SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana men's basketball team returns home on Saturday afternoon, hosting Minnesota Duluth in the Elmen Center. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 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
Minnesota Duluth was picked to finish third in the NSIC and has currently sits in seventh at 15-7 overall and 10-6 in the NSIC. The Bulldogs have ranked as high as fourth in the country and have won 10 of their last 13 conference games. Reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year Charlie Katona leads the team with 16.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Caleb Siwek adds 12.7 points per game and is shooting 41.6 percent from deep. 

About the Vikings
Augustana is 10-13 overall and 7-10 in the NSIC after dropping Wednesday's game against Winona STate. The Vikings are 11th in the NSIC and three games back of a spot to host a first round NSIC Tournament game.

Tanner Te Slaa holds the team lead with 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 40.3 percent from deep on 58 makes. Akoi is second on the Vikings with 13.3 points per game while shooting 44.6 percent from the field. He is also second on the team with 16 blocks.

Sam Rensch adds 11.4 points per game and 1.6 steals per game while providing havoc to a defense that ranks second 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 10 times in his last 13 games and has shot 47.7 percent from he field in that span. He scored a career-best 25 points against Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 14.

The true freshman is fourth on the team with 9.5 points per game and has facilitated well, holding a 73/27 assist/turnover ratio. Ferguson ranks first in the NSIC and 28th nationally with a 2.70 assist/turnover ratio.

In his first season of action, Bennett Fried has already shown growth. The redshirt freshman is averaging 8.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. In 16 games since entering the starting lineup, Fried is averaging 9.1 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting at a 59.1 percent clip.

Against No. 13 SMSU last week, 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.

Trends To Watch
The Vikings are 8-4 when leading at the half this season. The defense has propelled AU as they are 10-8 when holding opponents under 50 percent shooting from the field and are 7-2 when holding teams under 70 points. Offensively, the engine runs when the 3-pointers fall. The Vikings are 4-2 on the season when making more 3-pointers than their opponent. AU also sees success when they clean up the glass, touting a 7-2 record when they out-rebound their opponents.

Series History
Augustana and Minnesota Duluth will match up for the 37th time all-time with the series even at 18-18. AU has dropped four straight in the series, including a loss earlier this season. Tanner Te Slaa led the team with 19 points while Akoi Akoi added 12 and Bennett Fried had 11.