The NEW Official Thread of the Augustana Vikings

[MrAugustana]

Perhaps a better basketball mind on this board has some ideas.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything from John in years. So I think you're out of luck there.

[Stanger86]

Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything from John in years. So I think you're out of luck there.

Thanks for the quality belly laugh you gave me!

[Purple Mav Man]

Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything from John in years. So I think you're out of luck there.

I’m still waiting for Toucanbird’s Central Region Rankings

[laker]

I’m still waiting for Toucanbird’s Central Region Rankings

He is at Mid-American Christian down in Oklahoma.

[Purple Mav Man]

He is at Mid-American Christian down in Oklahoma.

Isn’t he TechBoys now?

[Stanger86]

Isn’t he TechBoys now?

I don't believe so?

[laker]

Isn’t he TechBoys now?

I don't think so. It has been awhile since I last communicated with him. He was in Florida but has been in OK for awhile.

[Augieholic]

Player of the Week award number four for Tam. He was incredible last weekend in Moorhead and Crookston. My favorite highlight was a 720 degree pivot in the paint vs Crookston that resulted in a Helgren layup.

[laker]

Player of the Week award number four for Tam. He was incredible last weekend in Moorhead and Crookston. My favorite highlight was a 720 degree pivot in the paint vs Crookston that resulted in a Helgren layup.

A Mav fan posted this picture, which I think is from 2019, of Heather Johnson Anderson. I don't know if she still has a cupcake for you. I did talk to her when she got into the Mav Hall of Fame. Wonderful gal.

[Augieholic]

Four straight road wins for the Augie men puts them two games out of first but most importantly two games clear of a fourth place log jam in a race to the 'Gon. Outside of Moorhead these teams are mediocre to bad but the North Dakota swing is always painful from a logistical standpoint so getting two wins was not a given.

Tam continues to control the action and he's producing at a level that is NSIC POY worthy. Hinker's return has stabilized the non-Tam offense as well as solidified the rebounding that haunted the Vikings during the terrible Jamestown/Northern weekend. Tanner made 3 threes in Minot! Sam Rensch has been the most consistent player on both ends of the floor besides Tam all season. Amari's ascension has not slowed down and his playing time continues to increase because of his assertiveness on both ends. Bennett and Brady are providing solid play on both ends after being moved around in the rotation following Hinker's injury.

This coming weekend will be a large test. Bemidji's stats, especially offensively, are not logical for a team that is 3-11 in NSIC play. UMD always brings a theatrical squad and I'm excited for Tam to put Kole Hanson in a highlight reel. However all of these things are secondary to the main objective of this weekend, seeing Wieck's hair in person.

[Mark Emmert's Burner]

Four straight road wins for the Augie men puts them two games out of first but most importantly two games clear of a fourth place log jam in a race to the 'Gon. Outside of Moorhead these teams are mediocre to bad but the North Dakota swing is always painful from a logistical standpoint so getting two wins was not a given.

Tam continues to control the action and he's producing at a level that is NSIC POY worthy. Hinker's return has stabilized the non-Tam offense as well as solidified the rebounding that haunted the Vikings during the terrible Jamestown/Northern weekend. Tanner made 3 threes in Minot! Sam Rensch has been the most consistent player on both ends of the floor besides Tam all season. Amari's ascension has not slowed down and his playing time continues to increase because of his assertiveness on both ends. Bennett and Brady are providing solid play on both ends after being moved around in the rotation following Hinker's injury.

This coming weekend will be a large test. Bemidji's stats, especially offensively, are not logical for a team that is 3-11 in NSIC play. UMD always brings a theatrical squad and I'm excited for Tam to put Kole Hanson in a highlight reel. However all of these things are secondary to the main objective of this weekend, seeing Wieck's hair in person.

After seeing Augie in-person for the third time this season on their recent return to Moorhead, I continue to think their top 7 is better than anyone else in the conference. That kind of rotation-you-can-count-on often ends up being my pick to make it through an NSIC tourney. So long as there's not any injuries in this last month or warning signs in shooting performance, I'm likely to rock with you guys as my pick at the Pentagon.

And yes, I would be rather excited to watch Hanson get humbled by an actual POY-caliber player. *Manifesting...*

[vikingfaithful]

Four straight road wins for the Augie men puts them two games out of first but most importantly two games clear of a fourth place log jam in a race to the 'Gon. Outside of Moorhead these teams are mediocre to bad but the North Dakota swing is always painful from a logistical standpoint so getting two wins was not a given.

Tam continues to control the action and he's producing at a level that is NSIC POY worthy. Hinker's return has stabilized the non-Tam offense as well as solidified the rebounding that haunted the Vikings during the terrible Jamestown/Northern weekend. Tanner made 3 threes in Minot! Sam Rensch has been the most consistent player on both ends of the floor besides Tam all season. Amari's ascension has not slowed down and his playing time continues to increase because of his assertiveness on both ends. Bennett and Brady are providing solid play on both ends after being moved around in the rotation following Hinker's injury.

