No. 7 Saint John's (24-3, 15-1 MIAC) begins the 2025 NCAA Division III Tournament at the University of Chicago (18-7, 9-5 UAA) at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 7. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM/95.7 FM) | Live Stats | Live Video | Regional Website

TICKET INFORMATION: Fans wishing to attend the game/s must purchase tickets at the venue, cash only. There are no advance sales. The rate is $15 for adults and $10 for a senior citizen or student (2 years old and younger are free). 

THE OTHER GAME: No. 9 Illinois Wesleyan faces Bethany Lutheran in the regional's early game at 4 p.m. Friday. Friday's winners play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16.

FINAL NPI: IWU ended the 2024-25 regular season No. 9 in the NCAA's final National Power Index (NPI), followed by SJU (No. 19), Chicago (No. 34) and Bethany Lutheran (No. 236).

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (24-3, 15-1 MIAC) wrapped up the MIAC playoff championship with a 74-59 win over Carleton before a loud and packed house of 2,521 in Sexton Arena last Saturday night (March 1) in Collegeville.

Senior guard Luke Healy (Hudson, Wis.), senior post Connor Schwob (Waconia, Minn.) and senior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) each finished the night with 12 points. Schwob added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double and first this season. Senior wing Griffin Rushin (Baxter, Minn./Brainerd) added 10 points to join the trio in double figures.

In all, eight Johnnies scored points and seven finished with eight or more.

The Johnnies finished 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) from the field and hit eight three-pointers. Three of those came from senior guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.), who entered the night needing just two to surpass David Stokman's school record of 266. He got the second with 7:23 to go before halftime and now has 268 during his time in Collegeville.

Vaughn's record-breaking 3-pointer was part of a 14-2 first-half run that put the Knights - the tournament's No. 4 seed - in a hole too deep to climb out of. Carleton finished the first half 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from the field and were outrebounded 21-12 as the Johnnies took a 35-19 lead into the break.

Carleton pulled as close as 13 when guard Luke Harris - who led his team with 22 points (but had only one before halftime) - hit a three-pointer with 14:38 to play. But that was as close as the Knights could get.

MIAC HONORS: Thissen was named the 2024-25 MIAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Year and was joined on the All-MIAC team by Vaughn and senior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) when the conference's postseason honors were announced on Tuesday (March 4). Healy, Rushin and Thissen were also named to the MIAC All-Playoff team.

Thissen is now a three-time All-MIAC honoree after receiving a second-team distinction in 2021-22. He led the Johnnies in minutes (28.3 mpg.) and scoring (16.4 ppg.), and was second in rebounding (5.6 rpg.), assists (45) and steals (10) in conference play. 

He started all 16 league games and made 54.3 percent (101-for-186) of his shots, including 43.3 percent (13-for-30) from behind the three-point arc. Thissen has the same statistical standing in the five categories overall, leading the Johnnies in minutes (28.5 mpg.) and scoring (14.9 ppg.), and is second in rebounding (5.4 rpg.), assists (73) and steals (19). 

He averaged 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in his team's two MIAC playoff games. Thissen has climbed from 15th to second on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,656 career points. Elsewhere in the SJU record book, Thissen is currently tied with Frank Wachlarowicz '79 for most games played (112), is second in program history in made field goals (641) and ninth in assists (285). 

Thissen is the seventh Johnnie to be named either the MIAC's most valuable player or offensive player of the year (established for the 2022-23 season), joining Jubie Alade '20 (2019-20), Troy Bigalke '01 (1999-00 and 2000-01), Wachlarowicz (1977-78 and 1978-79) and Paul Bernabei '69 (1968-69).

The All-MIAC honor is the second-consecutive for both Berg and Vaughn. Berg boasted a league-best 21 blocks and was fourth in the conference with a .600 shooting percentage (66-for-110) in league play. He started all 16 MIAC games and was second on the team with an average of 10.2 points per contest. 

One of three Johnnies to start all 27 games this season, Berg leads SJU in blocks (29), is second in scoring (11.0 ppg.), third in assists (60) and is a 54.3-percent shooter from the field. He currently has 968 points and needs 32 to become the 42nd Johnnie in school history to reach 1,000 for a career.
 
An All-MIAC third-team selection in 2021-22 and an All-MIAC honorable mention pick in 2022-23, Vaughn played 14 conference games and led SJU in three-pointers (35-for-86, .407). He was third in scoring (10.0 ppg.) in league play and is currently third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg.) with a team-best 63 treys (63-for-163). 

Vaughn reached the 1,000-point plateau in the Johnnies' season-opening win on Nov. 9 over Wisconsin-Oshkosh and is now 16th in program history with 1,249 points. He became the program's all-time three-point leader with 267 (now 268) March 1.

Rushin led the Johnnies with six three-pointers, a .462 shooting percentage (6-for-13) from three-point range, and an average of 13.5 points in 24.5 minutes off the bench in their two MIAC playoff wins. He is second on the team in blocks (21) and third in three-pointers (32-for-99), while averaging 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game.

Healy, like Rushin, provided a spark for SJU off the bench during the MIAC Playoffs. He averaged 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals in 17 minutes, while shooting 63.6 percent (7-for-11) with perfect performances from behind the arc (2-for-2) and at the free-throw line (4-for-4). Healy leads the team in three-point percentage (.532/25-for-47), is third in steals (16), fourth in assists (56) and fifth in scoring (7.3 ppg.). 
 
