The Augustana College Men’s Basketball Team was ranked 1st in the NCAA Division III Midwest Region standings posted on February 28th.
The Vikings ended their season with an overall record of 27-4. Augustana faced St. Thomas in the Elite eight and fell 72-56.
The Vikings Season
The Vikings concluded their season in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament with a loss to St. Thomas 72-56. St. Thomas didn’t waste any time building a lead in this game as they were up 20-8 in the first 6 minutes of play. The Vikings cut the lead to 5 points twice in the first half, but going into half time they were still down 32-25.
The second half still belonged to St. Thomas, as the Vikings were unable to get closer than 9 points the entire half. This loss brought an end to a historic season that saw the Vikings record more victories than any other Augustana squad except the 1972-73 crew, which went 29-2.
This year’s squad won its first 20 games, set school records for best start to a season as well as longest winning streak, won its fifth CCIW championship in the last nine years and its third CCIW tournament championship in its six-year history. Head Coach Grey Giovanine leads the Vikings but depends on Kyle Nelson, Bryant Voiles, and Brian DeSimone.
About The Team
Head Coach Grey Giovanine is in his 12th season with the Vikings and has established the program as one of the best in all of the NCAA Division III. He has won five CCIW championships in the last nine years. Giovanine also earned his third CCIW tournament championship and is the only coach with multiple conference tournament titles.
He boasts of a 221-92 overall record at Augustana and a 114-54 record in conference play. He was selected as the D3Hoops.com Midwest Region Coach of the Year and CCIW Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
Senior Kyle Nelson was named All-CCIW First Team and D3Hoops.com Midwest All-Region First Team. This is his second year in a row of earning First Team honors. He averaged 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with 53.3% from the field. Nelson also has 47 assists and 23 steals this season. Senior Bryant Voiles and Junior Brian DeSimone were named All-CCIW Second team. Voiles is considered a junior, eligibility wise, because of an injury that kept him out last season.
He came back this season averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, with 40.5% from behind the arc. DeSimone runs the show for the Vikings and averaged 9.1 points per game, with 28 steals and 64 assists for the season.
About The School
Augustana College is located in Rock Island, IL and is considered to be a selective, independent college of the liberal arts and sciences, related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. There are about 2,500 students enrolled at this college with a student-faculty ratio of 11:1.
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