SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (16-8, 11-7 NSIC South, 3rd) which has won six-of-eight games, will face city rival Augustana and Wayne State this weekend in the final NSIC regular season road trip of the year. The Cougars, which defeated Augustana, 70-61 in overtime at the Stewart Center on Dec. 31, faces the Vikings in an 8 p.m. matchup on Friday, Feb. 9 at the Sioux Falls Arena. On Saturday, Feb. 10, the Cougars will face the Wildcats at 6 p.m. at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb., and will try and reverse the outcome when WSC took a 78-66 decision at the Stewart Center.  The game with Augustana will be televised on the Midco Sports Network with David Brown handling play-by-play.  

With four games to play, USF, which has a three-game winning streak, will try and retain a hold on third place in the NSIC South. The Cougars are coming off a weekend sweep of U-Mary, 75-66, and Minot State, 80-59 at the Stewart Center. Junior forward Drew Guebert was named NSIC South Division Player of the Week for the third time this year after averaging 25.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 4.5 made threes per game in the two USF wins.  


Follow USF Basketball on social media, video, radio
Follow USF Men's Basketball on twitter at @USFCooBBall. All USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Stretch Internet at usfcougars.com/watch. Veteran announcer Tom Frederick will provide play-by-play for both the nonconference games on Stretch Internet and conference games at KWSN.com. Live stats for home games are available at www.sidearmstats.com/mbball. Head Coach Chris Johnson will be a guest on Sports Talk with Craig & John on KWSN.com every Thursday at 5:40 p.m.

USF-Augie Series
USF will face Augustana for the 71th time with the Vikings owning a 36-34 overall series advantage. This intra-city rivalry began in the 1922 season as USF defeated the Vikings, 30-12 on Jan. 23. USF won the first seven games of the series, including a 55-16 decision on March 9, 1922. The Cougars have won two of the past three games, including the 70-61 overtime win over Dec. 31 at the Stewart Center. In that game, USF played without starting guard Trevon Evans but freshman guard Drew Maschoff recorded his first career double double of 15 points and 11 rebounds while Drew Guebert led USF with 18 points.  Justin Taylor added 12 points and nine rebounds while Zach Wessels had 10 points and eight boards. Down seven with 12 minutes to play, USF rallied to send the game into overtime, outscoring the Vikings, 13-4 in the extra session. The last time the teams played at the Sioux Falls Arena, the  Cougars ended a seven-game losing streak to the Vikings with a 69-62 come-from-behind victory on Dec. 31, 2016 at the Sioux Falls Arena. It was USF's first win at Augustana  since a 93-87 victory at the Elmen Center on Nov. 22, 1994.  Wessels led USF to the win with 21 points and nine rebounds with Mack Johnson adding 17  in which the Cougars rallied from nine down with 10:41 to play in the game.

How things stand for Augustana
Augustana is coming off a 1-1 weekend when they defeated Bemidji State, 92-66 as John Warren scored 32 points, hitting a career-best 8-of-13 shots from three point range. He also had 14 rebounds and three assists.  On Friday, the Vikings dropped a 70-60 decision at Minnesota Crookston as Marcus Asmus had 14 points and 13 rebounds. AU shot just 37.5 percent in falling to the Golden Eagles. The Vikings feature the league's second ranked offense at 82.5 ppg but give up 75.8 ppg for 11th. They have made a league-high 241 three-pointers this season. All-league guard Jordan Spencer leads the Vikings with 16.0 ppg and 7.7 apg with Warren adding 14.3 ppg and Steve Schaefer, 12.5 ppg.

