Saint John's travels to take on nationally-ranked St. Thomas for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Jan. 12, in St. Paul. The game will be televised live on KSTC-45. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Video (UST)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Concordia-Moorhead escaped Saint John's (3-9, 2-5 MIAC) with a 70-67 win on Jan. 9 in Collegeville. Senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) tallied career highs in points (22) and rebounds (10) to record his first career double-double on a perfect 11-for-11 night from the floor. He fouled out with 33 seconds remaining. The rest of the team combined to shoot 36.2 percent (17-for-47), including 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from the other four starters. Concordia led by eight (66-58) with 55 seconds left before SJU cut it down to one (68-67) with 17 seconds remaining. Five quick points off the bench from freshman Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) and a layup by junior Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) cut the Cobbers' lead to 68-65. Freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) turned a CC turnover on the in-bounds play into a bucket to make it 68-67. Concordia's Brandon Fisher made the first of two free throws with 12 seconds left, but the Johnnies' final effort, a baseline runner from junior Trevor Barth (Roanoke, Texas/Nolan Catholic) fell off the iron. The shot attempt was just the second of Barth's varsity career. Ebo Nana-Kweson made the first of his two free throws but Wittenborg's three-quarter-court heave was off the mark. Wittenborg followed Neumann with 11 points and Kuck added seven for SJU. The Cobbers entered the game shooting 50.1 percent from the field but finished the game at 45.1 percent (23-for-51), including a 2-for-14 showing (14.3 percent) from three-point range. SJU shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) for the game and held a 17-7 scoring advantage off turnovers, including an 11-1 margin in the second half alone.

HOME LOSSES: The Johnnies have lost back-to-back home games for the first time, coincidentally, since early January of the 2010-11 season. SJU is 350-121 (.743) all-time in Sexton Arena (est. 1973).

A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: St. Thomas (13-0, 9-0 MIAC) enters Saturday's game with SJU ranked second in the latest D3hoops.com national poll released Jan. 7. The Tommies have out-scored their opponents by an average of 28.5 points in each of their last four games. UST is shooting 53.1 percent from the field (43.3 percent from three-point) and forces 17.6 turnovers per game. Opponents are shooting only 29.5 percent from three-point range and 68.7 percent from the free-throw line. Senior Will DeBerg leads the team with an average of 13.2 points per game, followed by classmates Tommy Hannon (10.9 ppg.) and John Nance (10.2 ppg.). Saturday's home game is UST's fifth in its last six.

SEASON SWEEP: The Johnnies' 61-56 win at St. Thomas last Feb. 1 was the first for SJU on the UST campus since Dec. 3, 2003 (streak of seven straight), and completed Saint John's first regular-season sweep of the Tommies since the 1993-94 season. Prior to the 2011-12 season, UST held a four-point lead or less in the final minute of regulation in each of the previous four meetings (all wins for the Tommies).

LAST YEAR'S RESULTS: Saint John's made each of its final six free throws and junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) drilled a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining as the host Johnnies upset then-No. 13 St. Thomas 68-66 last Jan. 2 (2012) in Collegeville. A pair of free throws from UST's Peter Leslie gave the visitors a one-point lead, 66-65, with 33 seconds left. Andy Burns '12 directed the SJU offense, which looked as if it was going to settle for the final shot, drove to the free-throw line and kicked out a pass to a wide-open Marx for the game-winning trey. Zach Riedeman's driving shot at the buzzer rattled out for UST. The contest endured nine lead changes from the 2:38 mark of the second half to Marx's three-pointer. SJU kept the game close (31-27), thanks to a 10-for-11 showing at the free-throw line, despite shooting 32.0 percent (8-for-25) from the field in the first half. The Tommies, on the other hand, shot at a 47.8-percent clip (11-for-23), including a six of nine from three-point range, in the game's first 20 minutes. The Johnnies started the second half with a 6-0 run to regain the lead and extended it to as much as seven (48-41) with 11:41 left. The Tommies bounced back with a 17-7 run before both teams exchanged layups and four free throws. A drive to the lane from Aaron Barmore '12 gave SJU a slim 65-64 lead with 42 seconds remaining before Leslie's pair of free throws. SJU ended the game 21 of 25 (84.0 percent) from the charity stripe. The second half proved to be a reversal of fortunes as the Tommies shot just 39.1 percent (9-for-23) from the field and 1-for-6 from three-point land. SJU, meanwhile, shot 56.5 percent (13-for-23) in the second half and four of nine from beyond the arc. Marx led the Johnnies with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Barmore and Burns added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Both senior captains collected five assists each. Noah Kaiser, a senior transfer from SJU, led UST with 14 points. DeBerg and Nance added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Saint John's completed a regular-season series sweep of St. Thomas with a 61-56 road win Feb. 1 in St. Paul. The Johnnies erased a three-point deficit at halftime and shot 50.0 percent (11-for-22) from the field in the second half and out-rebounded the Tommies 31-24 in the game. Both teams were 20 of 42 from the floor (47.6 percent). The difference for SJU was a 17-for-24 showing at the free-throw line and a 4-for-9 compilation from beyond the arc. UST was 14 of 22 from the charity stripe and 2-for-11 from three-point range. A three-pointer from Marx with 5:08 left started an 8-0 run for the visitors and erased a 47-46 UST lead. Barmore led all scorers with 22 points on a perfect 7-for-7 night from the floor and added seven rebounds. Burns chipped in nine points and three assists, while Marx totaled eight points. Neumann collected six points, seven rebounds and a career-high three blocks. Like Barmore for SJU, John Nance was the lone Tommie to reach double figures with 20 points.