SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 11 Augustana men's basketball team returns to Sioux Falls for a pair of games. Friday night, Augustana hosts Winona State inside the Sanford Pentagon. Saturday's game is inside the Elmen Center and will be against Upper Iowa.
 
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 Games
The Vikings get their first shot at Winona State after the scheduled first meeting was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Friday's game is slated for 7:30 p.m. inside the Sanford Pentagon in a game designed to 'Paint the Pentagon Pink' for breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
 
On Saturday, Augustana faces No. 19 Upper Iowa, seeking revenge for a loss in Fayette, Iowa, in December. The contest in the Elmen Center is the first NSIC game for AU in its on-campus home since the 2018-19 season. Saturday's doubleheader is a 'White Out' game. Fans are encouraged to wear white.
 
About the Warriors
With a weekend sweep last week, Winona State has won three-straight games and sits at 13-6 on the season while holding a 9-5 record in the NSIC. The Warriors are in third place of the NSIC South Division and are fourth overall. The three-game streak includes an 83-74 win over Northern State, 89-78 win over UMary and 80-67 win against Minot State.
 
Alec Rosner was named the NSIC South Division Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 28.5 points, including a 36-point outburst, over the two contests. Rosner leads WSU with 18.5 points per game while shooting the ball at 51 percent from the field. From 3-point range, he has 45 makes at 45.5 percent.
 
Rosner is joined in double-figure scoring by Devin Whitelow and Luke Martens at 10.7 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. The leading rebounder is Martens at 7.7 rebounds per outing.
 
Winona State averages 74.3 points per game while giving up 69.4 points per contest. The point total is aided by a team 47.2 shooting percentage all while making 9.2 3-point field goals per game.
 
About the Peacocks
Upper Iowa enters the weekend on an equal three-game winning streak, owning victories over Minot State (77-62) and UMary (82-72) last weekend. In addition, UIU topped MSU Moorhead 66-63 on Jan. 22. For the season, the Peacocks are 19-3 overall and 13-3 in the NSIC. Just like the Vikings, the Peacocks own a victory over Minnesota Duluth (currently ranked No. 7) but have tallied losses to Winona State, Northern State and Minnesota State during the NSIC campaign.
 
Ranked No. 19 in the latest NABC Top-25, the Peacocks are led by Joe Smoldt on the active roster at 17.6 points per game. The term active roster is used because Jareese Williams is actually the leading scorer at 18.8 points per game, but he has not played since Jan. 2 in that loss to Winona State. In what was a three-man scoring attack, Jake Hilmer also averages double-digits at 16.5 points per game.
 
A true scouting report would include who is picking up the scoring without Williams. Hilmer's point per game total has increased to 19.5 points while Lucas Duax and Nick Reid now reach double figures over the past eight games at 11.9 and 10.3 points per contest.
 
Upper Iowa scores a lot of points, ranking second in the NSIC and 24^th in the nation at 84.6 points per outing at a 47.7 percent clip. It's defense? It gives up 75.5 points per game while allowing teams to shoot 45 percent from the field.
 
About the Vikings
Augustana is riding a seven-game winning streak, having last dropped a game at Upper Iowa on Dec. 17 when AU was without double-double machine Tyler Riemersma. During the win streak, Augustana has just been Augustana, with Riemersma averaging a team-best 17.3 points, Adam Dykman at 16.6 points and Isaac Fink at 14.3 points per game.
 
For the year, Riemersma is the team leader at 17.8 points per outing while Fink is second on the team at 15.6 points per game. Dykman is averaging a career-best 13 points per game while Dylan LeBrun is just over the double-digit threshold at 10.6 points per game.
 
Augustana's defense is among the best in NCAA Division II giving up just 63.8 points per game, easily tops in the NSIC, and 17^th nationally. The Vikings also use that to have the nation's 16^th-best scoring margin at +13.8 points per game.
 
Another thing that carries the Augustana offense is its assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.54-to-1. That marks AU 10^th-best in the nation while Jameson Bryan ranks fourth in the nation in the same category at 4.10-to-1.
 
One Last Thing
LeBrun enters the weekend just five points shy of 1,000 points in his career and will become the third member of the 1,000-point club at Augustana this season. LeBrun has tallied 995 points in 91 games played. Riemersma surpassed 1,000 points on Jan. 8 while Dykman hit the mark this past weekend on Jan. 28 at Bemidji State. LeBrun is looking to become the 37^th member all-time at Augustana. Head coach Tom Billeter has coached 12 of those 1,000-point scorers.