The 2022-23 Augustana men's basketball season started with preseason recognition as returning All-Conference center Daniel Carr was named a D3Hoops.com Preseason All-American, followed up shortly with being listed as part of the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List.

The senior from Highlands Ranch, Colo. showed out to begin the new campaign, putting up 32 points and 16 rebounds in a five-point loss to eventual national semifinalist UW-Whitewater. The Vikings battled back from the opening-game loss, knocking off a talented St. Mary's (Minn.) team on the road by eight to even their record at 1-1. Tyler Knuth posted 20 points in the victory.

Three losses by eight points or less ensued for Augie, including a one-point heartbreaker at home to No. 16 Washington-St. Louis. The tough schedule continued with a road game at No. 21 Wheaton to begin conference play, but the Vikings answered with their first conference win, a 10-point home triumph over Millikin. Three different players scored in double figures, led by Carr's 17 and Chase Larsen's 15-point effort. After a bumpy road stretch, the Vikings got back in the win column with a 65-59 road win over Knox.

Augustana continued to give ranked teams trouble, falling by just three points to No. 12 ranked UW-La Crosse in their first game after Christmas. The Vikings fought from deficits throughout the game and found themselves with a chance to tie the game with seconds remaining. Augie used a balanced attack in the close contest, seeing 19 points from Anthony Cooper and double-digit performances from Matt Hawkins and Evan Ambrose. The Vikings closed up the 2022 calendar year with another battle against an eventual NCAA Tournament qualifying team, falling on the road by five at Illinois College. 

After a defeat to begin the new year, the Vikings began to get it rolling, especially at home, picking up wins over Carroll and Elmhurst within a span of 10 days. In the team's 32-point win over the Pioneers, the Vikings put together their best offensive outing of the season, shooting 51 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range. A total of 11 Vikings scored, fueled by Knuth's career day. The junior tallied 25 points, with 19 coming in the first half. He finished 7-9 from three-point range and was 8-12 from the floor overall. In the team's next home outing against the Bluejays, the Vikings again had it going offensively, outscoring Elmhurst by 19 in the second half. Augie shot over 50 percent on the night while holding the visitors below 40 percent from the field. Cooper led the way with 19 points on 6-7 shooting.

Following a close loss at Millikin, Augustana strung together another pair of impressive wins. Trailing for most of the game at North Central, including double digits at halftime, the Vikings saw late-game heroics from Matt Hanushewsky. In the final possessions, the Cardinals struck first with a basket to take a 73-71 lead. With under 30 seconds remaining, Hanushewsky converted one of two clutch moments down the stretch, earning a three-point play with a driving layup to put Augie back out in front. The Vikings secured a defensive stop on the ensuing possession, but a turnover and a foul put the Cardinals on the free-throw line with eight seconds showing. North Central hit one of two at the line to knot things at 74-74, but Hanushewsky took the ball into the lane strong with just seconds remaining to earn a foul. The senior guard missed the first, but knocked down the second, and a full-court pass for North Central was knocked away to seal the Vikings' win.

Three days later, the Vikings hosted the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan at the Carver Center, knocking off their rival 89-80 to make it three wins in a row at home. Augie nearly pushed their win streak to four, narrowly falling to No. 8 Wheaton their next time out by just two points. 

In the Vikings' finale against North Park, Carr eclipsed 1,000 career points for the Vikings, entering him in the top 30 all-time in scoring in program history. He finishes his career in the top 25 in points, three-point field goals, and in the top six in both rebounds and rebounding average. Fellow senior Hanushewksy also finds himself in the all-time ranks, sitting in the top 25 in both steals and assists.

At season's end, Carr was named CCIW All-Conference for the third straight season, also notching D3Hoops All-Region for the second consecutive year. He joined teammates Larsen and Hanushewksy as CSC Academic All-District before being named Augustana's 178th Academic All-American in March. 

To view the updated Augustana men's basketball record book, click here. To view the 2022-23 award winners and letter winners, click here.