Vikings to tangle with Illinois State Nov. 3?

There will be an NCAA Division I opponent on the docket again this season for the Augustana men¡¯s basketball program, as Coach Grey Giovanine has announced that the Vikings will travel to Normal, Ill. Nov. 3 to face Illinois State.

The contest will be Augustana¡¯s second exhibition or ¡°exempted¡± game of the season, after the Genesis Collegiate Challenge vs. St. Ambrose Oct. 28.

¡°We are always looking for opportunities to challenge our team and provide peak memorable experiences, and playing one of the MVC favorites will certainly do both," said Giovanine. "Dan Muller has done a great job at Illinois State and we couldn't be more excited about another chance to compete in a great environment against an outstanding major college program.¡±

Giovanine welcomes back four starters and 12 letter winners from last year's 25-6 club which reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row ¡ª becoming just the second program in Division III history to do so. Augustana also will be looking to claim an unprecedented fifth straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championship in 2018-19. 

Muller¡¯s Illinois State squad returns eight of its top nine scorers from last year¡¯s 18-15 outfit, including six players who logged at least 13 starts. The top Redbird is Milik Yarbrough, last year¡¯s Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year. Yarbrough was a first team All-MVC and NABC first team All-District selection as well. 

Illinois State finished 10-8 in the Valley in 2017-18 and reached the conference tournament finals before falling to eventual Final Four participant Loyola.

This will be the Vikings¡¯ ninth game against a Division I opponent since Giovanine took over the program in 1999, including a regular-season win at Western Illinois (76-71) in 2000-01 and an exhibition victory at Bradley (58-56) in 2014-15. Augustana has faced D1 opponents in three regular season games ¡ª Western Illinois, Southern Illinois (2004-05) and Gonzaga (2009-10) and has played exhibition contests at Northern Illinois (2007-08), Valparaiso (2011-12), Iowa (2013-14), Bradley and Illinois (2017-18).

The Vikings and Redbirds have met 13 times on the hardwood, with Augustana holding an 8-5 advantage in the series. The first 11 meetings took place between 1913 and 1922, when both schools were members of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or ¡°Little 19.¡± The most recent two contests occurred during the 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons. 

In 1958-59 in Rock Island, the Vikings tied the game on Dale Schweinberger¡¯s 35-footer with two seconds left in regulation and went on to defeat the Redbirds 72-69 in overtime. Tom Anderson led Augustana with 17 points. Illinois State avenged that loss on its home court in 1959-60, as Buzz Shaw scored 20 points to lead the Redbirds to an 80-77 overtime win. Anderson and Gary Soderberg each tallied 18 for Coach Lenny Kallis¡¯ club.