St. Cloud State
Wayne State College
Men's basketball set for last South series with Wayne State, Augie
2/7/2019 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
It will certainly be a road test for the Huskies as they take on two of the top teams in the NSIC South Division. After an average season in 2017-18, Wayne State currently reigns as the top team in the South Division with a 17-5 overall record and 12-4 mark in NSIC play. Augustana, traditionally a powerhouse, has struggled as of late but still sit in fourth in the South standings.
Friday's tip off against the Wildcats is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's game against the Wildcats is set to start at 5:30 p.m. Fans can tune in to live stats and video and score updates will be found on the basketball team's official Twitter account (@SCSUmensbball).
Here are the five things to know before this weekend:
20.5 – Last season, St. Cloud State defeated Wayne State and Augustana by an average of 20.5 points during the regular season. In the first game of the season, the Huskies took down the Wildcats 82-58 before beating the Vikings 80-63 the very next day. St. Cloud State also beat Wayne State in the opening round of the playoffs, again by over 24 points. Five different Huskies scored in double-digits in the game en route to the team's 81-57 victory over the Wildcats.
.509 – Brindley Theisen (St. Cloud, Minn. / St. Cloud Cathedral) was just a little good at shooting three-pointers in the Huskies games against Upper Iowa and Winona State. In two games, Theisen shot a blistering .750 (15-20) from beyond the arc, bringing his season three-point shooting percentage up to .509. That number currently leads the NSIC and ranks second in Division II.
27.5/7.5/5/1.5/.5 – No, that's not coordinates to buried treasure. It's Gage Davis' (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) stat line from last week. Davis was named the NSIC North Player of the Week for the third time this season after leading the Huskies to their 2-0 weekend with some monster numbers. The senior averaged 27.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, five assist, 1.5 steals and .5 blocks in St. Cloud State's games against the Peacocks and Warriors while shooting over .500 in both Friday and Saturday's games. Davis scored 24 points against Upper Iowa, his 12th 20+ performance against an NSIC opponent this season, before tallying 31 against Winona State on Saturday. Since the start of the second semester, Davis has scored at least 30 points four times and is currently averaging an impressive 23.7 points per game.
76.1/70.3 – This is not the same Wayne State team St. Cloud State beat by an average of 24 points last season. In 2017-18, the Wildcats gave up an average of 76.1 points per game, which ranked ninth in the NSIC in terms of scoring defense. In 2018-19, Wayne State has turned things around, as the team currently leads the NSIC in scoring defense, as the Wildcats allow just 70.3 points per game this year. They are only averaging 77.4 points on offense, which ranks eighth amongst 16 teams in the conference.
931 – Augustana is one of the hottest second-half teams in the NSIC this season. In the final 20 minutes of games, the Vikings have scored 931 points and outscored their opponents 931-858. However, Augustana has struggled early in games this season, as the team has scored just 773 points in the opening 20 minutes of play through 24 games.
Bonus number:
3 - Seniors Davis and Theisen have already had their turn making history this season. This weekend, it could be Sean Smith's (Seville, Spain / Canarias Basketball Academy) turn. The senior is three blocks away from becoming St. Cloud State's all-time leading blocker, surpassing Andrew Bernstetter with 175 career blocks. What might be more impressive is the fact that Smith reached the number in less than two seasons and he's on pace to break his own record for single-season blocks, set at 88.