FINAL POLL: SJU climbed three spots to No. 7 in the final D3hoops.com Top 25 poll of the regular season released Monday (March 3).

NCAA STATS: The Johnnies begin the NCAA Tournament second in NCAA Division III in assist/turnover ratio (+1.82); third in both fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and free-throw percentage (.791); fourth in shooting percentage (.495); fifth in scoring margin (+16.9 ppg.); 12th in three-point shooting (.384); 13th in three-point defense (.285); and 14th in scoring defense (63.1 ppg.). Individually, senior guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) is nine in assist/turnover ratio (+3.34).

SJU'S POSTSEASON HISTORY: The national postseason appearance is the 22nd (13th at the Division III level) and fifth in the last seven seasons for the Johnnies, who earned the conference's automatic bid with a 74-59 win over Carleton March 1 for the program's fourth MIAC Playoff championship in the last six tournaments (ninth overall).

STAT COMPARISONS 
Scoring Offense 
-BLC, 83.5 ppg.
-IWU, 80.3 ppg.
-SJU, 80.0 ppg.
-UC, 73.7 ppg.

Scoring Defense
-SJU, 63.1 ppg. *No. 14 in Division III (+16.9 ppg. *No. 5 in Division III)
-UC, 64.8 ppg. (+8.9 ppg.)
-IWU, 68.9 ppg. (+11.4 ppg.)
-BLC, 84.0 ppg. (-0.5 ppg.)

Shooting Percentage – Offense
-SJU, 49.5 percent *No. 4 in Division III
-IWU, 46.3 percent
-BLC, 45.2 percent
-UC, 44.4 percent

Shooting Percentage – Defense
-IWU, 39.0 percent
-SJU, 39.4 percent
-UC, 42.0 percent
-BLC, 43.7 percent

Three-Point Percentage – Offense 
-SJU, 38.4 percent/244-635 *No. 12 in Division III
-BLC, 35.3 percent/250-708
-UC, 34.6 percent/224-648
-IWU, 33.6 percent/215-639

Three-Point Percentage – Defense
-SJU, 28.5 percent/152-533 *No. 13 in Division III
-UC, 31.9 percent/167-524
-IWU, 32.0 percent/206-643
-BLC, 32.9 percent/227-689

Free-Throw Percentage 
-SJU, 79.1 percent/295-373 *No. 3 in Division III
-UC, 76.2 percent/291-382
-BLC, 72.0 percent/344-478
-IWU, 70.2 percent/446-635

Rebounding 
-IWU, 41.7 rpg. (+9.3 rpg. *No. 12 in Division III)
-BLC, 38.6 rpg. (+0.5 rpg.)
-SJU, 37.9 rpg. (+7.7 rpg.)
-UC, 36.4 rpg. (+4.1 rpg.)

Fewest Turnovers 
-SJU, 8.8 tpg. *No. 3 in Division III
-UC, 10.2 tpg.
-IWU, 14.0 tpg.
-BLC, 14.2 tpg.

A LOOK AT THE MAROONS: Chicago (18-7, 9-5 UAA) finished third in the rugged University Athletic Association and completed the season sweep of No. 13 Washington-St. Louis last Saturday (March 1) with a 76-68 win at home. Senior (6-foot-4) guard Thomas Kurowski became the first Maroon to earn All-UAA first-team honors since 2018-19 this season and leads team in scoring (16.1 ppg.), assists (79) and steals (47). Junior (6-foot-1) guard Joe Berry was an All-UAA second-team selection and is second to Kurowski in all three stats (12.0 ppg., 67 assists and 35 steals). Chicago is second in Division III in fewest fouls committed per game (12.9) and is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2007-08.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 2-0 all-time against Chicago: winning 64-61 on Dec. 14, 2008, in Collegeville and 90-87 on Nov. 28, 2010, in Chicago.

A LOOK AT THE TITANS: Illinois Wesleyan (22-5, 12-4 CCIW) is making its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance in by virtue of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin's automatic bid. The Titans won the CCIW Tournament last Saturday (March 1) with a 79-60 victory at top-seeded Carthage (Wis.). Senior (6-foot-8) guard Nick Roper leads the team in minutes (28.6 mpg.) and scoring (15.9 ppg.) as IWU, like SJU, has six players averaging seven points or more per contest. Senior (6-foot-3) guard Hakim Williams is second to Roper with 10.4 points per game and boasts a team-leading 94 assists and 46 steals.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU and IWU have only met once – a 76-56 loss for the Johnnies on Dec. 28, 2002, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Head coach Pat McKenzie '04 was a starting point guard on the team as a junior.

A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS: Bethany Lutheran (14-13, 9-5 UMAC) overcame a 21-point deficit to win its third-straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference tournament title with a 90-84 victory in overtime on Saturday (March 1) at Northwestern (Minn.). Senior (6-foot-1) guard Drew Sagedahl, who started his collegiate career at SJU, leads the team in scoring (20.9 ppg.), rebounding (6.6 rpg.) and steals (36). Senior (6-foot-2) guard Jax Madson is next in scoring with 17 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Two others, senior (6-foot-2) guard DJ Akpati (12.7 ppg.) and senior (6-foot-5) forward Dominik Bangu (12.6 ppg.), also average in double figures.

SERIES HISTORY: Like Illinois Wesleyan, SJU has only faced Bethany Lutheran once – a 102-92 home loss to open the NCAA Tournament on March 2, 2018.