No. 3 Saint John's basketball visits Hamline for the MIAC opener at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at Hutton Arena in St. Paul. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

CONCORDIA POSTPONED: SJU's game at Concordia, previously scheduled for Wednesday night (Feb. 3) in Moorhead, was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The game will be rescheduled to a later date if circumstances allow.

NO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2021: The NCAA Division III Administrative Committee, acting on behalf of the Division III Management and Presidents Council, approved the recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to cancel all winter championships due to low participation numbers among member schools. The announcement was made Wednesday night (Feb. 3). 

The Championships Committee decision was based on the results of a winter declaration form distributed to members about their intention to compete this season in a capacity that would permit them to meet the minimum contest requirements to be eligible for championship selection by the established selection dates. The declaration form was sent to Division III athletics directors Jan. 19 and completed by 98% of the membership.

The national championships affected are men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's ice hockey, and wrestling.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-0 overall) shot 66.7 percent (20-for-30) from the field and drained eight of its nine attempts from three-point range in the first half en route to an 87-64 non-conference win over Saint Mary's last Friday night (Jan. 29) in Sexton Arena.

The Johnnies broke open a 12-8 lead with an 18-4 run and led by as much as 25 (46-21) in the first half. The home team scored 16 points off 10 Cardinal turnovers in the opening stanza and led 50-29 at the break.

SMU cut its deficit to as little as 14 (66-52) with 8:47 to play, but the Johnnies answered with a 9-0 run and led by 18 points or more the rest of the way.

Junior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) and senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) led SJU with 21 points apiece. Codute was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor (4-for-4 from three-point) in the first half and finished with six rebounds, in addition to his career-high 21 points. He was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week Feb. 1 for his performance. Hanson, meanwhile, led the Johnnies with seven boards in 26:25 of play. 

Sophomore post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) chipped in a career-high 11 points and a team-high four assists, while senior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) added 10 points.

NO. 3 NATIONALLY: SJU debuted at No. 3 in the first D3hoops.com Top 10 poll of the 2020-21 season released Feb 1. Randolph-Macon (4-0 overall) received 15 first-place votes and 175 points to sit atop the poll, followed by Mount Union (3-0 overall) with one first-place vote and 134 points. SJU (1-0 overall), which ended the 2019-20 ranked No. 2 in the final D3hoops.com poll, received one first-place vote and 120 points.

Because of the smaller number of teams playing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the D3hoops.com poll is limited to 10 teams. No team beyond the top 10 is considered ranked. Only teams that have played a game are eligible to receive votes. With the changing nature of the pandemic, the number of voters and teams voted for may change from week to week.

CODUTE vs. SAINT MARY'S: Codute's six rebounds tied a career high, which seems to be a broken record for him against Saint Mary's. In addition to the new career high in points and the tie for rebounds, Codute's career highs for assists and three-pointers were also registered against the Cardinals. He drained six three-pointers (6-for-10) for 18 points and dished out seven assists the last time SJU hosted SMU on Jan. 15, 2020.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE: Although 328 days passed between games, Hanson's point total remained the same on the scoreboard. Hanson scored 21 points, on 9-for-14 shooting, and collected seven rebounds and three assists Friday night. His previous game on the Sexton Arena court March 7, Hanson totaled 21 points (10-for-11 shooting), four rebounds and three assists in the Johnnies' NCAA second-round win over Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

FIRST SJU START FOR PLOMBON: Plombon made his first start as a Johnnie Friday night and recorded a career-high 11 points, with a team-high four assists, in 27 minutes. He transferred to SJU from Division II Winona State over the holiday break last season and appeared in 19 games off the bench for the Johnnies. 

FIRST FRESHMAN START OPENER SINCE 2014: Freshman wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) became the first SJU freshman to start the season opener since point guard, and now assistant coach, Garrett Goetz '18 in 2014-15. Thissen played 28 minutes Friday night, the third most on the team, and scored four points with three assists and two rebounds.

OFFENSIVE DEPTH: Last Friday's win showcased SJU's offensive depth, in which 11 Johnnies scored a point or more and six made a three-pointer. The next Johnnie below the four in double figures was freshman wing Austin Wetter (Monticello, Minn.), who drained two three-pointers and scored eight points in nine minutes off the bench in his collegiate debut.