This coming weekend will be a large test. Bemidji's stats, especially offensively, are not logical for a team that is 3-11 in NSIC play. UMD always brings a theatrical squad and I'm excited for Tam to put Kole Hanson in a highlight reel. However all of these things are secondary to the main objective of this weekend, seeing Wieck's hair in person.

I'm curious as what improvements this Viking squad must make to improve from a very good team to a dominate unit in your opinion?

Soon, I expect Wieck to elevate to president of Bosley hair club for men Minnesota chapter. Look for a corn row effect as hair plugs, like corn are a living growing organism created to make attractive females irresistibly desire to run their fingers through said locks.

[Blue Ridge Viking]

Four straight road wins for the Augie men puts them two games out of first but most importantly two games clear of a fourth place log jam in a race to the 'Gon. Outside of Moorhead these teams are mediocre to bad but the North Dakota swing is always painful from a logistical standpoint so getting two wins was not a given.

Tam continues to control the action and he's producing at a level that is NSIC POY worthy. Hinker's return has stabilized the non-Tam offense as well as solidified the rebounding that haunted the Vikings during the terrible Jamestown/Northern weekend. Tanner made 3 threes in Minot! Sam Rensch has been the most consistent player on both ends of the floor besides Tam all season. Amari's ascension has not slowed down and his playing time continues to increase because of his assertiveness on both ends. Bennett and Brady are providing solid play on both ends after being moved around in the rotation following Hinker's injury.

This coming weekend will be a large test. Bemidji's stats, especially offensively, are not logical for a team that is 3-11 in NSIC play. UMD always brings a theatrical squad and I'm excited for Tam to put Kole Hanson in a highlight reel. However all of these things are secondary to the main objective of this weekend, seeing Wieck's hair in person.

I can't figure out how they've won only three games. Here are their conference rankings:

Positive
1st in offensive field goal percentage
3rd in defensive field goal percentage
3rd in 3-point field goal percentage
3rd in 3 pointers made per game

Neutral
Essentially break-even in rebounding margin

Negative
Dead last in turnover margin

Turnovers drive coaches mad, I know, but even so their record makes little sense.

[Augieholic]

I'm curious as what improvements this Viking squad must make to improve from a very good team to a dominate unit in your opinion?

Augie is at their best offensively when Tam can isolate his defender, drive, and create a shot for himself or a teammate one pass away. In their best performances of the year (vs SMSU, Winona, CSP, and @ Moorhead) he had 11, 11, 5, and 12 assists. I have to imagine he will only see more full court and trapping defenses and I would love to see him respond to those with more aggression. He's fast enough to get around them and turn them into secondary fast breaks but too often he retreats and looks for a backwards or parallel pass to worse ball handler.

Defensively the areas of concern have been 3 point defense and rebounding. Hinker's health should resolve most of the concerns about the latter but the former is about communication and effort. That was not there in the home games vs Jamestown and Northern but it returned in the four game road trip.

I echo Mark Emmert's sentiment that the 8 (I'm a Markus Talley believer) is good enough to win the NSIC. They have games against both teams in front of them still on the schedule as well as five of their last eight games in Sioux Falls.

[Stanger86]

Augie is at their best offensively when Tam can isolate his defender, drive, and create a shot for himself or a teammate one pass away. In their best performances of the year (vs SMSU, Winona, CSP, and @ Moorhead) he had 11, 11, 5, and 12 assists. I have to imagine he will only see more full court and trapping defenses and I would love to see him respond to those with more aggression. He's fast enough to get around them and turn them into secondary fast breaks but too often he retreats and looks for a backwards or parallel pass to worse ball handler.

Defensively the areas of concern have been 3 point defense and rebounding. Hinker's health should resolve most of the concerns about the latter but the former is about communication and effort. That was not there in the home games vs Jamestown and Northern but it returned in the four game road trip.

I echo Mark Emmert's sentiment that the 8 (I'm a Markus Talley believer) is good enough to win the NSIC. They have games against both teams in front of them still on the schedule as well as five of their last eight games in Sioux Falls.

In terms of personnel, I think Augie is the team I'm most concerned about from a SMSU perspective. The first meeting was at the tail end of the original lineup the Mustangs trotted out, but I'm not sure the lineup change makes up a 22-point difference. Tam finishing that game with 12-13 FGs and 11 assists was definitely eye-opening. We have really struggled against the Vikings since the Bruggeman years, and it was even at best before that.

8-11 from 2009-10 through 2017-18 season.
1-13 since the start of the 2018-19 season.