SIOUX FALLS -- After a 14-day break, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (8-3, 4-2 NSIC), which has won five-of-seven games, resumes the 2017-18 schedule by hosting Wayne State and Augustana in NSIC  action on Dec. 30-31 at the Stewart Center. The Cougars will face WSC for the 23rd time on Saturday Dec. 30 and Augustana for the 67th time on Sunday, Dec. 31 with tipoff at 4 p.m. both days.

A year ago, USF split with WSC, winning 64-58 at Rice Auditorium on Dec. 30, 2016 before dropping an 80-68 decision at the Stewart Center on Feb. 11,  2017. USF also defeated the Vikings on the road in a 69-62 victory on Dec. 31, 2016 at the Sioux Falls Arena. Augustana won the second game,  80-78, on Feb. 10 at the Stewart Center. USF trails WSC, 13-9, and Augustana, 36-28-2 in all-time series between the schools.

The Cougars, which had a nonconference game with Midland moved from Dec. 19 to Jan. 16 at the Stewart Center, will look to rebound from a loss Dec. 16 at Southwest Minnesota State (86-57). In the game, USF, which ranks second in the NSIC with 84.9 points per game, scored a season-low 57 points. The Cougars have outshot opponents in 8-of-11 games this season and won the rebounding battle in 9-of-11 games. Regardless, USF, which leads the NSIC in rebounding at 40.2 per game and sits second in scoring at 84.9 ppg, has now opened 8-3 for the second time in three years. The Cougars are 4-2 for third in the NSIC South Division.

Inside Scoop on USF
Through 11 games, USF has been one of the league's best scoring teams, averaging 84.9 ppg  with nine games of 80 points or better.  USF is led by junior forward Drew Guebert, who ranks third in the NSIC in scoring at 22.9 ppg.  Junior guard Trevon Evans is fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 20.5 points per game.   The Cougars, picked ninth in the NSIC Preseason Poll, have scored 90 points or more in six of 11 games for the first time in the D2 era.

Cougar Tracks
~ Junior forward Drew Guebert has 1,060 career to move into 26th place on  USF all-time scoring list. He is the 33rd player to surpass 1,000 points in his career.   
~ Both seniors Jerrod Walton (529), who has seven double digit games in nine played, and Zach Wessels (525) have moved past 500 career points.
~ A rarity, USF has had two players record double doubles of over 30 points and 10 rebounds. Trevon Evans had career highs with 31 points and 12 rebounds against Ft. Hays State while  Drew Guebert had a career-best 36 points with 10 rebounds against SMSU
~ Between Evans and Guebert, they have a combined five games over 30 points and . Evans has scored 31 against Fort Hays State, 31 against Upper Iowa and a career-high 32 on the road against St. Cloud State. Guebert had his career-high 36 points in the overtime win at home against SMSU and 32 in the victory over Fort Hays State.
~ The Cougars have had three players (Jerrod Walton, 2; Trevon Evans, 5; and Drew Guebert, 8) combine for 15 games of 20 points or more.
~ In total, USF has a combined 36 double digit scoring games  from 10 players including Guebert, 10; Evans, 9; Walton, 7; Wessels, 2; Teathloach Pal, 2; Justin Taylor, 1; Drew Maschoff, 1; Austin Slater, 1; Aaron Rothermund, 1; and Chase Grinde, 1.
~ Three players including Slater (17), Evans (12) and Guebert (10) have recorded double digit rebounds and also had double doubles in those games. Slater had 17 points and 13 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; Guebert, 36 points and 10 rebounds against SMSU, 11/25/17; and Evans, 31 points and 12 rebounds against Fort Hays State, 11/11/17.
~ USF has outrebounded 9-of-11 opponents team this season by at least six rebounds, which has enabled them to lead the NSIC at 40.2 per game. The Cougars' 8.8 margin per game also leads the NSIC.  The Cougars have had over 40 boards six times with a high of 50 against SMSU. In fact, USF has had a double digit margin over opponents in rebounds six times.
~ In its eight wins, USF has outshot opponents from the field with a season-best 56.3 percent against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. The Cougars have shot at least 50 percent five times.
~ Twice in 2017-18, the Cougars have over 10 3's in a game with a high of 12 against Wisconsin-Superior
~ Redshirt freshman Austin Slater recorded his first career double double with 13 points and 17 rebounds in OT win over SMSU. He had totaled just five points and seven rebounds before his big game on Nov. 25. In fact, the 17 rebounds are the most by a USF player since Kelly Hubbard had 19 on Jan. 13, 2009 (16 points, 18 rebounds, 85-84 win over Northwestern)
~ USF is 5-2 when trailing at halftime.
~ USF has scored at least 41 points in the second half of eight of 11 games and has had 49 or  more second half points five times, including five of the past six games
~ USF has had at least one block in every game with a seven high of seven against SMSU (11/25/17) and Minnesota Duluth (12/9/17). In nine straight games, USF, third in the NSIC in blocks, have had at least two each game.
~ For stat nerds, Drew Guebert is an effective field goal percentage of 60.1 percent (accounting that three point shots have more value than two point field goals) and a true shooting percentage of 64.6 percent (player's shooting efficiency - accounting for field goals, three pointers and free throws in one metric) while accounting for 28.6 percent of plays by USF on offense. Trevon Evans has a 56.4 percent effective field goal percentage and is at 60.9 percent on true shooting percentage. The Cougars have a team offensive rating at 113.9 and team defensive rating of 102.2 per game.

