The NEW Official Thread of the Augustana Vikings

[MrMustang]

Your old friend Billeter is off to a 1-5 start....lone win so far against Northern.

Imagine how much he is yelling with that start

[MrAugustana]

This was a tough one. Felt like it was winnable. Would've been nice to sneak out with the win. That being said, it does feel like guys are continuing to figure out their roles. We'll be a fun team to watch once the pieces fall into place.

[AU Vikings]

Another very tough loss but this was the hopefully the coming out party for Tameron Ferguson. Loved his aggressiveness and ability to finish at the rim tonight.

[AU Vikings]

Obviously the five game set in Sioux Falls did not turn out well for Coach Schilling and the gang, but I thought Saturday's morale victory showed a lot of hope for the rest of the season.

Bennett Fried has been a revelation since being moved into the rotation and starting lineup. He is decisive with the ball, knows how to finish around the rim, rebounds the ball, and makes the opposition think twice when they attack the rim. If this effort can be sustained along with jump shots falling at average rates for Akoi/Rensch/TeSlaa that's an offense that can win NSIC games. I'm still waiting for more from Tameron Ferguson, he's teased us with glimpses of dribble drive and defensive ability but has not been able to sustain it for more than a possession or two.

I think the Vikings can win this game in Duluth, and yes I'm biased against Wieck and Andrews there I said it, because the Bulldogs also have struggled shooting the ball from the field and the free throw line along with their mediocrity rebounding the ball. Augie showed real progress on offense Saturday and if that ball/player movement is combined with some shot making they will win.

Not a fan of Austin "Flop" Andrews either.

[Augieholic]

Obviously the five game set in Sioux Falls did not turn out well for Coach Schilling and the gang, but I thought Saturday's morale victory showed a lot of hope for the rest of the season.

Bennett Fried has been a revelation since being moved into the rotation and starting lineup. He is decisive with the ball, knows how to finish around the rim, rebounds the ball, and makes the opposition think twice when they attack the rim. If this effort can be sustained along with jump shots falling at average rates for Akoi/Rensch/TeSlaa that's an offense that can win NSIC games. I'm still waiting for more from Tameron Ferguson, he's teased us with glimpses of dribble drive and defensive ability but has not been able to sustain it for more than a possession or two.

I think the Vikings can win this game in Duluth, and yes I'm biased against Wieck and Andrews there I said it, because the Bulldogs also have struggled shooting the ball from the field and the free throw line along with their mediocrity rebounding the ball. Augie showed real progress on offense Saturday and if that ball/player movement is combined with some shot making they will win.

[Stanger86]

Your old friend Billeter is off to a 1-5 start....lone win so far against Northern.

[Augieholic]

Who could have possibly imagined that an offense built by Cody Schilling would feature so many mid range jumpers?!?!?!

Akoi was absurd all weekend, that was one of the most impressive back to back performances in recent memory given that most/many of the shots were contested and/or off the dribble.

Te Slaa just needs to shoot more! Get assertive Tanner!

Rensch Island knew these days were coming, we have made the proper infrastructure investments to welcome the masses. They will have all the necessities and more.

The team needs more from the 1s and 5s. Helgren was atrocious on Friday but capable on Saturday. Hastreiter can shoot it and contest shots but struggles to rebound consistently. Conner Kraft might be the best athlete on the team, but he's still figuring out how to impact the game. Coleman and Ferguson didn't assert themselves either night but I did like what we saw from Rebetez (he took the ball to the hoop!) on Saturday. Ferguson does have impressive defensive instincts, he can ball hawk like few freshmen but obviously needs the learn the right time to act on those urges.

There is a lot to be excited about three wins in four road games, including two true road contests, in 8 days. It's set the stage for what will obviously be a fiesty pre-Thanksgiving showdown with the Coo a week from today.

[Blue Ridge Viking]

Not sure how good the boys will be this season, but they're going to be fun to watch. Schilling apparently has a narrow definition of a bad shot, though someone really needs to tell Kelton Coleman that it's legal to pass the ball.

Te Slaa is as good as advertised, and Akoi and Rensch are playing free and easy.

[MrAugustana]

Fun to see Akoi stepping into his role as an upperclass leader on this squad. Great performances from him and Rensch in both games, as mentioned by Augieholic.

Not sure the extent of Hinker’s injuries or his timeline for return, but if he’s able to come back healthy at all this year and perform accordingly, the Vikings could be looking pretty good for a team that has experienced such a significant amount of change this offseason. Then again, seems more and more like every team is experiencing significant change every offseason, so maybe that doesn’t matter as much as it seems.

Either way, hope the Vikings can keep things rolling and pile up the wins as we move into conference play.

[Augieholic]

Augie guts out the weekend sweep in Spearfish! Akoi nailed a trey with 2 seconds to go that was the difference. He and Rensch carried the offense with a barrage of contested jumpers. That's a gritty win to improve to 3-1 after 4 straight road games.

[AU Vikings]

Great weekend for Augie. Akoi and Rensch with two really good games with Akoi hitting a huge 3 pointer to win it against Black Hills State.

[Augieholic]

Augie's win over SD Mines yesterday looks better now that the big bad Dragons only beat the Hardrockers by 6 today.

[MrAugustana]

Good bounce back win for the Vikes. Te Slaa is going to be a really solid player. Great to see Akoi have a good game too. On to BHSU tomorrow night!

[Purple Mav Man]

I was looking at the Mavs hockey schedule and see they play Augustana in Mankato Feb 7/8. It made me go back to the basketball schedule to see if…just by chance…the basketball team would be in Mankato that weekend as well. Nope 🙁 Even worse, it appears this season the Mavs and Vikings only have 1 game, and it’s December 7th

[AU Vikings]

Sunday afternoon's loss to Mo West was a large reality check. The Griffons got whatever they wanted on the dribble drive and the glass combined with some above average 3 point shooting. Augie struggled to create open shots on offense and had several bad turnovers. That will happen with a newly formed team that is still sorting out how things look when they don't scrimmage each other.

The few bright spots I noticed on Sunday: Kelton Coleman made several nice plays on offense both around the hoop and on the perimeter. TeSlaa and Hastreither can knock down open shots, Ferguson had zero turnovers, and they didn't back down from a mild brewhaha after words/shoves were exchanged.

To the Black Hills they go.

I found it a little strange that Don Don Ferguson was the only player who didn't see any playing time. Maybe I'm reading into it more than I should.