SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana University men's basketball will play its final regular season road games this Friday and Saturday. The Vikings (17-7, 12-6 NSIC) open the weekend on Friday, Feb. 10 taking on USF (13-13, 9-9 NSIC) at the Stewart Center at 8 p.m. The Vikings and Cougars will play for half a point in the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge on Friday. Augustana owns a 4-3 lead in the Mayor's Cup Challenge and has won the trophy in four straight seasons.
 
Augustana and USF are taking donations of NEW socks which will be donated to Samaritan's Feet. Fans can drop off the new socks in the baskets for their respective teams prior to Friday night's game at the Stewart Center. For more information on the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge, visit SFMayorscup.com.
 
Augustana will then travel to Marshall, Minnesota on Saturday to take on NSIC South Division leader Southwest Minnesota State (19-4, 14-4 NSIC) at 7 p.m. Augustana sits in sixth place in the NSIC overall standings and third in the South Division. 

NSIC PLAYER(s) OF THE WEEK
• Mike Busack was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday, Feb. 6
• Busack averaged a double-double last weekend, averaging 18 points and 14 rebounds in a pair of home wins
• Busack recorded 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds on Friday night against UMC before putting up 21 points and 14 rebounds against Bemidji State on Saturday
• Busack was named player of the week for the first time in his career on Jan. 9
• Jordan Spencer has been named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week twice this season (Nov. 28 & Jan. 23)
• 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 put together two strong second-half performances at home this past weekend to pick up a pair of wins over NSIC North Division opponents
• The Vikings dominated the glass on Friday night, out-rebounding Minnesota Crookston 49-23 and used 22 second-chance points to secure an 87-68 win
• Augustana shot 52.1 percent (37 of 71) from the field in the win over UMC
• Minnesota Crookston built a 7-0 lead to open the game but the Vikings took over near the midway point of the first half and taking a seven-point lead into halftime
• Augustana had three players score in double-figures in the win over UMC, led by Mike Busack's double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds
• On Saturday night, Augustana out-scored Bemidji State 46-26 in the second half on its way to a 78-60 win over the Beavers at the Sioux Falls Arena
• Two players put up 20-plus points for the Vikings on the night, led by Adam Beyer who finished with 22 on 8 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range
• Augustana shot 48.5 percent from the field and hit 9 3-pointers
• The Vikings out-rebounded BSU 37-29 and produced 19 points off of 12 Bemidji State turnovers

ABOUT AUGUSTANA
• Augustana is averaging 83.0 points per game which ranks third in the NSIC
• The Vikings have out-scored opponents by 10.9 points per game which leads the NSIC and ranks 35th nationally
• Augustana is allowing just 72.2 points per game, the second-fewest in the NSIC
• Augustana is shooting 48.9 percent from the field as a team, which ranks fourth in the NSIC and 37th in the country
• The Vikings rank fourth in the NSIC shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range
• Augustana is averaging 38.2 rebounds per game and owns a +6.6 rebound margin on the season
• Augustana ranks second in the NSIC and 24th in the country in rebound margin
• Augustana is averaging 11.3 offensive rebounds per game which ranks second in the NSIC
• The Vikings rank second in the NSIC and 29th in the country averaging 17.1 assists per game
• Augustana is averaging 6.4 steals per game which ranks fourth in the NSIC

ABOUT SIOUX FALLS
• USF enters the weekend with a record of 13-13, including 9-9 in NSIC play and has lost four straight games
• The Cougars lost twice on the road last weekend, falling 81-72 at U-Mary before losing 77-66 at Minot State on Saturday
• USF is averaging 74.6 points per game and has out-scored its opponents by 4.8 points per game
• The Cougars are shooting 45.9 percent from the field as a team, including 37.1 percent from 3-point range
• USF is averaging 12.7 made free throws per game and is shooting 72.1 percent from the free throw line
• USF averages 37.2 rebounds per game and owns a +4.7 rebound margin on the season
• Drew Guebert leads USF in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg)
• Mack Johnson is averaging 14.1 points per game and is shooting 40.3 percent from the field
• Chris Johnson is in his ninth season as the head coach at USF. He owns a career record of 170-133, including 154-118 at USF

ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
• Southwest Minnesota State enters the weekend with a record of 19-4 on the season, including 14-4 in NSIC play
• The Mustangs are tied for second overall in the NSIC standings and are in first in the South Division
• SMSU hosts Wayne State on Friday night before the Vikings invade the R/A Facility
• SMSU received votes in this week's NABC Top 25 Poll and is ranked No. 21in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll
• SMSU is averaging 81.9 points per game and has out-scored opponents by 7.1 points per game
• The Mustangs are shooting 48.4 percent from the field as a team, including 35.9 percent from 3-point range
• SMSU is averaging 14.9 made free throws per game and is shooting 73.8 percent from the stripe
• SMSU averages 37.5 rebounds per game and owns a +5.2 rebound margin on the season
• Ryan Bruggeman is averaging 13.7 points per game to lead SMSU. Bruggeman has also dished out a team-high 101 assists on the season
• Carter Kirk averages 10.7 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game for the Mustangs
• Brad Bigler is in his eighth season as the head coach at SMSU. He owns a career record of 127-99

SERIES HISTORY
• Augustana and USF?will play for the 66th time in a series that began in 1922
• Augustana is 35-28 all-time against USF and has won 18 of the last 20 meetings
• Two scores in the all-time series in 1927 are unknown
• USF won the first meeting between the two schools this season, with a 69-62 win at the Sioux Falls Arena on Dec. 31
• The Cougars hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining in the game to take the lead
• The loss marked Augustana's first home loss against USF since Nov. 22, 1994
• Saturday's game between Augustana and SMSU will be the 31st all-time game between the two schools
• Augustana is 18-12 all-time against SMSU
• The Mustangs picked up a 78-76 win over Augustana in the first meeting between the two schools this season
• SMSU's Michael Lee hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to give the Mustangs a 75-72 lead
• Augustana had won four straight over SMSU before the Dec. 30 game at the Sioux Falls Arena
• Augustana is 6-7 all-time in games against SMSU at the R/A Facility