The Johnnies travel to face nationally-ranked St. Thomas this Saturday, Jan. 22. The game is scheduled for at 3 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul. – Listen Live | Live Video 

Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (2:56)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Senior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) became the 32nd Johnnie to reach 1,000 career points and SJU snapped its five-game losing streak with an 84-68 win over Saint Mary's on Monday, Jan. 17, in Collegeville. Burtzel led all scorers with 26 points on 12 of 13 shooting. He also added eight rebounds, four blocks and two assists.  The Johnnies have now won 41 consecutive home games against Saint Mary's, including a 37-0 record in the Warner Palaestra. SJU (7-7, 3-6 MIAC) shot 63.0 percent in the first half but only led by three, 42-39, thanks to six three-pointers (6-8) and eight second-chance points by the Cardinals (8-6, 3-6 MIAC). The Johnnies made 13 of their first 16 shots to take a 10-point lead, 33-23, with 7:38 left in the first half. SMU tied it at 35-35 via an 8-0 run with four minutes left.  Saint Mary's cut it to one point with a jumper from Will Wright on the first possession of the second half, but the Johnnies proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to break the game open. SMU shot just 20.8 percent (5-24) in the second half, including a 0-for-6 showing from beyond the arc, and was 26 of 33 from the free-throw line. Senior Chris Schwartz (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) collected 15 points, 11 of which came in the first half, and junior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 13. 

A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: No. 4 St. Thomas (14-1 overall, 9-1 MIAC) is coming off of a 75-63 win over Macalester this past Wednesday. Junior Tommy Hannon scored a career-high 21 points and senior Anders Halvorsen added 18. Prior to the Macalester game, the Tommies suffered their first loss of the season, 92-79, to Hamline on Jan. 17. Alex Healy currently leads UST with 13.9 points per game (14.3 ppg. in MIAC games), while All-American Tyler Nicolai is close behind with 13.3 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU looks to end an eight-game losing streak to the Tommies, as well as a six-game losing streak on the UST campus. Head coach Jim Smith is 37-63 all-time against St. Thomas, including a 14-40 record in St. Paul.

TWO LOSSES, NEARLY TWO WINS: SJU dropped a pair of close games to UST last season. The Johnnies lost the first meeting, 70-69 in overtime after ending regulation with a 22-8 run to force OT. A three-pointer by Chris Schwartz tied it at 59-59 with 16 seconds left. Schwartz led SJU with a season-high 19 points, while Andy Burns and Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Tyler Nicolai led UST with 20 points, while Tommy Hannon scored 14 points, six of which came in overtime. The Tommies used a 20-2 run late in the first half en route to a 37-31 halftime lead. UST, however, shot just 25.9 percent (7-27) in the second half to the Johnnies' even 50 percent (11-22) from the field. Burns' three-point basket with 49 seconds left in overtime pulled the Johnnies within 68-66. UST answered with 13 seconds left as Nicolai dished to Hannon for an inside basket and a 70-66 lead. Burns hit another trey with :01 left but time ran out on the inbounds play. The difference was found at the free-throw line. SJU made four of its eight attempts at the charity stripe, but UST was 21-for-28.

The Johnnies left 14 points at the free-throw line (9-for-23) and surrendered a nine-point lead with nine minutes left to lose the rematch in Collegeville, 67-62. SJU shot 58.5 percent from the field (24-41), including an even 60 percent in the second half (12-20), but committed 16 turnovers (eight in each half) and made just four of 14 shots from the charity stripe in the game's final 20 minutes, including misses on its last six attempts. Todd Herman (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 12 of 16 shooting. He was 8-for-9 with 17 points in the first half alone, but ended the game 4-for-11 from the free-throw line. SJU made just two of its final seven shots following its nine-point lead at the 9:26 mark of the second half. UST, meanwhile, made seven of its last 11 shots and five of its last seven free throws.