• The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team hits the road Sat., Dec. 15 and Sun., Dec. 16 as they take on Augustana University and Wayne State College. The Golden Eagles are looking to continue their strong start as they take on the Vikings and Wildcats. Tip for Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m. at Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls. S.D. Sunday's game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. The Golden Eagles are looking to extend their streak to two-straight against Augustana. Minnesota Crookston has lost their last two meetings with Wayne State. 

•  GREAT START. The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team is off to their best start in program history with a 7-4 mark through the first 11 games. The Golden Eagles opened the 2017-18 campaign with a 5-6 mark in the first 11 tilts. Minnesota Crookston is just three games shy of tying their school-record for wins which was set with 10 victories during the 2017-18 season. Minnesota Crookston has never had back-to-back 10-win seasons. 

• CHASING GREATNESS. Harrison Cleary has had an incredible start to his career. The junior already has 1,578 career points for the Golden Eagles. Cleary needs 340 points to surpass Minnesota Crookston great Joe Hasz as the all-time leading scorer. In addition, Cleary is already 22nd all-time in scoring in the NSIC with 1,112 career points. Cleary needs six points to surpass Kevin Ratzsch of Northern State University for 21st place, and seven points to move past Cole Olstad of Concordia-St. Paul for 20th place all-time. Cleary is coming off an amazing school-record 47 points against Minnesota State University Moorhead last week. The astounding accomplishment is that Cleary opened the game 0-of-7 in the game. He secured 45 of 47 points in the final 24 minutes of the game.

• BRIAN'S SONG. Minnesota Crookston guard Brian Sitzmann stepped into the starting line-up last week for Ben Juhl, who was ill. Sitzmann has continued to come into his own as a redshirt freshman for the Golden Eagles. He tallied 9.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in two games for Minnesota Crookston. Sitzmann also added four steals against Northern State last Saturday. On the season, the Savage, Minn., native is averaging 6.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 32.3 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

• RECORD-CHASER. Gable Smith has already shattered the school's blocks mark with 260 career blocks. He is now attempting to get into the Top 10 for points, where he needs just 22 points to surpass Bilal Hill for 10th all-time. In addition, Smith just moved up to third all-time for steals with 105, surpassing Akeem Cubie with 100 steals. He needs 25 steals to surpass Almir Krdzalic for second all-time.  Earlier this season, Smith became the school's all-time leading rebounder. He currently has 525 career rebounds. Smith is coming off a great game against Northern State as he secured a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Smith also added three assists, four blocks, and two steals.

• KNICKERBOCKER IS THE NAME. THREE POINTERS ARE MY GAME. Minnesota Crookston has welcomed back  Chase Knickerbocker after the senior missed the last half of the 2017-18 season with an injury. Knickerbocker has been off to a great start for the Golden Eagles. The main area this has been seen is behind the three-point line where the Annandale, Minn., native is shooting 44.9 percent. Knickerbocker had a career-high 29 points in the win over University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. He scored over 20 points for the second time this season with 21 points on 8-of-13 from the field against Northern State last weekend. Knickerbocker is averaging 13.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. 

• BREAKING OUT OF THE ROAD WOES. Minnesota Crookston has struggled on the road historically. The Golden Eagles have had some success this season away from Lysaker Gymnasium as they are 3-3. Last season, the only conference road win for the Golden Eagles came Dec. 16 over Bemidji State University. During the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, Minnesota 
Crookston did not pick up a conference road victory. The 2014-15 campaign saw the Golden Eagles defeat Wayne State College Dec. 12 in Wayne, Neb. 

• MAKING MALCOLM. Redshirt junior Malcolm Cohen is showing signs of the player he can become. The native of Detroit, Mich., is coming off a career-high 24 points on 9-of-15 from the field, and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc in a win over MSU Moorhead last Friday. Cohen has secured over 20 points in two games this season. He is averaging 8.9 points on the 2018-19 season. Cohen is shooting 37.1 percent from beyond the arc on the season and 88.2 percent from the charity stripe. 

