Saint John's basketball travels to Connecticut for a pair of games this weekend. SJU visits Hartford for a 3 p.m. ET game on Saturday (Nov. 14) followed by a 1 p.m. ET tip-off on Sunday (Nov. 15) at Western Connecticut State.

LIVE COVERAGE
-3 p.m. ET Saturday at Hartford: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-1 p.m. ET Sunday at Western Connecticut State: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video (PPV)

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-0 overall) opened the 2026-27 season last weekend (Nov. 6-7) by winning Wisconsin-Superior's National Bank of Commerce Tip-Off Classic.

Saint John's 100, Wisconsin-La Crosse 89 (Nov. 6)
SJU shot 63.8 percent (37-for-58) from the field en route to a 100-89, season-opening win over No. 18 Wisconsin-La Crosse on Friday night.

The two teams exchanged the lead a number of times in the first half before SJU ran away with it for the first time – scoring 19 points to the Eagles' five in a span of 4:46 that began with eight minutes left in the first half. The Johnnies were a perfect 7-for-7 with nine points from sophomore guard Peyton Podany (Anoka, Minn.) during the stretch for a 43-30 lead.

UWL stormed back into the game with a run of its own, turning the tables with an 18-6 scoring sequence that left the Johnnies up by just one point at halftime, 49-48.

A dunk from senior post Vincent Hillesheim (Minneapolis, Minn./Hopkins) turned on the gas for SJU, helping the Johnnies extend their lead beyond five points thanks to a 36-16 scoring run for 10 minutes in the second half. Hillesheim scored 10 of those points as SJU shot 13-for-19 in the span. The Eagles fell short from the field and turned the ball over six times to help the Johnnies run away. 

SJU led by as many as 21 – 92-71 – before the three-ball went cold at the end of the game. 

Podany picked up right where he left off in his freshman campaign, scoring 24 points for the 10th 20-point game of his career. Podany was 8 of 11 from the floor (72.7 percent) with a pair of three-pointers. He also hauled in a team-leading nine rebounds and had two assists. 

Senior guard Kyle Johnson (Prior Lake, Minn./DeLaSalle) made an emphatic return following an injury that kept him sidelined last season, totaling 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting (56.2 percent). Hillesheim finished with 14 points after scoring just two in the first half. He was 7 of 10 (70 percent) from the floor with three rebounds and five assists. 

Senior guard Sam Grieger – the 2025-26 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III Player of the Year and a consensus All-American – led the Eagles with 33 points on 12-for-26 shooting. Seven of his points came from the free-throw line. He also turned the ball over four times. SJU out-rebounded La Crosse 28-17 (7-4 on the offensive glass).

Saint John's 95, at Wisconsin-Superior 57 (Nov. 7)
The Johnnies shot 54.5 percent (18-for-33) from the field for a 43-35 halftime lead and opened the second half with a 14-0 run. SJU finished at 50.7 percent (37-for-73) for the game, including a 16-for-37 (43.2 percent) showing from behind the three-point arc.

K. Johnson led four Johnnies in double figures with 17 points. Hillesheim followed with 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting and sophomore post Tommy Auge (Shakopee, Minn.) matched his 12 points with a team-leading seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Sophomore post Evan Weichert (New Prague, Minn.) chipped in a career-high 11 points in his season debut and senior point guard Baiden Bean (Farmington, Minn.) dished out 10 assists.

The Johnnies held the Yellowjackets to 25 percent (7-for-28), including 1-for-11 from three-point land, to outscore the home team 52-22 after halftime.

SJU outrebounded UWS 44-28 in the win with a 17-8 advantage on the offensive glass, which turned into an 18-6 margin in second-chance points. Gage Braiedy and Nick Nordaune led Superior with 10 points apiece.

WEEKEND OF FIRSTS: This weekend's games are the first for SJU against both Hartford and Western Connecticut State.

A LOOK AT THE HAWKS: Hartford (0-3 overall) fell at Springfield (Mass.) last night (Nov. 12) by a score of 88-64. The Hawks shot 37.5 percent (24-for-64) from the field, including just 2-for-21 (9.5 percent) from three-point range. The Pride, meanwhile, was 57.4 percent (31-for-54) from the floor and 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from three-point land. The Hawks return 11 from last year's team that finished 13-12, including their top six in minutes played. Among those returning is senior (6-foot-4) guard Kyle Winters, a transfer from Division I Siena, who was named to the All-CNE (Conference of New England) second team last season after averaging 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 35.8 minutes per game. Three games in, Winters leads the team in scoring with an average of 10.7 points per contest. Senior (6-foot-4) guard Joshua Petion is the other Hawk in double figures this season at 10.0 thanks to a .722 shooting percentage (13-for-18). 

A LOOK AT THE WOLVES: Western Connecticut State (1-0 overall) started its 2026-27 season with a 66-45 home win over Manhattanville (N.Y.) Wednesday night (Nov. 11) thanks to 32 points in the paint and a 33-point effort from the bench. The Wolves host Bates (Mass.) on Saturday (Nov. 14) before welcoming SJU on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 15). Western Connecticut State was chosen to repeat as Little East Conference champions in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Wolves finished 12-4 to win the regular-season title, proceeded to claim the LEC playoff title and posted a 21-7 record after falling to Catholic (D.C.) 71-69 in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament. WCSU returns one member from last year's All-LEC team in junior (6-foot-8) center Marcel Henry, who averaged 15.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game. Henry dropped 10 points in Wednesday's win. The other returning starter, senior (6-foot-3) guard Elijah Jean-Guillaume, averaged 7.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in 20.7 minutes per game.