SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A year after winning the Division II national championship, the Vikings men exceeded expectations last year with a 24-9 record and a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which came to an end at the hands of the eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State Bearcats.
 
 Looking ahead to 2017-18 with just four players left from that championship team, seven letterwinners and three starters remaining from last years squad, the Vikings look to start fresh with a mix of some familiar names and some new faces.
 
 All-American honorable mention and first-team all NSIC selection Jordan Spencer returns to his starting role at point guard for one more season, while junior Jon Warren joins him in the backcourt as the team's two returning starters.
 
 Spencer started all 33 games as a junior, averaging 15.9 points, 7.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Warren played in all 33 games, with 32 starts, and averaged 9.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
 
 Senior Marcus Asmus represents the only other player on the roster with a start to his credit, as he started two games last year, but he, along with senior Steven Schaefer, and sophomores Andy Kerkman and Levi Jansen logged significant minutes last season, and can help mentor the rest of the squad, which includes six new faces; four freshman and two transfers.
 
Vikings Quick Hits
• This week's games mark the 2,142nd and 2,143 games in program history
• Augustana opens the season 19 wins shy of a .500 all-time record as a program
• The Vikings open a season on the road for the fifth consecutive season
• Augustana last opened a season at home in 2012-13, when the Vikins played their first seven games at home, all wins
• The last time Augie opened the season with a loss, 2015-16, they won the Division II?National Title
• Under head coach Tom Billeter, the Vikings own a 10-4 record in season-opening games
•Last season ended in Maryville, Mo., with a loss to the eventual Division II national champions, Northwest Missouri State 
• Northwest Missouri State won the national title in Sioux Falls, S.D., where Augustana hails from
• Only three players on the roster ever started a game for Augustana (Jordan Spencer, Jon Warren, Marcus Asmus)
• Spencer starts his 101st career game this week, Warren his 33rd and Asmus his fourth
• Former Minnesota Twins farmhand Darin Mastroianni played baseball at Southern Indiana
• Polly Holliday, who's character Flo on the sitcom Alice (1976-85), famously said "kiss my grits" graduated from Montevallo
• Game scenes in the 1992 film A League of Their Own were filmed at Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana
• Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Scott Studwell hails from?Evansville, Indiana
 
Noteworthy
CLIMBING THE LADDER: Senior Jordan Spencer enters the season ranked 20th in all-time scoring at Augustana with 1,221 career points, 11 points shy of passing Keith Hasselquist (1983-87) for 19th all-time.
 
DISH IT OUT: Along with being a prolific scorer for the Vikings, Jordan Spencer enters his senior season with a school-record 688 assists, and also ranks first all-time at Augie with a 6.8 assists per game average.
 
STOP, THEIF!: He scores, he assists and he steals. Jordan Spener enters the season tied for 17th all-time at Augustana with 122 steals, two shy of moving up to 15th all-time.
 
3-POINTER STREAK: Augustana made at least one 3-point field goal in each of the last 396 games. The last time the Vikings did not make a 3-pointer came on Jan. 24, 2004, a 79-69 loss against North Dakota in the Elmen Center.
 
FINISH WHAT YOU START: Already a starter in 100 games in his career, Spencer needs to start 30 games this season to set the school-record for career starts, a record held by Daniel Jansen (129 starts from 2012-16).
 
VIKINGS IN DOUBLE FIGURES: At least one Viking score in double figures in each of the last 222 games. The last time an Augie player did not score at least 10 points in a game came on March 3, 2010 in a 75-52 loss to Wayne State at the Elmen Center in the NSIC?Quarterfinals, when Lee Stephens led the Vikings with 8 points.
 
WHERE DID THE POINTS GO??Over the last two seasons, Augustana graduated a total of 9,150 career points from a total of eight student-ahtletes, which includes five 1,000-point scorers, two of which scored at least 2,000 career points.
 
This Week's Opponents
Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (0-0, 0-0 Neutral): The Screaming Eagles enter the new season fresh off a 25-5 campaign in 2016-17.
 
After getting bounced in the first round of hte GLVC?Tournament in a 69-68 loss to Truman State in the quarterfinals, Southern Indiana still gernered a berth in the Midwest Regional, but suffered another tough loss, this time a 70-69 loss to Findlay in the tournament's first round.
 
Series Notes: First Meeting
 
Montevallo Falcons (0-0, 0-0 Neutral): The Falcons enter the 2017-18 season looking to build upon a 2016-17 season that saw them post a 17-10 overall record, and an 11-8 mark in Peach Belt Conference Play.
 
Montevall's season ended in the first round of the conference tournament in a 107-99 loss at Augusta, despite a 61-point second half for the Falcons.
 
Series Notes: First Meeting
 
Next Up: The Vikings get a 10-day break before returning home for two games in the Elmen Center, starting with Peru State on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., followed by a game two days later against Graceland in the second game of a doubleheader at 8 p.m.