SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team opens postseason action on Wednesday, February 26 with an NSIC first round matchup at Minnesota Duluth. Tip-off is slated for 6 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
Minnesota Duluth was picked to finish third in the NSIC and finished in a tie for third after going 15-7 in the NSIC. The Bulldogs have ranked as high as fourth in the country and have won 13 of their last 16 games. Reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year Charlie Katona leads the team with 16.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Caleb Siwek adds 12.7 points per game and is shooting 41.6 percent from deep while Joshua Brown (11.5 ppg) and Austin Andrews (10.9 ppg) each average double figures. 

About the Vikings
Augustana is 11-17 and finished 11th in the NSIC.

Tanner Te Slaa holds the team lead with 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with 67 made 3-pointers. He also leads the NSIC shooting 86.6 percent from the free throw line and is fifth with a 38.1 percent 3-point shooting percentage.

Akoi Akoi is second on the Vikings with 13.7 points per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. He is also second on the team with 70 assists, an 81.5 free throw percentage and 18 blocks.

Sam Rensch adds 12.3 points per game and 1.5 steals per game while providing havoc to a defense that ranks third in the NSIC in turnover margin.

Tameron Ferguson continues to grow into his own while running the point for the Vikings. Ferguson has scored in double figures for the 13 times in his last 18 games. He scored a career-best 25 points against Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 14 and had a career-high nine assists on Feb. 11 against Sioux Falls.

The true freshman is fourth on the team with 10.1 points per game and has facilitated well, holding a 98/30 assist/turnover ratio. Ferguson ranks first in the NSIC and eighth nationally with a 3.27 assist/turnover ratio.

In his first season of action, Bennett Fried has already shown growth. The redshirt freshman is averaging 7.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In 19 games since entering the starting lineup, Fried is averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting at a 57.4 percent clip.

Against No. 13 SMSU on Jan. 30, Jack Hastreiter had a career night from deep to power the win. He scored a career-high 24 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including 7 of 7 from deep. Hastreiter had the second most makes without a miss in program history.

Kelton Coleman has been the microwave off the bench for the Vikings. The sophomore has scored double digits seven times this season, including a season-high 19 in 22 minutes against Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 8. He is sixth on the team with 6.9 points per game.

Series History
Augustana and Minnesota Duluth will match up for the 38th time all-time with the Bulldogs leading 19-18. AU has dropped five straight in the series, including a pair of losses this season. The story of the two matchups this year has come at the charity stripe. UMD has shot 52 free throws in two games while the Vikings have shot just 25. Only two other teams in the NSIC have gotten to the line more than UMD this season.