SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana University men's basketball is set to close-out the regular season at home this Friday and Saturday. The Vikings enter the final weekend of conference play with a record of 19-7, including 14-6 in NSIC play.
 
Augustana will host two big NSIC South Division games this weekend that could cause some movement prior to the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament which starts next Wednesday. The Vikings host Winona State (11-13, 8-12 NSIC) at 8 p.m. Friday night before squaring-off against Upper Iowa (18-8, 15-5 NSIC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Prior to Saturday's game, Augustana basketball will recognize seniors Austin Saugstad, Mike Busack, Adam Beyer, Danny Butherus and Zach Huisken.
 
Augustana enters the weekend one game behind Southwest Minnesota State and Upper Iowa for the top spot in the NSIC South Division. The Vikings are 14-6 in conference play, including 9-3 in the South Division. Upper Iowa and SMSU are 15-5 in conference games. SMSU is 10-2 in divisional play and Upper Iowa is 9-3. 

NSIC PLAYER(s) OF THE WEEK
• Jordan Spencer was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week for the third time this season on Monday, Feb. 13 
• Spencer averaged 24.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals while shooting 53.1 percent from the field
• Spencer opened the weekend with 10 points, eight assists and three steals at USF
• On Saturday at SMSU, Spencer went off for a career-high 39 points hitting 14 of 21 shots, including 5 of 9 3-pointers
• Jordan Spencer has been named player of the week three times in 2016-17 (Nov. 28, Jan. 23 & Feb. 13)
• Augustana has had the NSIC South Division Player of the Week in two straight weeks
• Mike Busack was named player of the week on Feb. 6
• Busack was named player of the week for the first time in his career on Jan. 9
• Senior guard Adam Beyer was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Dec. 5
• The player of the week honors marked the first career weekly honor from the NSIC for all three players

LAST TIME OUT
• Augustana extended its winning streak to four with two big road victories last weekend
• Augustana opened the weekend with an 80-78 win over USF at the Stewart Center
• The Vikings had four players in double-figures in the win over USF, led by Mike Busack who finished with a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds
• Busack was 8 of 16 from the field and came up big at the free throw line for the Vikings, connecting on 8 of 10 shots from the stripe
• Augustana finished the game 22 of 28 (78.6 percent) from the free throw line, hitting 14 of 16 in the second half
• Steven Schaefer pitched in with 14 points off the bench while hitting 3 of 4 from behind the arc
• Taking on the top team in the South Division on the road Saturday at SMSU, the Vikings were red hot from 3-point range to pick up a 97-79 win over the Mustangs
• The Vikings shot 59.3 percent and hit 16 of 27 3-pointers in the win
• Augustana finished the game shooting 54.8 percent from the field and got a career-high 39 points out of Jordan Spencer to improve to 19-7 on the year

ABOUT AUGUSTANA
• Augustana is averaging 83.5 points per game which ranks third in the NSIC
• The Vikings have out-scored opponents by 10.8 points per game which leads the NSIC and ranks 34th nationally
• Augustana is allowing just 72.7 points per game, the second-fewest in the NSIC
• Augustana is shooting 49.1 percent from the field as a team, including 40.8 percent from 3-point range
• Augustana is averaging 37.3 rebounds per game and owns a +6.0 rebound margin on the season
• The Vikings rank second in the NSIC and 26th in the country averaging 17.0 assists per game
• Augustana is averaging 6.3 steals per game which ranks fifth in the NSIC
• Jordan Spencer leads Augustana in scoring averaging 16.7 points per game while also leading the team and ranking seventh nationally averaging 7.3 assists per game
• Spencer has dished out 189 assists this season, the third-most in the country
• Mike Busack is averaging 15.2 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game for the Vikings
• Busack has recorded three double-doubles in the last five games

ABOUT WINONA STATE
• Winona State enters the weekend with a record of 11-13 on the season, including 8-12 in NSIC play
• The Warriors split a pair of home games last weekend, defeating Concordia-St. Paul 82-67 before falling 69-68 to Minnesota State, Mankato on Saturday
• Augustana defeated Winona State 73-71 when the two teams met on Jan. 21 in Winona, Minn. earlier this season
• Winona State enters the weekend averaging 73.3 points per game while allowing 73 ppg
• The Warriors have shot 47.6 percent from the field as a team, including 36.2 percent from 3-point range
• WSU is averaging 10.5 made free throws per game and is shooting 70.8 percent from the stripe
• WSU averages 33.6 rebounds, 15.6 assists and 11.3 turnovers per game
• Riley Bambanek leads Winona State in scoring averaging 15.7 ppg and has hit a team-high 65 3-pointers
• Isaiah Gray is averaging 11.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for WSU
• Todd Eisner is in his second season as the head coach at WSU. He owns a career record of 444-189, including 27-26 in two seasons at WSU

ABOUT UPPER IOWA
• Upper Iowa enters the weekend with a record of 18-8 on the season, including 15-5 in NSIC play
• UIU is averaging 80.2 points per game and has out-scored opponents by 2.2 ppg
• The Peacocks is shooting 48 percent from the field, including 38.1 percent from 3-point range
• UIU is averaging 15.7 made free throws per game and is shooting 71.2 percent from the line
• UIU is averaging 33.3 rebounds per game while allowing 35.2 per game
• UIU averages 14.1 assists, 12.7 turnovers and 6.7 steals per game
• Jordan Hay leads UIU averaging 12.5 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game
• Jimmy Roth averages 12.2 points for UIU and leads the team with 107 made free throws
• Brooks McKowen is in his fourth season as the head coach at UIU. McKowen owns a career record of 67-52

SERIES HISTORY
• Augustana and Winona State will meet for the 26th time since 1938 on Friday night
• Augustana is 14-11 all-time against the Warriors and has won 6 of the last 7 games between the two teams, including four straight
• Augustana is 7-2 all-time at home against Winona State
• In the first meeting between the two teams this season, Augustana came from behind to pick up a 73-71 win at Winona State on Jan. 21
• WSU led the entire game until Steven Schaefer hit a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a lead with 5:12 to play
• Saturday's game between Augustana and Upper Iowa is the 22nd all-time between the two schools
• Augustana is 15-6 all-time against Upper Iowa, including 6-2 at home
• Augustana had a four-game win streak over UIU snapped on Jan. 20 in a 95-91 loss earlier this year
• UIU's Carson Parker hit a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining in the game to give his team a 94-91 lead and Upper Iowa escaped with the 95-91 win over the Vikings