THE STREAK CONTINUES: The Johnnies improved to 92-21 against the Cardinals since the 1964-65 season, including a 56-1 record in Collegeville. SJU has now won each of the last 27 meetings overall and 53 straight at home (49-0 in the Warner Palaestra) in the series. 

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (1-2 overall) has started its 2020-21 campaign with three non-conference games so far, including a season opening, 55-38 win on Jan. 30 at Bethel. The Piper defense forced 15 turnovers and held the Royals to shooting just under 30 percent in the win, the program's first over BU in six years. 
 
This week, however, has not been as kind to Hamline on its home court. The Pipers fell to Saint Mary's, 77-66, Monday night (Feb. 1) despite efforts from junior (6-foot-0) guard Luke Siwek's game-high 27 points. HU suited up two days later and suffered an 81-52 loss to St. Thomas. The Pipers only trailed by four (34-30) at halftime, but shot 30.4 percent in the second half to the Tommies' 62.1 percent.
 
LAST SEASON: SJU swept the season series for the fifth consecutive time in 2019-20.

Saint John's 82, at Hamline 57
SJU made a then-season-high 12 three-pointers for an 82-57 win at Hamline back on Dec. 7 (2019) in St. Paul. The Johnnies shot 54.7 percent (29-for-53) from the field and made half (12-for-24) of their three-point attempts in the win. SJU also hit 12 of its 13 free throws. 

SJU led 38-32 at the break after 10 first-half lead changes, but pulled away in the second half with a 15-0 run after halftime and never looked back. The SJU lead remained at least 20 points for the remainder of the game.

Codute led all scorers with a career-high 20 points, thanks to a 5-for-6 showing from behind the arc. Jubie Alade '20 added 14 points and knocked down both of his three-point attempts. Baker and Hanson scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, to round out four Johnnies in double figures. SJU's starters combined to shoot 61.1 percent (22-for-36) from the floor. 

Defensively, the Johnnies held the Pipers to 36.5 percent (19-for-52), including 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from beyond the arc. SJU scored 23 points off 10 HU turnovers.

at Saint John's 71, at Hamline 57
The Johnnies ended the game with a 17-5 run over the final 9:38 to claim a 71-57 win - the team's 19th in a row - over Hamline last Feb. 1 (2020) in Collegeville. Michael Dillon hit a three-pointer to cut Hamline's deficit to two (54-52) with 9:39 remaining in regulation. At that point, the Pipers were shooting 51.4 percent (19-for-37) from the field and 50 percent (7-for-14) from behind the arc. 

The Johnnies, however, answered with a 13-0 run as the home team's defense, and crowd, stepped up to hold HU scoreless for 10 straight possessions (0-for-8 shooting, two turnovers) over the next 7:05. In total, the Pipers finished 2-for-12 with three turnovers during SJU's 17-5 run to close the contest.

Alade led all scorers with 29 points, including 21 in the second half alone, on 10 of 15 shooting (3-for-5 from three-point range). He reached 29 points on a 360-degree dunk with just under two minutes remaining. 

Hanson recorded his second double-double of the season, and third of his career, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Both Hanson and Lucas Walford '20, who tallied 14 points and seven boards, were 7-for-11 from the floor.

SJU out-rebounded Hamline 38-21 (10-1 offensive) and dominated scoring in the paint, 44-16. HU ended the first half with an 8-2 run to tie the game 34-34 at the break. Luke Siwek led the Pipers with 18 points, while Dillon added 11 points and eight rebounds.

SJU finished at 51.9 percent (28-for-54) for the game, including 31.6 percent (6-for-19) from behind the arc, and an uncharacteristic 50 percent (9-for-18) from the free-throw line. The Johnnies entered the game sixth in NCAA Division III in three-point percentage (.407) and second in the MIAC from the charity stripe (.749).

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 90-26 against the Pipers since 1964-65, including a 39-18 record in Hutton Arena. SJU has won each of the last 11 meetings overall.