A Quick Look At: Augsburg

Heard back recently from Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso on my inquiry to him about his squad and the upcoming 2017-18 season.  The Auggies were the talk of the MIAC last season with their very own version of the "Fab 5"; a group of incredibly talented and athletically-gifted freshmen that are now sophomores:  Tamira McLemore, K'Aezha Wubben, Camryn Speese, Aiza Wilson, and Arianna Jones.  Bolstering this group is senior forward Bridget Bednar out of Pierz who can use her length to grab rebounds and score inside.  Junior Carlee Kobow should also play a prominent role on the front line this season as well.  Augsburg will be relying heavily on McLemore for scoring as her 14.3 ppg last season led the way but the Auggies were also able to get a lot of help on the scoring front from Wubben, Speese, and Wilson's three-point bombs.  Augsburg was 15-11 overall last season and 8-10 in MIAC play and although they had a rough stretch in December and January, they were able to do well down the home stretch; going 5-1 in the month of February that enabled them to snare that coveted sixth spot in the MIAC playoffs.  With a little bit of experience this time around, Riverso undoubtedly will be looking for some consistency and their up-tempo, run-and-gun style is something that makes it hard for other MIAC teams to prepare for simply because no one else in the conference is as athletic as they are or even comes close to playing a similar style.

A look at Augsburg's early season schedule shows that they have a very good opportunity to get off  to a good start again this season.  The Auggies start the season with two road trips against UMAC opponents - at UW-Superior on Wednesday (11-15) and at Martin Luther on Friday (11-17).  Augsburg's first home game on Tuesday (11-21) against another UMAC opponent - St. Scholastica.  For the Thanksgiving holiday, Augsburg takes a trip out to the Motherland where they'll play two SCIAC opponents:  Caltech in Los Angeles on Friday (11-24) and then the next day (11-25) against Occidental in Pasadena.  Upon returning back to the Cities, the Auggies get their fourth UMAC opponent - Crown on Thursday evening (11-30) before delving into MIAC play.  But the early part of the MIAC season for Augsburg is not kind by any stretch.  They open up at home against SMU on 12-2 then have to travel to GAC on 12-6 before getting Concordia at home three days later on 12-9.  The Auggies get Carleton at home on 12-13 and have yet one more non-conference game against another UMAC opponent - across town at Northwestern on 12-16 before taking some time off for the holiday break.  Again, I think Augsburg has to come out of this early portion of the season in good shape and healthy once they dive right back into the meat-grinder of the rest of the MIAC season after the first of the year.  The good thing for Riverso and his staff is that this young group now has a year of experience under its collective belt and if they can stay healthy and show a bit more consistency along they way there's no reason why this group shouldn't be in the hunt for another appearance in the MIAC playoffs.