SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball season gets underway Friday with a Noon contest against Northwest Missouri State followed by a 4 p.m. game against host Missouri Western on Sunday. Both contests are taking place as part of the Tip-Off Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri.
 
Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play. The live stream is provided through the MIAA Network and has a per-game fee.

About the Bearcats
Northwest Missouri State was picked to finish fourth in the MIAA after going 29-5 and falling in the Central Region Title Game a season ago. Byron Alexander returns after averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game a season ago.

About the Griffons
Missouri Western, the tournament host, was picked to finish sixth in the MIAA after a 17-13 season in 2023-24. The Griffons are 1-1 on the season after a loss to Lubbock Christian and a victory over St. Cloud State last weekend. Zane Nelson averaged 15.0 points per game over the weekend.

About the Vikings
Augustana welcomes plenty of fresh faces to a team that features five returning letterwinners. Leading the charge is Akoi Akoi. The senior averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game a year ago while shooting 45.9 percent from deep. Caden Hinker also returns after adding 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while playing all 30 games.

Four newcomers have seen NCAA action and look to make an immediate impact. Tanner Te Slaa is the most experienced of the bunch after playing 43 games and making a start over two seasons at SDSU. Te Slaa scored 86 points and knocked down 19 3-pointers.

Kelton Coleman enters the mix after earning All-Freshman Team and All-SCAC honorable mention honors at the University of Dallas. He averaged 14.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in 19.7 minutes per game while shooting 44 percent from 3-point range. He was an energizer off the bench for the Crusaders, averaging 27.9 points per 40 minutes.

In all, Augustana returns one starter from last season and four student-athletes that saw action in at least 28 games. Sam Rensch and Brady Helgren were the two others outside of Akoi and Hinker to join that list.

Series History

Augustana and Northwest Missouri State match up for the 11th time all-time with the Bearcats leading 6-4. This will be the first meeting since the 2022 Region Final. The Vikings are 1-2 against Missouri Western and will play against each other for the second consecutive season. Roster Breakdown Augustana's roster features one senior, five juniors, four sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen.

Final Bites
Cody Schilling looks to be the first Augustana head coach to win his coaching debut since Gary Thomas knocked off Sioux Falls in 1992.