Wayne State-USF Series
These two teams, which have split the last six meetings, will meet for the 24th time in a series that began in the 1929-30 season with a 21-19 Wildcats' win over the Cougars.  In each of the past three games, the home team has lost in this series. The Cougars dropped a 78-66 decision to the Wildcats on Dec. 30, 2017 at the Stewart Center. Trevon Evans had 22 points and Drew Guebert, 17 to lead the Cougars. Trevin Joseph scored 22 and Kendall Jacks, 21, to lead WSC, which outscored USF, 47-29 in the second half. The Cougars were outshot, 51.7%-to-38.7 percent and outrebounded, 37-to-33. On Feb. 11, 2017, USF had 20 points from Daniel Hurtt but fell to the Wildcats, 80-68, at the Stewart Center. Kendall Jacks led WSC, which led 41-34 at halftime, with 17 points.  USF was outshot, 51.7%-to-44.6% and WSC had a 10-to-6 edge in made three-point shots. The Cougars had a 33-21 rebound margin but were hurt by turnovers with 14 to just eight for the Wildcats. In the first meeting of that 2016-17 season, USF had 24 points from Mack Johnson and 13 from Drew Guebert to take a 64-58 decision at Rice Auditorium. The Cougars had a 48.9%-to-36.4% shooting edge from the field and a 35-33 rebound advantage. Despite just making one three-point shot in the second half on three attempts, USF was 13-of-22 from the field for 59.1 % during the second half. The Cougars led, 26-25 at halftime, and had a 38-33 edge in the second stanza.

Quick take on Wayne State
The Wildcats have lost 5-of-12 since the two teams last faced off.  They have split their last six games, including going 1-1 last weekend with a 85-74 victory over Minnesota-Crookston on the road. Trevin Joseph made his first start in the win over UMC, totaling 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Leading scorer Kendall Jacks supplied 18. In 26 games, WSC is 13-13, averaging 75.6 ppg for 11th in the league. They are fifth in scoring defense allowing 72.9 ppg. At 14.0 ppg, Jacks ranks 20th in the NSIC. Joseph has mostly come off the bench for the Wildcats but is averaging a steady 12.8 ppg with Vance Janssen providing 9.8 ppg.

Coach Chris Johnson has 172 career wins at USF
USF head men's basketball coach Chris Johnson, who was named the school's 22nd head coach in 2008 is in his 10th season at the helm of the program. Since taking over, Johnson has guided the Cougars to four 20-win seasons, three post-season appearances, two conference tournament championships and one regular season conference crown. Just twice in his run have the Cougars finished below .500. In fact, he has led the team to 15 wins eight times and recorded four 20-win seasons with the 25-10 campaign in 2009-10 the best finish. During his tenure, USF is 172-130 (.569). With a 73-69 win over Concordia St. Paul on February 17, 2017, Johnson became the program's career wins leader with 155, passing Shane Murphy (154, 2001-08). Johnson, who is 188-145 (.564) overall in 11 seasons of coaching, has compiled a 103-40 mark at home and a 55-78 road record with a 14-11 mark on a neutral floor. In NSIC play, he has a  57-61 record, including a 42-26 mark in home league games.

