The Johnnie basketball team wraps up a three-game homestand with a 3 p.m. tip-off against St. Scholastica this Saturday, Jan. 22, in Collegeville. – 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 ticket 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.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-3, 9-1 MIAC) returned to the win column with an 80-53 home victory over Saint Mary's Wednesday night (Jan. 19) in Sexton Arena.

The Johnnies led by 18 (41-23) early in the second half, but made only one of its next 10 shot attempts (and committed two turnovers) as Saint Mary's cut its deficit to three (45-42) with 12:13 remaining. SJU, however, answered with a 17-0 run over the next six minutes to put the game away. The Johnnies made 13 of their final 18 shots, including 8-for-10 from behind the arc.

Junior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) led the Johnnies with 17 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Jared Rainey (Maple Grove, Minn.) returned after missing the last two games due to injury and scored 15 points off the bench, all in the second half, on a 5-for-6 performance from three-point range.

The home team doubled up SMU in shooting percentage, 48 percent (12-for-25) to 24.1 percent (7-for-29), for a 37-21 halftime lead. The Johnnies finished at 50.9 percent (28-for-55) and made a season-high 14 three-pointers (46.7 percent, 14-for-30) thanks to a hot second half. The 14 treys were the team's most in four years (17 vs. Bethany Lutheran on March 2, 2018, in Collegeville).

WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) became the 39th Johnnie in program history to reach 1,000 career points on a patented hook shot with 11:01 left in the first half of Wednesday's win over Saint Mary's. He finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. Hanson currently leads the team in assists (41) and blocked shots (8).

HOME STREAK CONTINUES: The Johnnies are now 94-21 against Saint Mary's since the 1964-65 season, including a 57-1 record in Collegeville. SJU has won each of the last 29 meetings overall and 54 straight at home (50-0 in the Warner Palaestra).

PLAYOFF DETAILS: The MIAC announced additional details for its all-comers tournaments in basketball and hockey today (Jan. 21). The MIAC Athletic Directors' Council moved to adopt a revised postseason format for this year due to the impact of COVID-19-related cancelations on the 2021-22 regular seasons.

The 2022 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs will be played from Feb. 19-26. In order to accommodate four rounds of playoff play, the last regular-season round previously scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 19, will be moved to Monday, Feb. 14, with men's games set for 7:45 p.m. SJU's bye was scheduled for Feb. 19, so this change does not affect the Johnnies.

Seeds 6-11 in the men's basketball bracket begin the conference tournament on Saturday, Feb. 19. High seeds will host all games throughout the tournament. Following the regular season double-header format, the men's games will be held at 3 p.m. for the first round. The quarterfinals will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 22 with the semifinals set for Thursday, Feb. 24. All quarterfinal and semifinal games are tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.; however, if an institution is hosting both men's and women's games on the same day, regular season doubleheader timing will be applied with the women's game moving to 5:45 p.m. and the men's game moving to 7:45 p.m. The MIAC Men's Basketball Playoff Championship will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 26. The winner of the playoff championship game will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU currently leads the MIAC in scoring defense and shooting percentage, both overall and three-point, in conference play.

Scoring Offense
2. SJU, 75.8 ppg. (73.6 overall)
8. CSS, 64.7 ppg. (66.2 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 61.1 ppg. (62.6 overall)
10. CSS, 75.0 ppg. (74.7 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, 51.7 percent (50.6 overall)
8. CSS, 41.0 percent (40.9 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
1. SJU, 45.9 percent (39.5 overall)
11. CSS, 28.3 percent (29.4 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
3. SJU, 76.0 percent (74.2 overall)
10. CSS, 61.9 percent (63.0 overall)

Rebounding
5. CSS, 35.1 rpg. (35.9 overall)
9. SJU, 31.4 rpg. (32.1 overall)

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (2-13, 1-10 MIAC) suffered its third consecutive loss, 84-63 to Augsburg, Wednesday night (Jan. 19) in Duluth. Senior (6-foot-4) guard Nick Carlson led CSS, which shot 33.9 percent (21-for-62) from the floor, with 13 points. Senior (6-foot-6) forward Jack Silgen leads the team in scoring (14.4 ppg.) and is followed closely by Carlson at 14.1. Senior (6-foot-5) guard Quinn Fischer (7.8) and Silgen (7.4) are currently fourth and fifth in the MIAC, respectively, in rebounding.

TWO MONTHS AGO: SJU opened the conference schedule with a 74-51 win at St. Scholastica back on Nov. 20 in Duluth. The Johnnies ended the first half with a 5-0 run to take a 37-31 lead into the break and opened the second half with a 12-0 run to bust the game open for good. SJU forced 16 turnovers and held St. Scholastica to 20.8 percent (5-for-24) in the second half of its first conference game as a member of the MIAC.

Sophomore wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led five Johnnies in double figures with a game-high 17 points. Senior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) finished with 11 points and a career-high six steals – the most for a Johnnie in a single game since Brady Brink's '08 six in a home win over Hamline on Jan. 19, 2008. 

Junior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) had 12 points and eight rebounds, and freshman guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) chipped in 11 points and collected six boards. Sophomore guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) finished with career highs in points (10) and assists (4) and four assists in 23 minutes off the bench.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 8-0 all-time against St. Scholastica, dating back to the first meeting on Dec. 3, 1980, in Collegeville. The two teams met again on Nov. 22, 1985, at St. Cloud State's Thanksgiving tournament, but not again the 2004-05 season. Saturday's contest will be the first between the two programs in Collegeville since Dec. 31, 2004.