Saint John's basketball begins a three-game homestand by hosting Augsburg in a battle for first place at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

SPECTATOR POLICY: Saint John's University updated the spectator policy for its home basketball games in Sexton Arena.

-Masks are required at all times (this has been the policy all season long).

-Spectators must maintain 6 feet of social distancing (and 12 feet from student-athletes/coaches/staff).

-Capacity will be reduced to 70 percent. Seating will be staggered by section, every-other row, for social distancing. 

-Fans/parents must sit within their family or friend group and should remain in their seats for the duration of the event (no moving seats, socializing, etc.). 

-Fans will not be allowed to gather with the student-athletes at the conclusion of the game.

-The concession stand will not be open.

Tickets
-Advanced tickets sales encouraged on www.gojohnnies.com/tickets for all fans. General tickets will also be for sale at the ticket booth.

-CSB/SJU students need to download their free ticket to each home game from www.gojohnnies.com/tickets with their Banner ID.

MIAC CHANGES: The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced several changes to its COVID-19 protocols on Thursday (Jan. 13). Changes were proposed by the conference's Athletic Directors' Council and approved by the Presidents' Council following guidance adjustments from the NCAA and Minnesota Department of Health this month.

Regular-Season Contests and Standings
Effective immediately, all conference games unable to be played as scheduled due to COVID-19-impacted rosters will be declared no-contests instead of forfeits. This policy shall also be retroactive to previous results throughout the 2021-22 MIAC winter sports schedule, as any previous forfeits will be declared no-contests. Therefore, the win awarded to SJU from Jan. 5's road game at Bethel is changed to a no-contest and the Johnnies' conference record is now 8-0 (11-2 overall).

Conference games will not be rescheduled in order to avoid compacting the schedule with multiple games in a limited amount of days, though institutions will reserve the autonomy to schedule or reschedule conference teams in non-conference games (within the NCAA allowed limit of 25) as they see fit.

Conference standings in men's and women's basketball will now shift to be sorted by winning percentage instead of wins, while standings in men's and women's hockey will use a points percentage system (standings points earned divided by standings points possible). 

Teams must play at least 60 percent of their scheduled conference games to be eligible for the regular-season MIAC championship in basketball and hockey.

Conference Playoffs
Due to the already significant number of canceled games due to COVID-19 protocols this winter, MIAC membership also approved the conference basketball and hockey playoffs to become "All-Comers Tournaments" this season. All MIAC basketball and hockey teams will be eligible to participate in the single-elimination playoffs, with specific playoff dates and details to be determined in the coming weeks.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (11-2, 8-0 MIAC) held Gustavus Adolphus to 13 points in the game's final 15:24 to win its ninth consecutive game, 69-55, Wednesday night (Jan. 12) in St. Peter. The Johnnies trailed by seven (42-35) with 15:25 to play, but the Gusties proceeded to make only five of its final 25 shot attempts (went 3-for-5 from the free-throw line) and committed five turnovers.

The victory was the 125th for head coach Pat McKenzie '04 (125-34 career record).

SJU shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the floor in the second half, including 50 percent (5-for-10) from three-point range, to out-score GAC 40-27 after halftime (34-13 in the final 15:24).

Freshman guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led all scorers with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting (3-for-4 from long range).

Sophomore wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) fell one rebound shy of a double-double, for the second consecutive game, with 10 points and nine boards.

Senior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) and junior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) chipped in nine points apiece. Codute also grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists, while Schoeller drained three key treys off the bench in the second half.

Spencer Swanson led Gustavus, which shot 39 percent (23-for-59) overall and 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from behind the arc, with 14 points off the bench. Nolan Malo tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

14 FROM 1,000: Senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) scored 11 points Wednesday at Gustavus and now needs 14 more to become the 39th Johnnie in program history to reach 1,000 for a career.

STAT COMPARISONS: Saturday's showdown between the MIAC's top two teams may be due to the team's identical records, but they are also Nos. 1-2 in the conference in terms of shooting statistics. The Auggies also lead the league in rebounding.

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .522 (.507 overall)
2. AUG, .480 (.470 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, .459 (.385 overall)
2. AUG, .384 (.350 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
1. AUG, .777 (.751 overall)
2. SJU, .758 (.738 overall)

Rebounding
1. AUG, 36.6 rpg. (35.2 overall)
10. SJU, 31.5 rpg. (32.2 overall)

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (11-2, 8-0 MIAC) travels to Collegeville Saturday riding a four-game win streak thanks to a 76-60 home win Wednesday night (Jan. 12) over Concordia-Moorhead. A four-point play from senior (6-foot-0) guard Matt Carik in the closing seconds of the first half broke a 34-34 tie and the Auggies scored the first 12 points of the second half en route to the victory. Junior (6-foot-4) guard Joe Palmer led the team with his seventh double-double of the season, collecting 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Palmer currently leads the MIAC in both scoring (22.5 ppg.) and rebounding (9.4 rpg.), and is fourth in shooting percentage (.566). Carik (10.8 ppg.) and junior (6-foot-0) guard Jack Sorenson (12.3 ppg.) also average double digits in points per game. 

BACK IN MARCH: SJU ended the 2020-21 season with a 75-71 loss at Augsburg back on March 6 in Minneapolis. The Johnnies out-shot the Auggies, 50.9 percent-45 percent, but the home team went 14-for-31 (45.2 percent) from behind the arc and scored 15 points off nine SJU turnovers. Augsburg entered the season finale shooting 31.9 percent (51-for-160) from three-point range.

Thissen led all scorers with a career-high 30 points, including 23 in the second half, on 12 of 19 shooting. He also added seven rebounds and six assists. The 30 points were the most by an SJU freshman since Jubie Alade '20 scored 30 against - coincidentally - Augsburg on Feb. 8, 2017, in Collegeville.

SJU led 17-10 with 10:51 left in the first half, but Augsburg answered with an 18-4 run over the next six minutes. A late trey from Thissen cut SJU's deficit to 38-29 at the half.

Down 10 (56-46) halfway through the second half, SJU made seven of its eight shots (and two free throws from Thissen) for a 19-8 run to gain a slim 65-64 lead with 4:18 remaining. The Auggies, however, answered with a 5-0 run as part of a 7-2 stretch. SJU cut Augsburg's lead to two on two occasions inside of the final minute, but the Auggies went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

Hanson recorded his third double-double of the season and eighth of his career with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Junior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) was the third Johnnie scoring in double digits with 13 points and six boards.

Palmer led the Auggies with 26 points, 20 of which came in the first half, and 11 rebounds. Sorenson followed with 14. A 23.1-percent (3-for-13) three-point shooter in the previous six games, (6-foot-10) James Streeter went 3-for-5 from behind the arc Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 53-41 against Augsburg since the 1978-79 season, including a 32-14 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 14 of the last 17 meetings overall. The win in March was the first for Augsburg at home in the series since 2014.