• BACK TO DEFENSE.  The Golden Eagles have continued to improve defensively this season as they allowing just 68.5 points per game on the year. Minnesota Crookston struggled a bit defensively in their last three games as they have given up 90.7 points per game. The Golden Eagles will look to get back to their defense from their first eight games as they allowed just 56.8 points per tilt. Minnesota Crookston limited MSU Moorhead to 31 points in the first half and forced 17 turnovers. However, the Dragons scored 57 points in the second half. The defense for the Golden Eagles will look to be a major factor this weekend. 

•  TURNING THE CORNER.  The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team has made big strides as a program in the last 1.5 years. The Golden Eagles have posted a 17-23 mark in their last 40 games, a vast improvement from where the program was prior to Coach Dan Weisse as they went 8-46 in the two seasons prior to his arrival. The Golden Eagles will look to continue to make the next step as a program as they continue the 2018-19 season.

•  THREE BALL.  The three ball has been of vital importance for the Golden Eagles as they come into the weekend in third in the NSIC in three-point shooting percentage at 43.1 percent. The Golden Eagles are averaging 10.2 three-pointers per game entering this weekend. Minnesota Crookston has been led by Harrison Cleary at 53.2 percent beyond the arc, while Chase Knickerbocker is hitting at a 44.9 percent clip. Darin Viken also comes off the bench for 52.9 percent, while Ben Juhl is shooting at a 38.5 percent clip.

Viking Men's Basketball. The Viking men's basketball team comes into Saturday's matchup with the Golden Eagles winning their last two NSIC games over Winona State and Upper Iowa. The 2016 National Champions have defeated Minnesota Crookston 11 out of the last 12 times these two teams have met. Viking head coach Tom Billeter is in his 16th season at Augustana University, seeing a conference change from the North Central Conference to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and winning a 2016 National Championship. Billeter was at North Dakota State University for five seasons.

FAMILIAR FACE. Freshman A.J. Plitzuweit has been outstanding in his first six games as a Viking. Plitzuweit is averaging 12.5 points per game, while averaging just over 3 rebounds a game for the Vikings. Plitzuweit is the son of University of South Dakota women's basketball head coach Dawn Plitzuweit.

WHEN IN DOUBT GO TO TYLER. Sophomore forward Tyler Riemersma has filled the stat sheet throughout the season for the Vikings. The Bloomington, Minn. native leads the team in points, rebounds, steals and is second on the team in assists and blocks. Riemersma scored a season high 28 points in a 83-77 loss to Henderson State.

THREE POINT ASSASSIN. Local Product Matt Cartwright has been lethal from the three point strip this season. The sophomore from Sioux Falls, S.D., has hit over half of his shots from behind the arc. Cartwright has made four threes twice in a game this season, in a win over Southern Arkansas and a loss against Black Hills State University.

Wildcat Men's Basketball. Wayne State College enters Sunday's game as one of the hottest teams in all of Division II. The Wildcats have won seven straight games, including three straight in the NSIC. Jeff Kaminsky is in his third season as the head man of Wayne State and has improved their win total every season since he began.

JACK OF ALL TRADES. Senior guard Kendall Jacks has put up solid numbers in his senior campaign in Wayne, Neb. Jacks leads the team in scoring and is averaging just under five rebounds per game. Jacks scored a season high 21 points in a victory over Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa.

SAME NAME, SOLID GAME. Vance and Jordan Janssen are two of five Wildcats who are averaging double figures this season. Vance has hit 10 three point shots on the season, while averaging 13.9 points a game. Jordan, hasn't hit a three point shot, but is shooting 56 percent on the season from the field.

