The Johnnies travel to face the defending NCAA Division III champions, No. 1 Wisconsin-Stevens Point, this Saturday, Nov. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Berg Gymnasium in Stevens Point, Wis. – Listen Live | Live Stats
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (1:52)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Four Johnnies scored in double figures as host Saint John's opened its 2010-11 season with a 70-65 upset of No. 8 (Division II) St. Cloud State Nov. 15. The win was the first for SJU at home against the Huskies since Nov. 30, 1983 (a span of six meetings in Collegeville). Senior Sam Blank (Rollingstone, Minn./Winona), the reigning MIAC Sixth Man of the Year, led the Johnnies with 18 points, including 12 in the first half. Junior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) added 14, 12 of which came in the second half. Seniors Nermin Hujdurovic (Tuzla, Bosnia/Medical) and Chris Schwartz (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Senior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) collected eight points, 14 rebounds and five assists. SCSU's Brett Putz led all scorers with 20 points, while Taylor Witt added 13 on a 5-for-18 night from the floor. The Huskies were ranked eighth in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason poll. SJU built a 30-23 lead at the half thanks to 11 points off eight SCSU turnovers. The Huskies shot 34.8 percent from the field in the first half, including 0-for-7 from behind the arc. The visitors cut the deficit to four with 3:48 left, but Hujdurovic made six straight free throws and Blank added two of his own to increase the SJU lead to 63-51 with 1:30 remaining. A free throw and layup cut it back to nine, but the Johnnies went seven of 10 from the charity stripe in the game's final minute to seal the victory. The Johnnies ended the contest 20-for-29 from the free-throw line, including a 17-for-24 mark in the second half.
A LOOK AT THE POINTERS: Wisconsin-Stevens Point returns four of their five starters that claimed the Division III national championship last season. The Pointers are currently ranked No. 1 by D3Hoops.com and DIII News, and are the preseason favorite to win the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). UWSP will need to replace All-West Region second-team, and two-time All-WIAC guard, Matt Moses. Moses led the team in points per game (14.5), assists (2.6) and free-throw percentage (89.9) last winter. Returning from last season's squad are All-WIAC guard Jared Jenkins, All-WIAC second team forward Louis Hurd, Scott Hoelzel and Nick Krull. Jenkins led the team in steals with 1.5 per game and tied for second in blocks with 13. He also added 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and two assists per game, while Hurd finished second on the team with 12.4 points per game. UWSP defeated Lawrence (Wis.) 79-59 in its season opener Tuesday. Tyler Tillema tallied a game-high 18 points to lead four Pointers in double-figures.
THE LAST MEETING: The Pointers defeated Saint John's 81-57 in the season opener for both teams last November. The Pointers scored 15 points off the Johnnies' eight turnovers in the first half to build a 40-19 at halftime. SJU shot 22.7 percent (5-22) from the field in the game's first 20 minutes. The Johnnies doubled their first-half output in both points (38-19) and shooting percentage (46.7-22.7 percent) in the second half. Hujdurovic scored 11, while Burtzel tallied eight points and 10 rebounds.
