Saint John's begins the MIAC playoffs with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Wednesday, Feb. 20, at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats/Live Video
Preview Video:
-Assistant coach Pat McKenzie (1:54)
ADMISSION: Admission for all MIAC playoffs games is $7 for adults and $3 for any student (five years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC Passes will be honored. No other passes are accepted.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-13, 11-9 MIAC) earned an MIAC-playoff berth with a 79-76 win at St. Olaf on Feb. 16 in Northfield. The win, coupled with Gustavus Adolphus' 69-62 loss at Concordia-Moorhead, gave SJU the No. 6 seed. SJU dissolved a six-point halftime deficit (39-33) by shooting 62.5 percent (15-for-24) from the field in the final 20 minutes, including a perfect 6-for-6 from behind the arc. Freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led five Johnnies in double figures with a career-high 24 points. Senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) added 15 points and freshman Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) posted 13 points, all in the second half. Junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added 11 points but played only eight minutes in the second half due to foul trouble. Classmate Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) recorded 11 points off the bench. SJU scored 18 points off 12 STO turnovers and was out-rebounded 36-24 in the game (11-2 on the offensive glass).
MIAC LEADER: Senior forward/post Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) ended the regular season as the MIAC's (conference games only) leader in shooting percentage at .676 (90-for-135).
FRESHMAN LEADER: In a week in which the Johnnies' leading scorer, junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) was held to an average of seven points, Kuck stepped up to average 20 points while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor, including 57.1 percent (4-for-7) from three-point range, as SJU won both games to earn a trip to the MIAC playoffs. He led the Johnnies with 16 points and added five rebounds in the 77-50 win over Saint Mary's Feb. 13 and ended the regular season with a career-high 24 points in the 79-76 win at St. Olaf Feb. 16.
HELLO, HANK: SJU head coach Jim Smith (755-534 career record in 49 seasons) tied long-time (1935-70) Oklahoma State head coach Hank Iba (755-340 career record) for 18th on the NCAA's all-time wins list with Saturday's win in Northfield. He needs four wins to tie Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th.
A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (19-6, 14-6 MIAC) clinched third place in the MIAC standings with a 88-64 victory over Macalester Feb. 13 and ended the regular season with a 71-60 victory over Saint Mary's Feb. 16. Junior Dan Kornbaum, a transfer from Division II Minnesota-Duluth, scored a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds, while classmate Noah Veach posted his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. After trailing 35-29 at the half, Augsburg went on to outscore the Cardinals 42-25 in the final 20 minutes. Kornbaum leads the team in scoring (18.2 ppg.), rebounding (7.9 rpg.) and shooting percentage (.589). He averaged 26.5 points and seven rebounds while shooting 70 percent (21-for-30) from the field in two games against SJU this season. The team's top three-point shooters, senior Tyler Schmidt (45-for-155) and junior Parker Hines (39-for-106) also average in double digits at 10.8 and 10.2 points, respectively.
THIS SEASON'S SERIES: Augsburg took full advantage of its extra possessions in a 77-65 win at Saint John's earlier this season on Jan. 7 in Collegeville. The Johnnies jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game's first minute, but Augsburg retaliated with seven straight points off its own en route to a 38-15 run and a 38-22 halftime lead. The Auggies shot 47.1 percent (16-for-34), including four of eight from beyond the arc, in the first half. The 16-point lead was crafted from points off turnovers (11-5) and second-chance points (12-2). SJU, meanwhile, shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) in the opening half with 11 misses in the paint (19 total in the game). Marx led SJU with 11 points, while sophomore Jacob Peterson (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins) and Kuck added nine points apiece. Kornbaum led the Auggies with 26 points and nine rebounds. The Johnnies shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) to out-score the visitors 43-39 in the second half. Augsburg, however, also shot 56.5 percent in the game's final 20 minutes and ended the contest with 21 points off the Johnnies' 13 turnovers and a 19-10 advantage in second-chance points.
The Auggies shot 68 percent (34-for-50) from the field to snap Saint John's win streak at seven games and complete a season sweep of the Johnnies with a 106-87 victory on Feb. 4 in Minneapolis. Augsburg shot 63.3 percent (19-for-30) and out-scored SJU 24-12 in the paint to take a 48-41 lead into halftime. SJU cut its deficit to six (85-79) with 4:20 left, but shots in the paint on each of the Johnnies' next three possessions rolled around the rim and out and Augsburg proceeded to out-score the visitors 21-8 the rest of the way. The Auggies finished 31-for-39 at the free-throw line as fouls were whistled 27-15 against SJU. The home team shot 7-for-11 from three-point range in the contest and 75 percent (15-for-20) from the floor in the second half. Marx led all scorers with 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season. Schmitt added 15 points off the bench before fouling out with 58 seconds remaining. Neumann totaled nine points in 17 minutes of play due to foul trouble. He fouled out with 4:35 left. Kornbaum led the Auggies with 27 points, while Hines and Schmidt added 17 points apiece. SJU out-rebounded Augsburg 30-27, including 15-7 on the offensive glass, but surrendered a 44-32 scoring advantage in the paint.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 51-52 against Augsburg under the direction of Smith, including a 20-33 record in Minneapolis. SJU, however, 3-1 on the Auggies' home court in the MIAC playoffs: 1985 (W, 53-48); 2000 (W, 58-57); 2010 (L, 75-86); and 2012 (W, 47-45).
LAST YEAR: Andy Burns '12 hit his second game-winning jumper of the season to give the Johnnies a 47-45 win at Augsburg in the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinals last 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 (2012), 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 Aaron Barmore '12 tallied his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Chris Orgas (Lakeville, Minn./North) 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. Andy 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.
POSTSEASON: The 2013 MIAC-playoff appearance is the program's 20th (18-14 record) since the postseason tournament began in 1984-85.