Player Awards --
U.S. Basketball Writers Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 28
NSIC Player of the Week -- Trevon Evans, Nov. 13
NSIC Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 27

How  Cougars stand in NCAA DII Statistics
Team                
Scoring -- 46th, 84.9 ppg
Rebound Margin -- 20th, 8.8 per game
Defensive Rebounds Per Game  --10th, 30.36 per game
Free Throws Made -- 44th, 187
Turnovers Per Game -- 27th, 11.0
Total Blocks -- 50th, 44
Individual
Scoring -- Drew Guebert, 13th, 22.9 ppg
Total Points -- Drew Guebert,  24th, 252; Trevon Evans, 55th, 226
Total Field Goals -- Drew Guebert, 27th, 88; Trevon Evans 54th, 80
Total Field Goal Attempts -- Drew Guebert, 39th, 169; Trevon Evans, 58th, 163

Inside Look at the Opponent - Wayne State College
Jeff Kaminsky, a 1985 graduate of Grand Valley State, has directed Wayne State to an 8-6 mark, including 3-3 in league play. Kaminsky has a 470-382 record, including 18-25 with the Wildcats.  Guard Kendall Jacks leads WSC in scoring at 14.6 per game. The Wildcats are 10th in the NSIC scoring at 77.4 points per game but rank third in the league by allowing just 68.1 points per game. WSC, which is 1-3 on the road, opened the season 4-1 but has gone 4-5 since, including an 80-70 setback to travel partner Augustana on Dec. 19. The Wildcats have dropped three of four, including two straight.

Inside Look at the Opponent - Augustana
Augustana has opened 8-4, including 3-3 in league play with veteran head coach Tom Billiter, a 1983 Illinois graduate, who is 376-206 all-time and 279-156 in 14 seasons.  The Vikings opened 3-1 and has won 2-of-3 including an 80-70 win over Wayne State on Dec. 19. AU is led by Jordan Spencer, who is averaging 16.3 ppg (12th, NSIC) with 7.3 assists per game, a total which leads the league. Steve Schaefer at 13.7 ppg and John Warren at 14.5 ppg are also scoring threats for AU, which ranks first in the NSIC in scoring at 85.4 ppg. The Vikings are the league's top three-point shooting team at 11.0 made treys per game and  43.6 percent shooting percentage from deep.
 
