SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team hits the road for Fayette, Iowa, on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. tip against Upper Iowa. The previously scheduled game at Winona State on Saturday has been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Winona State men's basketball program. 
 
Complete action can be followed at GoAugie.com/Live and on the GoAugie App, presented by CellOnly. The app can be downloaded in the app store or on Google Play.
 
The Game
It'll be a battle of two nationally-ranked teams on Friday night as the Vikings are ranked No. 23 in the latest NABC Top-25 while Upper Iowa owns a ranking of No. 24. It'll be the first time in 2021-22 that the Vikings are playing a ranked opponent as a ranked team by the NABC.
 
About the Peacocks
Upper Iowa enters the week 9-1. The Peacocks have won three-straight games after dropping their only game of the season to Minnesota State in overtime on Dec. 2. The Peacocks are shooting 47.6 percent from the field and average 86.9 points per game.
 
Guard Jareese Williams leads the Peacocks in scoring with 19.6 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting. He has scored over 20 points in three of his last four games. Guard Joe Smoldt has been just as good this season, averaging 18.6 points per game on 42.1 percent shooting. Both senior guards are also shooting well from behind the arc, Williams has 31 and Smoldt has 30 3-Pt FGM on the year.
 
The Peacock defense has given up 76.3 points per game, with a scoring margin of +10.6. They've forced 11 turnovers per game so far this season with 5.8 steals and 2.5 blocks per game.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is off to a 10-1 start in 2021-22 with a 4-1 NSIC record. The Vikings have won six-straight games including a 33-point win over the then-No. 25 team in the country.
 
Tyler Riemersma earned NSIC South Division Player of the Week honors after averaging 23 points and 14 rebounds over a pair of wins last weekend, first the aforementioned 33-point win over Minnesota State, then a 75-58 victory over Concordia-St. Paul.
 
For the season, Riemersma scores 18.2 points and secures 10.6 rebounds per game to lead AU in each statistical category. Isaac Fink, who has had a strong role in the Viking offense in the past, is having an offensive outburst this season with 17.4 points per game. Dylan LeBrun and Adam Dykman also average double-digit points at 11.4 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.
 
Jameson Bryan, who has tallied a team-high 40 assists, ranks 20^th in the nation with a 3.64-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
One Last Thing
Riemersma is in a line of milestone achievements. On Friday against Minnesota State, he recorded his 1,000^th collegiate point when combining Augustana and Navy. On Saturday, he secured his 700^th rebound at Augustana. This weekend, he'll be looking to score his 1000^th Augustana point as he enters Friday's contest with 979 points scored in an Augustana uniform.