Saint John's basketball begins the 2021-22 season against Wisconsin-River Falls at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, at Wisconsin-Superior's Merrill Thompson Classic. The Johnnies will play either the host Yellowjackets or Finlandia (Mich.) at 1 or 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6. - Listen Live (Friday Only, WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats (Both Games) | Live Video (Both Games)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's played a seven-game schedule in empty arenas and posted a 3-4 record during the abbreviated 2020-21 season that took place last January-March.

SJU lost the experience and play of Oakley Baker '21, but returns four student-athletes from last year's lineup that started all seven games. Senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) graduated alongside Baker in May, but decided to use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is joined by senior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono), junior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) and sophomore wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview). 

The Johnnies saw much success in the last full season in 2019-20, where they tied the program record for single-season wins (1978-79) with a 27-2 record (19-1 MIAC), won their ninth MIAC regular-season title and seventh MIAC Playoff championship, and made their third consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2019-20. 

SJU advanced to the third round (Sweet 16) of the NCAA Tournament, but the season abruptly ended with the NCAA's cancellation of all winter and spring championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here's a look at the Johnnies:

Zach is Back
Hanson shot 58.4 percent (45-for-77) from the field and led the team in scoring (15.1 ppg.), rebounding (8.6 rpg.) and blocked shots (7). He started all 29 games and shot 56.7 percent (156-for-275) from the field, while finishing second on the team in scoring (13.3 ppg.), rebounding (6.0 rpg.) and blocked shots (13) en route to All-MIAC first-team honors in 2019-20. He posted a .673 shooting percentage (68-for-101) with an average of 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds over the Johnnies' final 10 games en route to the NCAA Sweet 16. 

A Senior at the Point
Codute led the Johnnies in minutes played (34.2 mpg.) and steals (5) as the team's point guard last winter. He also finished second in three-pointers (13) and averaged 8.7 points per contest, thanks to a career-high 21 points in the season-opening win over Saint Mary's. Codute started all 29 games in 2019-20 and led the team in assists (89) and minutes played (31.2 mpg.), while finishing second in both three-pointers (58) and steals (24).

Sophomore Standout
Although the season consisted of only seven games, Thissen made an instant impact as a freshman in 2020-21 by finishing second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg.) and third in rebounding (4.6 rpg.). He averaged 20.8 points and shot 59.6 percent (34-for-57) from the field, including 50 percent (6-for-12) from behind the arc, in the Johnnies' final four games. Thissen ended the season with a career-high 30 points at Augsburg. 

Versatile Plombon
Plombon finished second on the team in rebounding (5.1 rpg.) and shooting percentage (.569), and third in scoring (13.4 ppg.) in 2020-21. The 6-foot-7 post ventured behind the arc and drained six of his 11 long-range attempt (54.5 percent). He transferred to SJU from Division II Winona State during the 2019-20 holiday break and played 19 games during the second half of the schedule.

Two Transfers
A pair of sophomore transfers joined the 2021-22 Johnnies, post Ethan Youso (Gilbert, Minn./Virginia) from Division II Minnesota-Duluth and guard Jared Rainey (Maple Grove, Minn.) from former MIAC rival St. Thomas. Youso appeared in six games, totaling five points in 11 minutes, for the Bulldogs in 2020-21. Rainey, meanwhile, scored 18 points in 13 games over the past two seasons with the Tommies. 

Home Cookin'
The 2021-22 season is the Johnnies' 49th in the Warner Palaestra (est. 1973-74). SJU boasts a 438-146 (.750) home record during that span, including a 41-6 mark over the last four seasons (69-15 since 2014-15). 

The Johnnies led the MIAC in per-game attendance (907 fans per game) for the third consecutive year and finished eighth in NCAA Division III in 2019-20. 

The 2021-22 Schedule
SJU opens the season with its first seven games on the road (nine of the first 10), including all five non-conference tilts. 

Non-conference play continues next weekend (Nov. 12-13) with a trip to Bloomington, Ill., for Illinois Wesleyan's tournament. SJU faces Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which was ranked No. 12 in the final D3hoops.com poll of the 2020-21 season, in the opener and will play either Hope (Mich.) or the host Spartans the following day. Illinois Wesleyan was ranked No. 4 in the final D3hoops.com poll last spring.

