St. Cloud State
Wayne State College
Men's basketball heads to Wayne State, Augustana
1/19/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The road isn't getting any easier for the St. Cloud State men's basketball team. After facing #16 Upper Iowa and Winona State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play last weekend, the Huskies will face two key conference opponents on the road this weekend, as they are set to face Wayne State and #20 Augustana this upcoming Friday and Saturday.
After weeks of playing the early games, St. Cloud State's schedule will seem a bit more normal in the final weeks of the regular season. For the first half of the 2021-22 NSIC schedule, the women's teams played in the late night slots, allowing the men to play at 5:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.. At the midway point of the season, the teams flip start times, with the women playing the early games and the men starting at 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. respectively. This means the Huskies will take on the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Friday before facing the #20 Vikings at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Live stats and video will be available for both contests, and fans can also listen to a live radio broadcast on the Varsity Network App. Score updates will be made on the team's official Twitter page (@scsuhuskies_mbb) as well.
Here are the five things to know before this weekend's series at Wayne State and Augustana:
23.0 - Upper Iowa and Winona State had their hands full with Caleb Donaldson (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington) and Matthew Willert (Buffalo, Minn. / Buffalo) last weekend. The duo averaged exactly 23.0 points in St. Cloud State's losses last weekend, as both shot over .550 from the floor to score exactly 46 points a piece. Donaldson was fueled by a 31 point performance against the #16 Peacocks, tying his season high on 10-15 shooting, including a 10-12 mark from the free throw line. Willert was nearly unstoppable against both Upper Iowa and the Warriors, scoring 22 and 24 points respectively against each team while shooting .588 (10-17) from beyond the arc.
15.0/6.5 - It was an unusually quiet weekend for the Huskies leading scorer Anthony Roberts (Chicago, Ill. / Oak Park) last weekend, though the junior still averaged 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds against the two NSIC opponents. In the loss to the Peacocks, Roberts was held to a season-low 14 points and three rebounds, but he still shot .462 from the floor and tallied three blocks in the game. He then recorded a double-double in the loss to Winona State on Saturday, scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds in the defeat.
2nd/3rd - The Wildcats and Vikings were projected to be two of the top teams in the NSIC South Division, and they've both lived up to the hype this season. Augustana trails only Upper Iowa in the divisional standings thanks to its 7-2 NSIC record, while Wayne State trails by just one game thanks to its 6-3 record.
62.2/66.2 - The secret to the Wildcats and Vikings success? Their defense naturally. Augustana and Wayne State rank No. 1 and 2 in the NSIC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 62.2 and 66.2 points respectively. However, that doesn't necessarily translate to a lot of points on offense. While the Vikings rank sixth in scoring, averaging 75.0 points per game this season, the Wildcats rank toward the bottom of the NSIC, as they average just 69.4 points in conference games this season.
.674/.573 - Saturday's contest features two of the top shooters in the NSIC this season in Donaldson and Augustana's Tyler Riemersma. Donaldson currently ranks second in the conference in shooting percentage, as she is currently shooting .674 from the floor through nine NSIC games this season. Riemersma has been equally as impressive this season for the Vikings, shooting .573 in eight conference contests.
