SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 14 Augustana men's basketball team looks to cap a perfect January by closing out the month with a doubleheader in Northern Minnesota. On Friday, the Vikings travel to Bemidji State while a contest with Minnesota Crookston awaits them on Saturday.
 
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The Games
The Vikings play their final NSIC North Division opponents of the regular season with Friday's game slated for 7:30 p.m. For the contest at Minnesota Crookston, AU will travel the 90 minutes east for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. Note the time change for Saturday's game to 3:30 p.m.
 
About the Beavers
Bemidji State is 6-11 on the season and 3-10 within the NSIC. Having dropped five-straight games, the last win for BSU was on Jan. 2, a 70-46 win over Minnesota Crookston. This past weekend, Bemidji State fell 72-65 at Sioux Falls and 72-64 at Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Travis Bianco leads the Beavers in points and rebounds. He tallies 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field. He is joined in double-figure scoring by Mohamed Kone at 12.3 points and John Sutherland at 10.3 points per outing.
 
For the year, Bemidji State tallies 73.6 points per game while giving up 71.6. When accounting for NSIC only contests, that flips to 71.5 for, and 73.8 against. The Beavers shoot at a 47.2 percent clip while opponents make 43.8 percent of their shot attempts.
 
About the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a 6-13 record overall and a 3-10 mark in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles, who will face Wayne State on Friday night prior to AU's arrival, had won two-straight before to dropping a 73-47 contest to Sioux Falls last Saturday. The victories were a 77-72 score over Concordia-St Paul and a 70-67 triumph over Southwest Minnesota State.
 
The Golden Eagles place three in double-figure scoring led by Leonard Dixon and his 12.8 points per game. Joining him are Ethan Channel and Uzo Dibiamaka at 11.6 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Dixon is also the team leader in rebounds at 6.5 per outing.
 
For the season, UMC gets outscored by 6.8 points per game on average. The Golden Eagles score 64.9 while their opponents tally 71.7 per game. As a team, they shoot 41.9 percent from the field but hold opponents to 42.5 percent shooting.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is up to No. 14 in the NABC Top-25 after winning five-straight games and holding a 15-2 overall record. In the NSIC, Augustana is 9-2 on the season after sweeping last weekend with a win over No. 9 Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. Following the sweep, Tyler Riemersma was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week after yet again averaging a double-double.
 
Riemersma leads the Vikings with an average of 17.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and is a three-time NSIC Player of the Week awardee. Isaac Fink continues his breakout season with 16.5 points per game while shooting 49.4 percent from 3-point range. Adam Dykman and Dylan LeBrun also reach double-figure scoring at 11.9 and 10.9 points per game. Jameson Bryan is enjoying perhaps the best year of his career with 8.5 points and 4.2 assists per game (with more on him below).
 
The Vikings own a scoring margin of +14.1 while scoring 77.9 points per game, and ranking in the top-20 of the country by allowing just 63.8 points per outing. The Vikings are also a top-20 team in rebound margin, securing 36.9 per game and holding opponents to 29.8 per game.
 
One Last Thing
As previously mentioned, Bryan dishes 4.2 assists per game. He also does not turn the ball over often. He ranks second in NCAA Division II with 4.29 assists per every one turnover. That is just shy of Nick Smith from Nova Southeastern and his 4.43-to-1 ratio. As part of the, Augustana is 10^th in the country as a team in the same category, tops in the NSIC.