This Week's Men's Basketball Storylines:
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: The Winona State men's basketball team will look to end its regular season on a high note and avenge a pair of earlier season losses as it plays its final games in McCown Gym this season when it takes on Wayne State on Friday night at 8 p.m. followed by No. 2 Augustana Saturday with a 6 p.m. tipoff.
WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY: Despite dropping the most recent game in the series, the Warriors have had their way with the Wildcats, holding a 31-12 lead on the all-time series history. Before the 81-79 loss to the Wildcats back on Jan. 24, the Warriors had won 18 straight against Wayne State dating back to 2005. The last time Winona State played the Wildcats in McCown Gym, the Warriors defeated the Wildcats 75-57 on Feb. 21, 2014.
AUGUSTANA SERIES HISTORY: The Warriors and Vikings have had a balanced history against each other, with the series history between the two teams tied up at 10-10. Winona State will be looking to get some revenge against Augustana as the Vikings have won the previous two matchups. The Vikings defeated the Warriors earlier in the season in Sioux Falls 97-68 and took Winona State's regular season home finale last season 79-70.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: After Wayne State started the conference season losing their first 12 conference games, Wayne State has been playing some better basketball of late. The Wildcats have won four of their last seven games and swept the weekend series at home against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State last weekend. Much like the Warriors, the Wildcats have a balanced scoring attack with nine players averaging between six and 13 ppg. Wayne State is led by Patrick Kurth, who leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg), rebounding (5.5 rpg), and blocked shots (27).
BAUMAN'S BIG TEST: With sophomore forward Kyle Bauman coming up big against Minnesota State's Assem Marei, scoring a career-high 21 points and hitting the game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds left, Bauman will have yet another big test as he will be going up against Augustana's big time forward Daniel Jansen. Bauman could be asked to contribute just as much defensively as offensively, as Jansen went off for 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists the last time the Warriors played the Vikings in Sioux Falls.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Other than Jansen, the Warriors will have their hands full against another potential NSIC South Player of the Year candidate, Casey Schilling. Schilling is second on the Vikings roster in scoring (18.5 ppg), first in rebounding (7.9 rpg), and leads the team in both blocked shots (25) and steals (51). Shutting down the Vikings has proved to be a challenge, as Augustana has one of the most potent offenses in the nation. They rank ninth nationally in scoring offense at 88.1 ppg.
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE: The Warriors have been a much different team in McCown Gym this season, where WSU is 11-2 on the year with just one NSIC loss. On the flip side, Augustana has just one road loss on the season – at Minnesota State. Last weekend, the Warriors won at Minnesota State for their firsr road win of the season when the Mavericks previously hadn't lost at home.
