Saint John's (9-10, 5-9 MIAC) plays host to Augsburg (12-8, 7-8 MIAC) this Saturday, Feb. 5. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's led by as much as 15 in the second half but shot just 23.1 percent in the game's final 20 minutes in the 59-54 loss to Carleton this past Wednesday in Collegeville. The Johnnies missed their first six shots of the game but stayed in the contest thanks to a collective 5-for-9 performance from three-point range by players off the bench. Carleton failed to score a bucket in the final 5:10 of the first half. SJU, meanwhile, made four of its last five shots to end the half on a 12-0 run and build an eight-point lead at the half. The Knights cut the deficit to five before SJU went on a 13-3 run to build a 42-27 lead with 12:41 remaining. Carleton responded with a 14-2 run as the Johnnies made just one of their next six shots before senior Sam Blank (Rollingstone, Minn./Winona Cotter) nailed a three-pointer to make it 47-41 with 8:25 left. The visitors answered with an 8-2 run to take their first lead since the four-minute mark of the first half. SJU missed 10 of its last 11 shots to end the game. Seniors Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) and Nermin Hujdurovic (Tuzla, Bosnia/Medical) each tallied double-doubles with 12 points apiece. Burtzel added 11 rebounds and four assists, while Hujdurovic grabbed 10 boards. The other three starters combined to shoot 8.3 percent (1-12) from the field. SJU missed a total of 12 shots in the paint, including nine in the second half and four in the final 2:28. Each team had seven turnovers, though Carleton held a 12-6 scoring advantage off the miscues.

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: A 15-6 run over a six-minute span late in the second half proved too much for Augsburg to overcome as it dropped a 78-69 game to St. Olaf on Wednesday. Augsburg was led by four players in double figures. Cory Polta finished with a game-high 16 points, while Ben Flavin and Andy Grzesiak-Grimm recorded 12 points apiece. Anthony Humphrey came off the bench to score a season-high 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Augsburg led 36-27 with 2:17 left in the first half, and despite dunks by Grzesiak-Grimm on consecutive possessions, St. Olaf was able to put together a 9-2 run to end the half and cut the Augsburg lead to 38-37 at the half. Each team mounted small runs in the second half, but St. Olaf capitalized on a 15-6 run to go up 73-63 with just over two minutes to play. Augsburg was able to cut the St. Olaf lead to six, but the Oles connected on 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 45 seconds to seal the win. For the game, Augsburg connected on 46.4 percent (26-of-56) of its shots, but St. Olaf out rebounded Augsburg 36-29 and outscored the Auggies 30-22 in points in the paint. 

THE LAST MEETING: 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 on Jan. 15 in Minneapolis. 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. Burtzel led all scorers with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and added 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Juniors Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka), and freshman Kyle Zimmermann (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) tallied eight points apiece. Tyler Schmidt led the Auggies with 16 points off the bench, including 13 in the second half alone. 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 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.