Cougar Tracks
~ USF has opened with 16 wins in first 24 games for the first time since 2011 -12 season when the Cougars started 16-8 (finishing 20-9) in its last year in the NAIA.
~ Junior forward Drew Guebert has 1,289 career points and has moved up to 14th on USF all-time scoring chart. He is the 33rd player to surpass 1,000 points in his career.   
~ 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 on Nov. 25 when USF rallied for a 91-85 overtime win at the Stewart Center.
~ Between Evans and Guebert, they have a combined seven games over 30 points and 24 games of 20 points or more. Evans scored a USF D2 program best 42 points against NSU on Jan. 26, had 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, 31 at Winona State on Jan. 5 and 32 in the victory over Fort Hays State.
~ The Cougars have had three players (Jerrod Walton, 2; Trevon Evans, 12; and Drew Guebert, 12) combine for 26 games of 20 points or more.
~ In total, USF has a combined 73 double digit scoring games  from 10 players including Guebert, 21; Evans, 21; Walton, 7; Wessels, 4; Teathloach Pal, 3; Justin Taylor, 3; Drew Maschoff, 5; Austin Slater, 2; Aaron Rothermund, 6; and Chase Grinde, 1.
~ Seven times, including Slater (17), Pal (13, 13, 10) Evans (12, 10), Maschoff (11) and Guebert (10) have recorded double digit rebounds. Evans and Pal have two double doubles, Guebert, Maschoff and Slater one. 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 and 29 points and 10 rebounds in a win over MSUM on Jan. 27. In his first career start, Maschoff recorded career-bests of 15 points and 11 rebounds in an overtime win over Augustana, 70-61, at the Stewart Center. Teachloach Pal had a team-high and career best 13 rebounds in the win over Minnesota Crookston and also grabbed a career-high 13 boards with 10 points in the win over Minot State. He also had a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9.
~ Twice this season, USF has shot over 50 percent for three straight games.
~ USF has outrebounded 18-of-24 opponents team this season, including 15 teams by at least six rebounds, which has enabled them to lead the NSIC at 38.7 per game. When USF outrebounds opponents, they are 15-2 in 20-17-18. The Cougars', which had a combined 84-to-51 rebound edge in wins over U-Mary and Minot State, rank second in the NSIC in rebound margin at 6.5. The Cougars have had over 40 boards 10  times with a high of 50 against both SMSU on Nov. 25 and Augustana on New Years Eve (12-31-17). In fact, USF has had a double digit margin over opponents in rebounds 10 times.
~ In its 16 wins, USF has outshot opponents from the field 13 times with a season-best 56.3 percent against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 9. The Cougars have shot at least 50 percent eight times.
~ USF has had 10 or more threes in a game six times, including a season high 12 twice - Minot State, Feb. 3; and Wisconsin-Superior, Nov. 14.
~ 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 represents 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 6-4 when trailing at halftime, 10-4 when leading at the break and 10-2 in home games.
~ USF has scored at least 41 points in the second half of 13-of-24 games and has had 45 or  more second half points six times.
~ USF has had at least one block in 23-of-24 games. USF, second in the NSIC in blocks at 4.1 per game, have had at least two blocks in 22-of-24 games with a high of eight twice (U-Mary, Wayne State).
~ For stat nerds, Drew Guebert is an effective field goal percentage of 53.9 percent (accounting that three point shots have more value than two point field goals) and a true shooting percentage of 58.2 percent (player's shooting efficiency - accounting for field goals, three pointers and free throws in one metric) while accounting for 28.0 percent of plays by USF on offense. Trevon Evans has a 54.6 percent effective field goal percentage, 58.8 true shooting percentage and accounts for 30.0 percent of the USF plays. The Cougars have a team offensive rating at 109.7 and team defensive rating of  101.3 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, Jan. 29
NSIC Player of the Week -- Drew Guebert, Nov. 27, Jan. 8, Feb. 5

How  Cougars stand in NCAA DII Statistics (as of Jan. 31, 2018)
Team                
Free Throws Made -- 54th, 338
Free Throws Attempted -- 63rd, 465
Rebound Margin -- 34th, 5.6 per game
Defensive Rebounds Per Game  --30th, 28.68 per game
Total Blocks -- 27th, 98
Blocked Shots Per Game, 46th, 4.1
Total Rebounds -- 15th, 928
Rebound Margin Per Game -- 28th, 6.5
 
Individual
Scoring --  Trevon Evans, 41st, 20.8 ppg; Drew Guebert, 51st, 20.0 ppg
Total Points -- Drew Guebert,  18th, 481; Trevon Evans, 20th, 451
Total Field Goals -- Drew Guebert, 21st, 169;  Trevon Evans, 24th, 168
Total FG Attempts --  Drew Guebert, 11th, 363; Trevon Evans, 14th, 357

Evans ranks third in the NSIC in scoring
After scoring 71 points with 10 rebounds, 12 3's, and five assists on Jan. 26-27, Evans earned his second NSIC South Division Player of the Week honor on Jan. 29. As a result, he is 41st nationally and third in the NSIC in scoring. Evans, who is 12th in DII with 479 points, is averaging 20.8 ppg. On Jan. 26 vs. #12 NSU, Evans set career-bests with 42 points, 15 field goals, seven three pointers, and 24 attempted field goals. He followed up with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while hitting the game-winning shot in a 70-67 victory over MSUM. It was Evans's second double double double of his career with USF.  Earlier, he had 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 21 double digit scoring games (28, 31, 13, 14, 16, 14, 31, 32, 26, 14, 22, 28, 10, 21, 13, 14, 24, 22, 42, 29, 19) including 12 games over 20 points and four over 30.  In the last 17 games, he has 10 games of 20 points or more, including six of 25 or more.

