Saint John's plays host to St. Olaf for the first of three consecutive home games this Saturday, Jan. 14. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (2:36)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Gustavus shot 51.0 percent (26-for-51) from the field, including 50.0 percent (8-for-16) from three-point range, in a 63-49 win over Saint John's on Jan. 11 in St. Peter. The Gusties entered the game shooting just 28.8 percent (42-for-146) from three-point land and allowing a .477 opponent field-goal percentage. The Johnnies, however, shot just 33.3 percent (16-for-48) in the game and 26.7 percent (4-for-15) from beyond the arc. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for SJU. Gustavus started the game hitting 10 of 17 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, to take a 24-5 lead with 9:42 left in the first half. The Johnnies, meanwhile, were just 2-for-13, one of four from beyond the arc. SJU went on an 11-0 run to cut it to 24-16 with just under three minutes left in the first before Seth Anderson snapped a 7:01 scoreless streak for the Gusties. Senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) led the Johnnies with 20 points on the night, including 10 in the first half. The Johnnies missed five layups in the opening half (nine total), including three by Burns, to enter intermission down 31-20 with a .280 (7-for-25) shooting percentage. The Johnnies cut the deficit two six on two occasions in the second half, but Gustavus answered with 5-0 runs in both instances. SJU cut it to nine, 52-43, with 7:43 remaining but made only two of its last seven shots. GAC put the Johnnies in the bonus with seven fouls at the 10:21 mark of the second half but was called for just two fouls the rest of the way. Junior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) added 10 points for SJU, including a perfect 8-for-8 night from the free-throw line, before leaving the game due to a knee injury. Senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), the Johnnies' leading scorer at 13.2 points per game (16.6 ppg. in three games last week), was held scoreless for the first time since Jan. 7, 2009, ending a streak of 76 consecutive games played with a point.
TURNOVERS-TO-POINTS: Saint John's entered Wednesday's game averaging 17.6 points off 15.4 turnovers per game. The Johnnies, however, mustered only two points off six GAC turnovers in the 63-49 loss.
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS: Thru games of Jan. 12, SJU is currently third out of 405 Division III teams with an average of 10.5 turnovers per game, and is eighth with a 1.34 assist/turnover ratio. The Johnnies are also 17th in free-throw percentage (.755).
A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (6-7, 5-3 MIAC) followed a season-opening win over Bethany Lutheran with four straight losses and five wins in eight games. The Oles lost at home to Augsburg, 57-55, Wednesday night. The Oles were behind by four with 36 seconds left of play when Alfred Jaryan hit a three-pointer, leaving the Oles trailing by one. An Auggie free throw and a last missed jumper by Jaryan clinched the close loss. STO fell behind by as much as nine points in the first 10 minutes before rallying and scoring 23 points to the Auggies' nine, ending the first half up 33-29. Senior Bobby Fong leads the team with 15.8 points per game and is second in rebounding (5.3 rpg.), while classmate Stu Neville averages 14.9 points and a team-leading 8.5 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 59-26 all-time against the Oles under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 37-6 record in Collegeville. STO, however, has won two of the last three meetings in Sexton Arena.
LAST SEASON: St. Olaf swept last year's season series for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Saint John's shot just 36 percent (9-25), including 2-for-13 from three-point range, in the 72-64 loss to St. Olaf in the MIAC opener for both teams last Dec. 4 (2010). The Oles, meanwhile, shot 57.1 percent (12-21) in the second half. SJU took a 36-35 lead into halftime after shooting 55.6 percent from the field, despite a 1-for-6 performance from behind the arc. The Johnnies were just three of 19 from three-point range in the game. The Johnnies led by seven with 13:43 left, but went 0-for-7 from the field, including 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, to create a 6:48 drought without a field goal. A layup and free throw by Sam Blank '11 with 6:55 remaining ended the skid and gave SJU a two-point lead. Five straight free throws, four by Tucker Sheley with the help of a technical foul called on Blank, gave St. Olaf a three-point lead 1:27 later. The home team cut the deficit to two with 3:10 left, but that was the closest they would get. The Oles' Stu Neville led all scorers with 28 points on 11 of 14 shooting, including 19 points (7-for-8) in the second half. Ten of St. Olaf's 14 second-chance points came in the second half.
St. Olaf shot 58.3 percent in the first half and made 10 three-pointers in the game to defeat SJU 70-55 last Jan. 29 in Northfield. The Oles missed five of their first seven shots, but went 12-for-17 from the floor to take a five-point lead into halftime. Conversely, SJU made its first five shots of the game, and six of its first 10, to jump out to a nine-point lead six minutes into the contest. STO made its final six three-point attempts of the opening half after going 0-for-3 in the first seven minutes. St. Olaf held a 33-8 scoring advantage off the bench. The fouls were 17-7 in favor of SJU, as the Johnnies attempted only four free throws in the game. The visitors missed a total of eight layups (shots in the paint) in the game.
