SIOUX FALLS -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (8-4, 3-3 NSIC) will wrap up a three-game home stand by hosting Wayne State (10-2, 5-1 NSIC) on Friday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. and city rival Augustana (10-2, 5-1 NSIC) at 6 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 5 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action at the Stewart Center.  

Despite 29 points from Trevon Evans, USF dropped a 79-75 decision to SMSU on Dec. 30 at the Stewart Center. It was USF's second straight loss and third loss of four points or less this season. On Sunday, Augustana had a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Matt Cartright to take a dramatic 72-71 win over Wayne State on Dec. 30 in Wayne, Neb. WSC comes into the game with USF tied for first in the NSIC South with a 5-1 record and had its nine-game winning streak end in the loss at home to Augustana. The Vikings face SMSU Friday night in Marshall, Minn., and have a six-game winning streak. USF will look to end a three-game losing streak to WSC and win for the fourth time in five games against Augustana when the rivals meet for the 72nd time on Saturday.

Series Notes - Wayne State leads USF, 15-9
Wayne State has a three-game winning streak and an overall 15-9 overall series lead over USF. This will be the 25th meeting between the schools. WSC won twice a year ago, including a 78-64 win over the Cougars on Feb. 11 at Wayne, Neb., and 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 in the setback at the SC. Trevin Joseph scored 22 and Kendall Jacks, 21, to lead WSC, which outscored USF, 47-29 in the second half. WSC won the first five games of the series in a series that began in the 1929-30 season. The streak ended when USF took a 41-23 win in 1940-41. USF ended a three-game losing skein to the Wildcats with an 85-75 win over WSC at the Stewart Center on Dec. 6, 2013. In 2014-15, the two teams split with USF defeating Wayne State, 80-77 at the Stewart Center on Jan. 3, 2015. On Feb. 13, 2014 at Rice Auditorium, WSC won, 73-50.  On Feb. 11, 2017, USF had 20 points from Daniel Hurtt but fell to the Wildcats, 80-68, at the Stewart Center. In USF's last win over WSC, the Cougars had 24 points from Mack Johnson and 13 from Drew Guebert in a 64-58 decision at Rice Auditorium. On Feb. 12, 2016, USF had its last win over WSC at home with a 79-58 decision as Mack Johnson scored 16 points.  

Series Notes - Augustana leads USF, 36-35
USF will face Augustana for the 72nd time with the Vikings owning a 36-35 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 three of the past four games as they swept the 2017-18 series. In fact, USF won 9-of-12 meetings to open the series with the first Augustana win coming on February 24, 1926. Two games in 1927 were ties but the scores are unavailable. USF, which once led the season series, 25-10-2, won eight of 10 games played between 1929-30 and 1934-35 and 7-of-8 from 1938-41. A 42-40 win by USF in 1940-41 was the last match up for the schools for 46 years until Augustana took a 96-74 decision on Nov. 20, 1987. The Cougars ended a seven-game losing streak 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. Augustana defeated USF, 80-78 on Feb. 10, 2017 at the Stewart Center. USF won the first match up of a year ago with a 70-61 overtime decision on Dec. 31, 2017 as Drew Guebert had 18 points. Down seven with 12 minutes to play, USF rallied to send the game into overtime, outscoring the Vikings, 13-4 in the extra session.  Then, on Feb. 10, 2018, the Cougars had 23 points from Trevon Evans, 21 from Aaron Rothermund and 18 from Drew Guebert to capture an 88-86 win over the Vikings at the Sioux Falls Arena.   Down seven with 12 minutes to play, USF rallied to send the game into overtime, outscoring the Vikings, 13-4 in the extra session. On Dec. 31, 2016, 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.

USF ranks sixth in the NSIC with 80 points per game
USF comes into the game ranking sixth in the NSIC with 80.0 points per game and ninth in defensing scoring at 71.5 points per game. The Cougars are the league's top rebounding squad at 43.1 per game with 14.1 offensive boards also tops in the NSIC.  After 12 games, senior All-NSIC guard Trevon Evans ranks third in the NSIC in scoring at 22.5 points per game while All-NSIC forward Drew Guebert is sixth in the NSIC in scoring at 20.6 points per game.  

Guebert ranks sixth all-time in scoring at USF
Guebert, who was named second team All-NSIC a year ago, has played in 104 games and has moved up to sixth in career scoring at USF with 1,651 points. He needs 49 points to reach the 1,700 point mark, which has been reached by just three players in school history and all of them are members of USF's Athletics Sports Hall of Fame. They include Gayle Hoover, 1954-58, 2,169 points; Ron Krayl, 1964-68, 2,029; and Tony Overbaugh, 1987-91, 1,809 points.

Guebert, who has 229 career three-pointers, needs four more three-point baskets to move past Mack Johnson (2013-17), who has the most in school history at 232. With 45 points, he can move into the top-five all-time and ahead of Todd Kelsey, another USF Athletics Hall of Famer who had 1,696 points  from 1977-81.  Guebert has 78 double digit scoring games with 35 games of 20 points or more and five games over 30. vans has started this year as he finished a year ago. He is averaging 22.5 points per game with 12 games in double digit points (15, 26, 19, 28, 22, 19, 23, 23, 21, 26, 18 and 29) and seven of his last night games with 20 points or more. He has 16 straight double digit scoring games dating to a year ago and now has 38 double digit scoring games and 24 games of 20 points or more in his career at USF. Evans has 880 points in his career at USF.    

Also for USF, Milan Surlic, a junior point guard, has a pair of 20 point games with 27 last time against SMSU. Senior Justin Taylor has been a model of consistency with 7.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He is shooting 56 percent from the field. Redshirt freshman Chase Grinde has started three straight games and has thee double-digit scoring games this season.

Opponent Notes - Wayne State leads NSIC in defensive scoring
WSC comes into the game with a 10-2 overall record and 5-1 in NSIC play. Directed by head coach Jeff Kaminsky, the Wildcats had a nine-game winning streak end in a 72-71 loss at home to Augustana. They also have a 73-67 loss to Central Missouri. The Wildcats rank seventh in the NSIC with 79.8 points per game but sit first in scoring defense at 63.5 points per game. Trevin Joseph leads the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg while adding 3.3 rebounds. Kendall Jacks (14.5 ppg), Vance Janssen (13.3 ppg) and Jordan Janssen (10.4 ppg) all average double-digit points and WSC ranks fifth in the league in rebounding at 37.4 per game.

Opponent Notes -- Augustana has won six straight games
Augustana, which is directed by veteran head coach Tom Billeter, has also opened 9-3 and 5-1 in league play. The Vikings have won six straight games and will face SMSU on Friday before the matchup with city rival USF.  The Vikings averaged 77.5 points per game for 10th in the league and rank seventh by allowing 70.5 points per game. Matt Cartwright is averaging 14.8 ppg while Michael Schaefer is providing 11.9 per game to lead AU.