Quick Look - USF  
The Cougars had a 1-2 record in their first NSIC road trip as they fell most recently to Southwest Minnesota State,  86-57, on Dec. 16 in the Cougars' worst shooting performance (32.8 percent) of the season. USF had a season low in points with 57 and second half points with 23.  Trevon Evans had 14 points to lead USF. The Cougars also fell at St. Cloud State, 88-82 on Dec. 8 before rebounding with a 91-66 decision over Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. Trevon Evans had 32 points to help USF rally from 16 down in the second half to tie SCSU before the Huskies finished strong in a win. The Cougars had 26 points from Evans and 23 from Drew Guebert as USF lead nearly the entire game of the win over UMD. They lead by as many as 34 in the second half. USF recorded their first home sweep NSIC sweep of the season with an 80-64 victory over Winona State and the come-from-behind 90-78 decision over Upper Iowa. Drew Guebert had 23 points to lead USF past Winona State, overcoming an 11-2 deficit to open the game. Trevon Evans tied a career high with 31 points, including 27 in the second half, to lift USF to the victory over Upper Iowa. On Nov. 25, Guebert had a career-best 36 points with 10 rebounds to rally USF to a 91-85 overtime victory over Southwest Minnesota State at the Stewart Center. Evans added 16, including the game-tying basket with 2.8 seconds left in overtime and Jerrod Walton had 18 points, including 7-of-7 from the foul line in overtime. On Nov. 21, the Cougars had 28 points from Guebert and 21 from Walton in an 89-62 victory over Waldorf at the Stewart Center.  In a loss to Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 18 at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, USF had a 16-point lead but a hot shooting Golden Eagles squad rallied in the second half for the win. Against UW-Superior, the Cougars opened up a 41-20 advantage at halftime and cruised to the 90-49 win. Guebert scored 22 points with four three-pointers. Evans had 13 points while reserves Aaron Rothermund had a career-high 11 and freshman Chase Grinde added a career-high 10. In the opening weekend, the Cougars recorded back-to-back overtime wins with the 94-89 decision over host Emporia State and a 96-92 victory over Fort Hays State at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge in Emporia on Nov. 10-11.  Evans, who was named the NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week, averaged 29 points and 10.5 rebounds and Guebert supplied 22.5 points per game in the wins at the MIAA-NSIC Classic.

Evans ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring
Junior guard Trevon Evans ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 20.5 points per game.  With a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game, he ranks 14th in the NSIC. Evans set career-bests with 32 points and five threes (seven attempts) against St. Cloud State. In the 88-82 loss, he scored 11 points in the final 55 seconds of the game.  In a 91-66 win over UMD on Saturday, Dec. 9, he had 26 points with six rebounds in 30 minutes. In a 50-minute period between the second half of SCSU and first 30 minutes against UMD, he scored 53 points or over a point a minute. He had 31 points, including a career-best 27 points in the second half, to help USF rally to a 90-78 victory over Upper Iowa on Dec. 2. In a 91-85 overtime win over SMSU Nov. 25, Evans had 16 points and had the game-tying basket with 2.8 seconds to play. At the MIAA-NSIC Classic on Nov. 10-11, Evans tallied 28 points and nine rebounds in the 94-89 OT win against Emporia State on Nov. 10. He bettered his performance on the second day, lighting it up for a career-best 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as USF defeated Fort Hays State, 96-92 in overtime.  As a result of those performances, he earned NSIC Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors.  Evans has 10 double digit scoring games (28, 31, 13, 14, 16, 14, 31, 32, 26, 14) including five games over 20 points and a team-high three over 30.  He also has one double double and ranks 35th in DII with 80 made field goals.

Guebert ranks second in the NSIC in scoring; continues to move up all-time charts 
Drew Guebert has opened 2017-18 season on a tear. He ranks third in the NSIC and 17th in DII at 22.9 points per game. Through 11 games, Guebert, who is 14th in DII with 252 total points, has eight games of 20 points or more, including twice (36, 32) scoring over 30 points. He has reached 20 points in eight of the last 10 games. After scoring a combined 42 points in a weekend sweep (Dec. 1-2) of Winona State and Upper Iowa,  Guebert became the 33rd player in school history to top 1,000 career points. Despite a season low mine points against SMSU on Dec. 16,  he now has 1,060 career points for 26th on USF's scoring chart.  With 18 points, he will move into 25th place, which is currently held by Skyler Bloch with 1,077 from 2008-12. If he has 23 points, he will move to 24th all-time currently held by Chad Bendt (1991-95) with 1,083. After that, Guebert will take aim at Matt Correa, who is 23rd all-time with 1,118 from 1993-97.   With 164 career threes, he is sixth on USF's career 3-point chart.  To move into fifth all-time in threes, Guebert needs four to past Adam Burnison, who had 167 from 2000-03.This season, Guebert has been named NSIC South Player of the Week on Nov. 27. With 64 points (28, 32), Guebert was named the U.S.. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Week on Nov. 28. A junior forward from Apple Valley, Minn.,  he has 50 double digit scoring games with 20, 20-point games. This season, he has scored double digits in 10 games and but had a run of 13 straight double digit games end vs SMSU on Dec. 16.