Guebert earns third NSIC South Player of the Week
Through 24 games, Drew Guebert, a junior from Apple Valley, Minn., is fifth in the NSIC at 20.0 points per game. Guebert, who is 18th in DII with 481 total points, has 12 games of 20 points or more, including three times (36, 32, 31) scoring over 30 points. Guebert has become the 33rd player in school history to top 1,000 career points. With 51 points on Feb. 2-3, Guebert increased his career scoring total to 1,289 which ranks 14th on USF's career scoring chart.  He can move to 13th  (Adam Burnison, 2000-03, 1.290 points) with two points.  If he scores 19 points, he jumps to 12th (Dylan Kvaale,  2003-07, 1,307). With 35 points, the junior can take over 11th (Joel Running, 1985-88, 1,323 points) on the USF career scoring chart. He has 190 made three pointers in his career, which ranks fourth all-time at USF.  With four more treys, Guebert will move into second all-time at USF, held by Derek Brown (2010-14) and Ryan Coapstick (2001-03) with 193. This season, Guebert has been named NSIC  Player of the Week on Nov. 27 and Jan. 8. He has 61 double digit scoring games with 24,  20-point games. This season, he has scored double digits in 21 times. He set a career-best with 36 points and 10 rebounds, which helped USF defeat SMSU, 91-85 in overtime on Nov. 25. Guebert, who is averaging 5.9 rebounds per game, set a career-best with seven threes (12 attempts)  as he scored 31 points in a  72-70 loss at Winona State.

Breaking Down USF

North Games -- In games  against North opponents this year, USF finished 5-3. The Cougars owned a 76.2-to-71.6 ppg edge and a 36.8-to-32.5 rebounds margin. USF has been outshot 44.8 percent to 43.7 percent from the field. The Cougars have a 38.4-to-31.9 advantage in three pointers and have recorded five fewer steals (40-to-45) to their opponents with the a 32-28 lead in blocked shots. Guard Trevon Evans leads the way with 23.9 ppg and 4.2 rebounds against North foes. Drew Guebert is averaging 17.6 ppg.

South Games -- the Cougars are 6-4 against South opponents, led by the duo of Drew Guebert with 20.9 points and 6.7 rebounds and Trevon Evans with 20.1 points and 4.6 rebounds. USF has outscored opponents, 76.8-to-75.9 ppg with a 45.5 percent to 44.3 percent shooting advantage from the field. However, opponents have a 39.8-to-32.3 percent edge in three point field goals, including an 8.4-to-6.2 advantage in made treys. The Cougars own a 39.1-to-34.4 rebound edge per game. USF owns a commanding 44-to-22 edge in blocks and 53-41 margin in steals but have committed more turnovers (11.1-to-10.2 per game).

Home Games -- In going 10-2 at home, USF has enjoyed an 79.8-to-66.1 ppg advantage. The Cougars have hit 45.2 percent from the floor while opponents have been held to 38.8 percent. In 12 games, USF has a 35.1-to-32.4 edge in three-point shots, making 7.3-to-7.0 for foes. The Cougars' board work has been impressive with a margin of 42.7-to-32.6 per game. The Cougars have committed fewer turnovers (11.4) than opponents (11.7) with more steals (67-to-57), blocks (60-to-32) and assists (178-to-144).

Road Games - On the road USF is 5-6, including 4-5 in league play, and have been outscored, 79.9-to-78.0 ppg. The Cougars hold a 34.5-to-32.1 rebound edge but have been outshot from the floor, 49.0-to-47.0 percent, as well as 44.7-to-39.2 percent from three point range. Opponents have a 8.7-to-7.7 edge in made threes while USF holds the edge in blocks, 37-to-32. Opponents have more assists, 164-to-133 and fewer turnovers (11.3-to-11.9 ).  Trevon Evans leads the way in scoring at 24.5 ppg while Drew Guebert has added 18.1 ppg.

Games won - USF averages 83.5 and allows 68.2 points per game in games they have won.  The Cougars have hit 48.2 percent from the floor,  while allowing 40.2. From the three-point line, USF owns a 37.2-to-35.0 percent shooting edge over foes.  On the boards, the Cougars have a 41.9-to-30.4 edge. Drew Guebert has led the way with 20.9 ppg while Trevon Evans adds 20.0 ppg and team-best 6.3 rpg..