TREVIN CAN SCORE. Trevin Joseph is averaging 13.9 points through 9 games for the Wildcats. The senior from Miami, Fla., scored 13.5 points a game last season, while starting in five games. Joseph scored a season high 23 points in an opening season win over the Gorillas of Pittsburg State, 95-92.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 35-88 Season at UMC: Fifth Season

Augustana Vikings
Head Coach: Tom Billeter
Record at AUGIE: 292-169 Season at AUGIE: 16th Season

Wayne State Wildcats
Head Coach: Jeff Kaminsky
Record at WSC: 32-37 Season at WSC: Third Season

Minnesota Crookston at Augustana
Date: Sat., Dec. 15
Time: 4:30 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/augie/
Live Stats: https://goaugie.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Augustana leads 16-2
Last Meeting: Minnesota Crookston won 70-60 in Crookston, Minn.
Feb. 2, 2018
Trends: Minnesota Crookston won the last game in the series

Minnesota Crookston at Wayne State
Date: Sun., Dec. 16
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wsc/
Live Stats: http://wildcat.wsc.edu/athletics/mediastats/basketball/xlive.htm
Series Record: Wayne State lead 24-7
Last Meeting: Wayne State won 85-74 Feb. 3, 2018 in Crookston, Minn.
Trends: Wayne State has won two straight

Projected Starters
Jr. PG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 180, Oak Creek, Wis.) 21.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.3 APG
R-Fr. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 6.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Sr. SF 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-7 210, Annandale, Minn.) 13.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Sr. PF 30 Josh Collins (6-6 230, Minneapolis, Minn.) 6.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG
R-Sr. C 24 Gable Smith (6-7 225, Lodi, Wis.) 5.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 
Top Bench Players
So. G 2 Ben Juhl (6-1 186, Clive, Iowa) 11.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG
R-Jr. G/F 12 Malcolm Cohen (6-6 210, Detroit, Mich.) 8.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Sr. G 13 Darin Viken (6-1 200, Fosston, Minn.) 3.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG
R-So. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-8 240, La Crosse, Wis.) 2.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG

Augustana Vikings
Projected Starters
So. PG 10 Jameson Bryan (5-10 160, Apple Valley, Minn.) 4.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.3 APG
So. SG 23 Matt Cartwright (6-4 180, Sioux Falls, S.D.) 11.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Fr. 3G 1 Dylan LeBrun (6-6 190, Flandreau, S.D.) 8.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG
Fr. SF 24 Michael Schaefer (6-6 205, St. Cloud, Minn.) 12.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG
So. PF 25 Tyler Riemersma (6-8 215, Bloomington, Minn.) 15.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. F 33 Trevor Hanson (6-8 225, Volga, S.D.) 9.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG
R-Fr. G 4 Tayton Vincent (6-3 180, Volga, S.D.) 2.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG
Jr. G 3 Beau Keeve (6-0 190, San Rafael, Calif.) 1.0 PPG, 0.9 RPG
Fr. G 21 A.J. Plitzuweit (6-2 165, Vermillion, S.D.) 12.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG

Wayne State Wildcats
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 10 Vance Janssen (6-2 185, Blair, Neb.) 13.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.6 APG
Sr. SG 2 Trevin Joseph, Jr. (6-3 195, Miami, Fla.) 13.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Sr. 3G 1 Kendall Jacks (6-4 215, Bettendorf, Iowa) 14.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Fr. SF 3 Nick Ferrarini (6-5 180, Omaha, Neb.) 10.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Fr. PF 32 Jordan Janssen (6-7 210, Lincoln, Neb.) 10.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 4 Al'Tavius Jackson (6-2 170, Atlanta, Ga.) 4.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG
So. F 20 Ben Dentlinger (6-7 210, New London, Iowa) 3.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Jr. C 40 Tony Bonner (6-8 230, Council Bluffs, Iowa) 7.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. G 13 Nate Mohr (6-2 160, Glenwood, Iowa) 2.2 PPG, 0.6 RPG
Jr. G 23 Luke TerHark (6-2 180, Algona, Iowa) 1.0 PPG, 1.3 RPG

#5StoryLines
1. Can UMC get back to their defensive ways this weekend?

2. Can Harrison Cleary continue to have a major impact for the Golden Eagles after a strong performance last weekend?

3. Can the Golden Eagles limit the touches of Tyler Riemersma inside for Augustana?

4. Can Chase Knickerbocker knock down some big three-pointers in key spots this weekend?

5. Will Minnesota Crookston be able to slow down a strong starting line-up for Wayne State?