SJU travels to face St. Olaf (13-9, 12-5 MIAC) this Saturday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Skoglund Center in Northfield. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (2:04)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (13-8, 9-7 MIAC) missed its last seven shots from the field in a 67-63 loss at Bethel Wednesday night. SJU led by four, 63-59, with 3:23 remaining before the well went dry. The Johnnies had the ball down by two (65-63) with 22 seconds left, but the Royals' Daniel Baah blocked sophomore Patrick Butcher's (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) three-pointer and was then fouled. Baah hit both free throws to ice the win for Bethel, which ended SJU's four-game win streak. Bethel made six of its first seven shots to take an early 16-4 lead. BU led by as much as 13 until SJU went on a 16-0 run, sparked by three consecutive three-pointers from sophomore Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's). Both teams exchanged buckets to enter halftime with a 31-31 tie. The second half was a back-and-forth affair before the Johnnies built their largest lead of the game, 59-54, on a traditional three-point play from senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) with 6:11 left. Bethel's first foul of the second half came with 7:04 remaining. The Royals clawed back to within striking distance before SJU went cold. Senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) led all scorers with 18 points, two shy of reaching 1,000 for his career. Barmore and Marx followed with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Johnnies shot 47.8 percent (11-for-23) in the first half but just 13 of 33 (39.4 percent) in the game's final 20 minutes, including a 3-for-12 showing from behind the arc.

TWO AWAY FROM 1,000: Burns enters Saturday's game two points from becoming the 33rd Johnnie to reach the 1,000-point mark. He is currently third in school history with 362 career assists and needs six to pass assistant coach Matt Ohme (2003-07) for second. Burns is fourth with 149 career three-pointers and eighth with 121 career steals. He needs two steals to pass another assistant coach, Pat McKenzie (2000-04), for seventh.

A LOOK AT THE OLES: After leading by three at halftime, St. Olaf erupted for 46 second-half points and cruised to an 81-64 victory at Concordia-Moorhead Wednesday night. The Oles and Cobbers played a competitive first half with St. Olaf leading almost throughout, but the Cobbers scored the final four points of the half to enter the break down only three, 35-32. STO started the second half red hot from the field, making seven of their first eight shots to take a 52-37 lead with 15:35 to play. Over the next couple minutes, Concordia whittled the deficit to 53-44, but the Oles quickly built the lead back up to 18. The Oles led by more than 20 points for the last six plus minutes of the game. Senior Bobby Fong had 27 points on 10-19 shooting and added four steals. Stu Neville, Connor Gunderson, and Sterling Nielson all joined Fong in double figures with 14, 11, and 10 points, respectively. St. Olaf shot 32-62 (51.6 percent) for the game, including 58.1 percent (18-31) in the second half. The Oles held a 38-28 advantage in points in the paint and a 25-6 edge in points off turnovers. STO has now won six of its last seven games.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: Saint John's led by as much as 17 with 7:39 remaining in the game, but St. Olaf outscored the Johnnies 33-11 the rest of the way in a 82-77 overtime loss earlier this season in Collegeville. Down 66-49 at the 7:39 mark of the second half, the Oles proceeded to go 8-for-10 from the floor, including five of six from three-point range, to send the game into overtime. The Johnnies, meanwhile, ended the game two of three from the floor but committed four turnovers and missed a pair of free throws late. The Oles tallied an 11-2 scoring advantage off turnovers and went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc in the second half alone. St. Olaf carried its momentum into overtime and posted a 9-4 scoring advantage over SJU, which was 0-for-8 from the floor in OT. Marx led the Johnnies with career-highs in points (22) and three pointers (6). Barmore followed with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Junior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) recorded 12 points, while Burns added eight points, five rebounds and five assists. St. Olaf's Stu Neville led all scorers with 36 points and collected 11 rebounds and Nathan Kuck tallied 17 points and four treys off the bench.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 59-27 all-time against St. Olaf under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 22-20 record in Northfield. Saint John's has won 18 of the last 26 meetings overall, but the Oles have won each of the last three. SJU is 8-4 in its last 12 games at STO.