Saint John's plays host to Augsburg for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Bethel shot 63.3 percent (19-for-30) from the field, including 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from three-point range, to gain a 48-22 lead at the half and never looked back in an 86-59 win over Saint John's Jan. 2 in Arden Hills. The Johnnies (3-7, 2-3 MIAC), meanwhile, shot only 28.6 percent (8-for-28) in the opening half. The Royals finished at 56.1 percent (32-for-57) for the game and 10 of 19 from beyond the arc. Junior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and senior Chris Orgas (Lakeville, Minn./North) led SJU with 11 and 10 points off the bench, respectively. The Johnnies out-rebounded Bethel 40-33, including an eye-opening 21-9 advantage on the offensive glass. The visitors, however, only turned the 21 offensive boards into 20 points, made only one of their 14 three-point attempts and committed 16 turnovers on the night.
 
HOME & AWAY: Last Wednesday's loss at Bethel was the Johnnies' seventh road game in the season's first 10 games. The schedule tilts, however, as five of SJU's next seven games (and seven of the next 10) are at home.

100 ASSISTS: Junior point guard Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) became the 46th Johnnie, of known statistics, to reach 100 career assists in the loss at Bethel Jan. 2. He needs 205 more to catch his older brother, assistant coach Pat McKenzie '04 for sixth on the all-time list.

OFFENSIVE GLASS: The Johnnies are averaging 15.3 offensive rebounds per game over their last six contests, but have turned them into only 14 second-chance points per game (an average of 0.9 points per offensive rebound, less than a two-point bucket every other offensive board). The 21 offensive rebounds recorded Jan. 2 at Bethel are the most for SJU since Feb. 12, 2003, when the Johnnies grabbed 21 at home against the Royals.

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (9-1, 4-1 MIAC) suffered its first loss of the season, 94-52 at St. Thomas Jan. 5. The Auggies shot a season-low 35.3 percent (18-of-51) from the field, while St. Thomas made 53.7 percent (29-of-54) of its shots. UST shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from three-point range to the Auggies' 25.0 percent (3-of-12) and outscored the visitors 31-3 off turnovers. Freshman forward Brett Rasmussen finished with 13 points, his fourth consecutive game in double digits, and seven rebounds to lead Augsburg. Junior center Dan Kornbaum, a transfer from Division II Minnesota-Duluth, leads the team in shooting (.579), scoring (16.2 ppg.) and rebounding (8.8 rpg.). He leads a group of four Auggies that are averaging over 10 points per game: junior guard Parker Hines (12.2 ppg.), Rasmussen (11.7 ppg.) and senior guard Tyler Schmidt (10.8 ppg.).
 
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: SJU lost both regular-season meetings with Augsburg before earning a 47-45 win on the road in the MIAC Playoffs. Saint John's shot just 35.1 percent from the floor, including 3-for-15 from behind the arc, in a 60-45 loss in the conference opener for both teams Nov. 30 (2011) in Minneapolis. Both teams scrapped to a 6-6 tie with 13:02 left in the opening half, but Augsburg went on a 19-5 run to build a 25-11 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. SJU responded with an 11-5 run, but the Auggies followed with four straight points, including a jumper from Parker Hines at the buzzer, to end the half. SJU cut the deficit to 10 (37-27) 2:26 into the second half before things unraveled. The Johnnies went exactly five minutes between baskets as the Auggies stretched the lead to as much as 25. Aaron Barmore '12 led the Johnnies with 12 points, while Andy Burns '12 and Butcher added six points apiece. Junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added five points and seven rebounds. Hines led the Auggies with 18 points, including 11 in the first half. Andy Grzesiak-Grimm and Cory Polta combined for 24 points and 18 rebounds on the night.

Augsburg took advantage of its dominance on the glass and a slow start for SJU in a 65-49 win over the Johnnies last Jan. 18 in Collegeville. The Auggies out-rebounded the Johnnies 47-14, including 18 offensive rebounds, and tallied a 20-5 advantage in second-chance points in the game. Augsburg made six of its first 10 shots, while SJU missed 10 of its first 11 before Orgas cut the deficit to 18-4 with 11:08 left in the first half. Orgas created a 4-0 run with a layup 37 seconds later, but the Johnnies went ice cold for the next 5:27 as the visitors built a commanding 26-6 lead en route to a 32-13 advantage at the half. The Auggies outscored their hosts by a combined 20-3 off turnovers and second-chance points. The 13 points in the first half was the least for SJU since Jan. 29, 2005, at Carleton. The Johnnies forced two turnovers and made their first three shots of the second half to cut it the 13, 32-19. The deficit shrunk to 10 (40-30) with 9:47 left, but Augsburg responded with a 14-1 run, thanks to three's from Tyler Schmidt on three consecutive possessions, in the next 3:13 to put the game away. SJU scored 18 points off 13 second-half turnovers by the Auggies, who finished with 22 on the night. Barmore once again led SJU with 10 points, while Orgas and senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) followed with eight apiece. Schmidt led Augsburg with 24 points and five three-pointers. Andy Grzesiak-Grimm totaled 19 points, 15 rebounds and six turnovers. The Auggies entered the game shooting .696 from the free-throw line but made 12 of their first 13 from the charity stripe in the game (14 of 18 total). The Johnnies warmed 20 percentage points to 48.3 percent (14-for-29) in the second half and finished with an even .400 shooting percentage for the game. SJU, however, was just 4-for-18 from three-point range and missed nine layups in the contest, including three straight to start the game.

Burns hit his second game-winning jumper of the season to give the Johnnies a 47-45 win at Augsburg in the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinals on Feb. 22. A three-pointer from Neumann gave the Johnnies a six point lead (45-39) with 1:31 remaining. Augsburg tied it with 25 seconds left on three-pointers from Tyler Schmidt and Andy Seidlitz. Unlike his game-winning, 15-foot jumper against Hamline Feb. 4, Burns drove right and laid a short one-handed jumper off the glass as the horn sounded. Defense owned the night as SJU shot only 34.0 percent (18-for-53) to the Auggies' 33.3 percent (14-for-42). Augsburg jumped out to a 10-point lead (13-3) before the Johnnies went on a 9-0 run to bring it to within one with fewer than 10 minutes left in the first half. Burns hit a jumper with five seconds remaining in the opening half to send both teams to the locker rooms tied at 21-21. Burns opened the second half with a three-pointer, which seemed to spark SJU and give the visitors control for much of the second half. The Johnnies led by as much as nine (37-28) with 7:34 left, but the Auggies chipped away until Seidlitz tied the game with a trey at 45-45. SJU posted a 34-33 advantage on the glass with 15 offensive rebounds. Both teams left six points at the free-throw line, though Augsburg gained an edge with 13 points off eight SJU turnovers. Burns led the Johnnies with 14 points and added six assists, while Barmore tallied his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Orgas collected six rebounds, all on the offensive glass, while Neumann tallied eight of the Johnnies' 17 bench points. Schmidt led the Auggies with 14 points on a perfect 4-for-4 night from behind the arc. Grzesiak-Grimm grabbed 10 rebounds but was held to five points on 2-for-10 shooting. He entered the game averaging 15.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 51-50 all-time (4-1 in MIAC Playoffs) against the Auggies under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 31-18 record in Collegeville. Last year's home loss was the first for SJU in its last seven meetings with Augsburg (Feb. 16, 2005).