Saint John's (6-7, 2-6 MIAC) plays host to Saint Mary's (8-5, 3-5 MIAC) for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off tonight at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live | Live Stats
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Augsburg shot 57.9 percent (11-19) in the second half, including a 4-for-6 performance from three-point range, to erase a two-point halftime deficit and defeat Saint John's 63-55 last Saturday. The Johnnies failed to score a point in the first 5:32 of the second half and shot just 30 percent (9-30) in the game's final 20 minutes. SJU committed three turnovers and missed its first seven shots during that span. Senior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) led all scorers with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and 22nd of his career. Juniors Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka), and freshman Kyle Zimmermann (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) tallied eight points apiece. SJU went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 35-35 with 13:09 left, but Augsburg responded with a seven-point run of its own to take the lead for good. The Johnnies cut it to a four-point deficit on five different occasions, but the Auggies answered with a basket on four of the five ensuing possessions. The Johnnies made only one of their nine three-point attempts in the second half (11.1 percent) and were just 25.0 percent (4-16) from the arc in the game.
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals enter tonight's contest riding a four-game losing streak, which snapped their string of six consecutive victories. The last four losses have not been pretty, either, with an average deficit of 19.5 points. Sophomore Chris Palmer leads the team in both scoring (18.5 ppg.) and rebounding (9.5 rpg.), statistics in which he is second and tied for first, respectively, in the MIAC (conference games only). Palmer has recorded a double-double in each of his last four games, averaging 20 points and 11.8 rebounds. Seniors Will Wright and Lukas Holland are close behind with an average of 16.5 and 11.3 points per game, respectively.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU has won 37 of the last 45 meetings with Saint Mary's. SJU head coach Jim Smith is 70-20 all-time against the Cardinals, including a 44-1 record in Collegeville.
HOME WINNING STREAK: The Johnnies have won 40 consecutive games against the Cardinals at home. The only home loss for SJU to Saint Mary's under the direction of Jim Smith was an 80-77 overtime decision on Jan. 31, 1968, when SJU still played in the Old Gym. The Johnnies are 36-0 against the Cardinals in the Warner Palaestra.
RECORD BOOK WATCH: Aaron Burtzel enters tonight's game needing 23 points to become the 32nd Johnnie in school history to reach 1,000 career points. He also needs 12 assists to reach 368 for his career and pass assistant coach Matt Ohme (2003-07) for the school's all-time record.