The Johnnies open conference play Nov. 20 against MIAC newcomer St. Scholastica in Duluth and travel south Nov. 24 to take on Buena Vista (Iowa) in the final non-conference game. SJU's home opener is set for Dec. 4 against Concordia-Moorhead, the first of 10 games in Sexton Arena. 

SJU welcomes Carleton to Collegeville Dec. 14 and St. Olaf Jan. 10, the first day of spring semester. The remaining seven home games unfold as a three-game homestand and a pair of back-to-back contests. The Johnnies play host to Augsburg (Jan. 15), Saint Mary's (Jan. 19) and St. Scholastica (Jan. 22) during the three-game set, and then Bethel (Feb. 2) and Macalester (Feb. 5) for Alumni and Senior Day. SJU finishes the regular season with home games against Hamline (Feb. 14) and Gustavus Adolphus (Feb. 16).

The MIAC quarterfinals are set for Feb. 22 at the high seed, followed by the MIAC semifinals Feb. 24. The MIAC championship game, and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament, is scheduled for Feb. 26.

A LOOK AT THE FALCONS: Wisconsin-River Falls posted a 5-4 record during the shortened 2020-21 season and needs to replace three of its top four scorers. The Falcons were picked to finish fifth out of eight teams in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) preseason coaches' poll released Oct. 27. Senior guard Noah Hanson is the lone returnee who reached double figures in scoring last season (13.0 ppg.). He was named All-WIAC honorable mention and finished second on the team in rebounding (5.0 rpg.), while shooting 38.5 percent (25-for-65) from the field. Over half (11 of 20) of UWRF's roster calls Minnesota home.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 11-13 all-time against Wisconsin-River Falls, though four of the losses occurred before 1951. The Johnnies won the last meeting by 30 points, 88-58, on Nov. 26, 2013, in Collegeville.

A LOOK AT THE LIONS: Finlandia (Mich.) went 1-10 in 2020-21 and needs to replace its top player, Dylan Underwood, this season. Underwood was the lone Lion in double figures at 15.8 ppg. and led the team in three-pointers (20), assists (42) and steals (27). Finlandia have won two of its last 56 games going back to the 2018-19 season. A matchup on Saturday would be the first between SJU and the Lions on the hardwood.

A LOOK AT THE YELLOWJACKETS: Wisconsin-Superior matched SJU with a 3-4 record in 2020-21 and return 13 players from that team, including All-UMAC second-team guards Mason Ackley (10.8 ppg.) and Eli Vogel (16.8 ppg.), who are both juniors. Sophomore guard J'Vaun Walker (12.3 ppg.) was a UMAC defensive team selection with 3.0 steals per game as a freshman. The Yellowjackets were picked fourth out of eight teams in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) preseason poll and lost an exhibition game, 96-55, on Tuesday (Nov. 2) at Division II Minnesota-Duluth.  

THE LAST TIME: Then-No. 19 SJU earned a 94-53 win over Wisconsin-Superior the last time these two teams met on Dec. 29, 2018, in Collegeville. The Johnnies shot 57.6 percent (38-for-66) from the field and out-scored the Yellowjackets 52-18 in the paint. The home team also posted a 40-28 advantage on the glass and turned the 11 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points.

All 16 Johnnies played at least three minutes in the victory, which was SJU's first game since Dec. 12 (an 87-70 win at Saint Mary's). SJU broke open a four-point (19-15) game with a 19-2 run over a 4:55 span late in the first half. The Johnnies led by as much as 42 (75-33) with 12:52 remaining.

Jubie Alade '20 led all scorers with 23 points, 21 of which came on 8 of 10 shooting (3-for-4 from three-point range) in 15 first-half minutes. His three-pointer in the final second of the first half gave SJU a 51-25 lead at the break. 

Baker followed with 12 points and three assists, and Hanson added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Kyle Sorenson '20 chipped in 11 points and four rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

Montroy Scott led Superior, which shot 36.4 percent (20-for-55), with 22 points.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 10-6 all-time against the Yellowjackets, with wins in each of the last five meetings (all by 10+ points).