SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It's two more home games for Augustana men's basketball as the Vikings begin to play NSIC opponents for a second time. On Friday, Minnesota Duluth ventures to Sioux Falls for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff inside the Sanford Pentagon. On Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul will compete with the Vikings inside the Elmen Center at 5:30 p.m.
 
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. 
 
About the Bulldogs
Since dropping a four-point contest to No. 5 MSU Moorhead on Jan. 19, the Bulldogs have parlayed four-straight wins including an 85-70 win against No. 2 Minnesota State this past Tuesday. In that contest, the Bulldogs were led by Charlie Katona and Austin Andrews each with 20 points while Drew Blair added 19.
 
For the season, action has been intense for UMD with its 16-5 record, coming off an Elite 8 appearance in 2023 and picked as the NSIC preseason favorites in 2023-24. Drew Blair, the Preseason NSIC Player of the Year, has averaged 20.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per outing. Katona Joins him in double-digit scoring with 13.5 points per game.
 
Amongst the Bulldog's five losses, three have been against nationally-ranked teams, while a fourth was a setback at Southwest Minnesota State and a bad beat in the season's opening weekend to East Central.
 
About the Golden Bears
After a hot start to the season at 5-2, the Golden Bears have gone 2-9 over their last 11 games to sit at 9-12 and 4-11 in the NSIC. CSP is coming off a 78-67 loss to Winona State on Tuesday night with Marcus Skeete going off for 22 points and 14 rebounds.
 
For the season, Skeete averages 16.2 points per game while the Golden Bears are led by Jordan Horn and his 20.5 points per contest. Horn has not played since Jan. 19, when he played 18 minutes, scoring 10 points and securing six rebounds. Over the past four games, it's been Skeete leading the way for CSP at 19.5 points while shooting 49.2 percent from the field.
 
About the Vikings
Winners of six-straight games, Augustana is 13-7 on the season and 8-6 in the NSIC. The Vikings are now in position to vie for a first round bye of the NSIC Tournament after toppling No. 16 Minot State last week, 77-67. Isaac Fink tallied a game-high 23 points in the game while Jadan Graves had a stellar all-around game with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
 
Fink has led AU all season in scoring and rebounding with 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing while Graves is at 15.4 points. He has vaulted to seventh in the nation, while leading the NSIC, by making 48.2 percent of his 3-point field goal attempts. He also leads the league in made 3-point field goals with 55 and, an average of 2.75 per game.
 
Over the six-game winning streak, Caden Hinker has averaged 11.2 points and 7.3 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game. The Vikings have outscored their opponents by an average of 21.3 points during the stretch while shooting 48.7 percent from the field.
 
One Last Thing
Augustana last ran a winning streak to at least six games in 2021-22 when winning 15-straight contests from Jan. 2 to Feb. 26. In that season, AU won the NSIC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time under Augustana head coach Tom Billeter.