey Schilling was named the South Division Player of the Week by the NSIC on Monday after averaging 20.3 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 blocks in Augustana's three wins last week
• Schilling has been named player of the week by the NSIC six times in his career


 
Last time out
• Augustana went 3-0 last week, opening conference play at Wayne State on Monday before playing two games in Puerto Rico on Friday and Saturday
• The Vikings opened the Puerto Rico trip with a big win over Turabo, a traditionally strong program
• Augustana won a physical battle against Turabo to walk away with an 83-69 victory
• Casey Schilling led the Vikings against Turabo finishing with 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with two assists, two blocks and two steals
• The Vikings shot a season-high 35 free throws against Turabo and was forced to match the physical play without fouling too much
• Turabo was called for 26 fouls to just 15 for the Vikings
• Daniel Jansen added 21 points for the Vikings while Matthew Brazendale pitched in with 12 off the bench knocking down 3 of 5 from behind the arc
• Augustana would have a quick turnaround taking on American (P.R.) in the afternoon on Saturday and after a tight first half, the Vikings ran away with it in the second
• The Vikings out-scored American 49-25 in the second half while shooting 56 percent from the field in the second frame to down American 93-61
• Schilling registered his second straight double-double finishing with a season-high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds
• Jansen registered his second straight 20-point game, third of the season, finishing with 20 points and five rebounds
 
About Augustana
• Augustana is averaging 87.0 points per game in 2015-16 and has out-scored opponents by 14.2 points through three games
• The Vikings are shooting 46.4 percent from the field, including 40.3 percent from 3-point range
• Augustana is shooting 72.3 percent from the free throw line and has taken 55 more free throws than its opponents this season
• The Vikings are averaging 40.8 rebounds per game and own a +8.6 rebound margin over opponents
• Augustana is averaging 19.0 assists and 13.0 turnovers per game in 2015-16
• Casey Schilling enters the weekend averaging a team-high 18.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per game
• Augustana has three players averaging 15-plus points per game on the year
• Daniel Jansen is averaging 17.6 points per game and Alex Richter has pitched in with 15.6 ppg
• Tom Billeter is in his 13th season as the head coach at Augustana. He owns a career record of 314-192
 
About Minnesota State
• Minnesota State enters the weekend at 5-1 on the season. Friday night's game will be the first conference game of the year for the Mavericks
• MSU is averaging 84.8 points per game in 2015-16 and has out-scored opponents by 18.3 ppg
• MSU is shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from 3-point range and 75.7 percent from the free throw line
• Mike Busack leads MSU in scoring averaging 13.7 points per game
• Matt Margenthaler is in his 14th season as the head coach at MSU. He owns a career record of 313-124
 
About Concordia-St. Paul
• Concordia-St. Paul enters the weekend with a record of 2-3 on the season. The Golden Bears will open NSIC play on Friday night at Wayne State
• CSP enters the weekend averaging 71.1 points per game and is shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from 3-point range and 69.5 percent from the free throw line
• CSP is averaging 42.4 rebounds per game and owns a +6.2 rebound margin over opponents
• Cole Olstad leads the Golden Bears averaging 14.4 ppg to go along with 6.2 rebounds per game
• Joey James is in his second season at Concordia-St. Paul. He owns a career record of 33-32.