Saint John's plays host to league-leading Gustavus Adolphus for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: St. Olaf handed the Johnnies a 72-47 loss on Feb. 11 in Northfield. Senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) led the team with 15 points on what was a dismal afternoon for SJU (13-9, 9-8 MIAC). St. Olaf made its first six shots of the game and cruised to a 43-24 lead at the half. The Oles led by double digits from the 12:29 mark of the first half through the rest of the game, including a 28-point margin with just under six minutes remaining in the contest. Stu Neville led the Oles with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Bobby Fong added 17 points. Neville started the game with two consecutive three-pointers and finished eight of 11 from the floor.
WELCOME TO 1,000: Burns became the 33rd Johnnie in school history to reach 1,000 career points in Saturday's loss at St. Olaf. He hit the mark with a three-pointer 1:18 into the game and led the Johnnies with 15 points on the afternoon. Burns needs three points to pass Corey Jackson (32nd, 1992-96), six to pass Nate Guetter (31st, 1995-99) and 13 to move past Kipp Christianson (1993-97) for 30th.
ONE AWAY FROM CHANEY: SJU head coach Jim Smith needs one win to tie John Chaney (741-312; Bethune-Cookman, 1955; Cheyney, 1973-82; Temple, 1983-2006) for 20th among all coaches in college basketball history.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS: The Johnnies boast three wins against schools listed in the West Region's top six according to the first set of NCAA regional rankings released last week. SJU defeated UW-Stevens Point, ranked second in the region, earlier this season and swept the regular-season series vs. St. Thomas, which is ranked sixth. The Gusties are listed at No. 7.
A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus (17-5, 14-3 MIAC) ran its win streak to six games with a 68-52 victory over Macalester at home Saturday. Ten different Gusties hit the scoresheet with points, as the team shot over 50-percent from the field for the third time in four games. Seniors Seth Anderson (12) and Tyler Grey (10), and junior Ben Biewen (10) combined for 32 points. The Gusties, and more specifically Biewen, started the game on fire, taking an 11-2 lead following a Biewen three-pointer. Biewen went 3-for-3 to start and scored seven points within the run. The Scots were able to battle back and cut the deficit to 28-23 following a 12-to-5 run at the 5:20 mark, but GAC answered with an 11-to-2 swing to end the half. Senior Adam Michel collected eight points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals on the afternoon. Anderson leads the MIAC (all games) with an average of 23.1 points per game. He is shooting 56.9 percent from the field, including 58.1 percent (197-339) inside the arc. GAC has held its opponent at or under 40.0 percent from the floor in each of its last four games.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: 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 SJU earlier this season 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. Burns 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) was held scoreless for the first time since Jan. 7, 2009, ending a streak of 76 consecutive games played with a point. Anderson led three Gusties in double figures with 20 points. Ben Biewen added 15 and Ty Moore tallied 11. Moore entered the game 5-for-15 from three-point range but was 3-for-3 on the night.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 50-52 all-time against Gustavus under the direction of Smith, including a 30-19 record in Collegeville. GAC has won 16 of the last 23 meetings, including eight of the last 10. SJU is 5-7 in its last 12 games against the Gusties in Sexton Arena.
