Saint John's plays host to Gustavus Adolphus in an MIAC Playoff quarterfinal game at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, via Real Audio Player) | Live Stats | Live Video
Preview Video:
-Coach Smith (3:04)
FIRST 500 CSB/SJU STUDENTS: Thanks to the SJU Senate, the first 500 CSB/SJU students get in free to Wednesday night's game.
OTHER TICKET INFORMATION: All playoff contests must charge admission. The rate is $7 for adult and $3 for any student (five years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC Passes will be honored, though no other passes are accepted.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (15-10, 13-7 MIAC) completed a regular-season sweep of No. 11 St. Thomas, its second in the last three seasons, with a 76-69 upset of the Tommies on Saturday (Feb. 22) in St. Paul. The win clinched the fourth seed and a home game for SJU in this week's six-team MIAC Playoffs and snapped UST's 31-game home win streak (since SJU posted a 61-56 victory to sweep the season series on Feb. 1, 2011).
The Johnnies trailed by as much as 11 in the first half and by seven at the break, 36-29, but went on a 15-2 run during a 5:29 span to gain a four-point lead (48-44) with 11:39 remaining. The Tommies clawed back to tie the game at 48, but SJU made three-pointers on four of its next six possessions to take a six-point lead, 60-54. The visitors led by as little as five points the rest of the way and shot 66.7 percent (14-for-21) in the second half, including a 5-for-7 showing from three-point land.
Senior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) led SJU with 22 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Sophomore Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) followed with 13 points and senior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added 12 points and seven rebounds. Marx (163 three-pointers) broke his tie with former teammate Chris Schwartz (161, 2007-11) for third on SJU's all-time list. SJU ended the game at 54.8 percent (23-for-42) from the floor, including 60 percent (9-for-15) from behind the arc. The Johnnies also went 21-for-26 (80.8 percent) from the free-throw line and registered 18 points off nine UST turnovers in the game.
TOMMIE TERMINATOR: Butcher averaged 21 points and 3.5 assists, while shooting 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) from three-point range in two games against UST this season and was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week for his performance on Saturday.
20+ vs. ST. THOMAS: Butcher became the first Johnnie since Kevin Buth '03 in 2002-03 to register 20 points or more in two games, in the same season, against the Tommies.
TWO ASSISTS FROM TOP 10: Senior point guard Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) enters Wednesday's game needing two assists to tie Corey Jackson (1992-96) for 10th on SJU's all-time list. He currently has 226 assists in 103 games, including a career-high 85 in 2013-14. He is still 79 assists behind his older brother, assistant coach Pat McKenzie '04, who is sixth on the list.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The 2014 MIAC-playoff appearance is the program's 21st (18-15 record) since the postseason tournament began in 1984-85. SJU has played either Augsburg or Gustavus in each of its last six MIAC Playoff games, including the upcoming tilt Wednesday night, which is the Johnnies' first home playoff game since Feb. 23, 2009 (a 71-68 loss to the Gusties), head coach Jim Smith's first attempt at win No. 700.
MIAC STATS: The Johnnies recorded a number of statistical highs during 2013-14 MIAC season that date back to the 2006-07 season: wins (13), shooting percentage (.488) and free-throw percentage (.749). All three marks were SJU's best since 2006-07, its last appearance in the NCAA Tournament: 17-3 MIAC record, .493 shooting percentage and .772 from the charity stripe in conference play.
A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus (16-9, 13-7 MIAC) ended its regular season with a 73-68 home loss to St. Thomas Feb. 19. Four Gusties have started all 25 games this season, all of which shoot over 50 percent from the field: senior Jordan Dick (11.5 ppg., .527); junior Martin Feddersen (8.2 ppg., .620); junior Brian Jacobs (9.3 ppg., .547); and sophomore Brody Ziegler (11.2 ppg., .578). Ziegler leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game, while Feddersen has 100 assists, to 75 turnovers, at the point. Dick leads the MIAC (all games) at 46.4 percent (52-for-112) from three-point range. As a team, GAC is shooting 52 percent from the floor, including 56.2 percent (541-for-963) from inside the three-point line.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: Each team won on the other's home court this season. GAC took advantage of an SJU drought late in the first half to build an 18-point lead and never looked back in a 71-47 win over the Johnnies earlier this season on Dec. 11 in Collegeville. SJU missed its last six shots of the first half after sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) made a jumper to cut the Johnnies' deficit to nine, 25-16, with 5:36 left. The home team shot only 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from the field and turned the ball over seven times, which led to nine GAC points, in the first half. The Johnnies scored 10 of the second half's first 16 points, but GAC answered with a 7-0 run to put the game away. Schmitt led SJU with 12 points off the bench, while junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) added 11 points and five rebounds. Aside from Maslonkowski, the other four starters combined for 4-for-15 shooting, 12 points and six turnovers. Jordan Dick led the Gusties with 17 points, thanks to a 4-for-5 showing from three-point range, and Brody Ziegler added 14 points with a team-high seven rebounds. GAC out-rebounded the Johnnies 37-23, including a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass, which led to a 10-5 edge in second-chance points in the contest. The Gusties also turned 14 SJU turnovers into 17 points (17-6 advantage).
SJU capitalized on 17 Gustavus turnovers in the rematch, a 68-63 road win on Feb. 3 in St. Peter. Down by six (59-53) with 5:51 remaining, Gustavus went on a 9-0 run to gain its first lead since 9:59 remained in the first half (17-16). The Johnnies, however, scored nine of the game's final 10 points to earn the victory, the seventh in their last 26 trips to St. Peter. GAC shot 65 percent (13-for-20) from the field in the first half but trailed SJU by three (35-32) thanks to 10 turnovers. Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led all scorers with 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench, including 14 points in the second half and nine of the team's final 13. Butcher added 16 points, 12 of which came in the first half, and Maslonkowski collected 10 points and eight rebounds at the post. The trio's compilation of 47 points was crucial for the visiting team's cause considering Marx was held to only two points and Schmitt missed his second consecutive game due to injury. Brian Jacobs led the Gusties with 20 points. GAC shot 46.4 percent (13-for-28) in the second half and 22.2 percent (2-for-9) from three-point range for the game.
SINCE DEC. 11: Gustavus improved to 7-1 (4-0 MIAC) with its 71-47 win at SJU Dec. 11, while the Johnnies dropped to 3-4 (1-2 MIAC). Since that night, however, GAC went 9-8 (9-7 MIAC) and SJU posted a 12-6 (12-5 MIAC) record.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 53-55 against Gustavus under the direction of Smith, including a 31-21 record in Collegeville (2-2 MIAC Playoffs, 1-0 NCAA Tournament). The Johnnies, however, are 5-8 against the Gusties in the last 13 meetings in Sexton Arena.
