Saint John’s (12-7, 9-5 MIAC) plays host to St. Olaf (8-11, 6-8 MIAC) this Wednesday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live | Live Stats
Preview Video:
-Head Coach Jim Smith (5:53)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John’s turned the tables in the second half for the second straight game as the Johnnies earned an 81-63 road win at Macalester on Feb. 1. SJU reacted to the 40-40 halftime score with a 20-8 run to start the second half and never looked back. The Johnnies shot 58.3 percent (14-24) in the second half to the Scots’ 31.0 percent (9-29), a reversal from the 58.3 percent-50.0 percent shooting advantage held by Macalester in the game’s first 20 minutes. Sophomore Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and junior Todd Herman (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) led the Johnnies with 17 points apiece, while juniors Sam Blank (Rollingstone, Minn./Winona Cotter) and Nermin Hujdurovic (Tuzla, Bosnia/Medical) added 12 points each. Burns tallied 14 of his 17 points in the second half on 4-5 shooting and a 5-for-6 mark from the free-throw line.
A LOOK AT THE OLES: The Oles are currently riding a four-game losing streak, including a 76-50 loss to Carleton Monday night. Stu Neville led the Oles with 13 points. STO was within one possession, at 23-20, with 8:43 left in the first half. Carleton then made nine of its next 10 shots to close the half on a 19-2 run and post a 44-22 lead at the break.
THE LAST MEETING: Four Johnnies scored in double figures and SJU shot 54.7 percent from the field, including 10-for-20 from three-point range, to defeat St. Olaf 87-81 on Jan. 4 in Northfield.
Junior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) led the Johnnies with 17 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for his fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) followed with 16 points, including a six-for-six performance from the free-throw line in the game’s final 2:16. Blank and sophomore Andrew Latzke (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 10 points apiece. Mark Torell and Bobby Fong led the Oles with 22 and 20 points, respectively. STO and SJU entered the contest 1-2 in the MIAC in free-throw percentage. The Johnnies, however, shot 79.2 percent (19-24) from the charity stripes, while the Oles were just 16 of 26 (61.5 percent).
GOOD RECORD IN COLLEGEVILLE: The Johnnies are 36-5 against the Oles in Collegeville under the direction of head coach Jim Smith. SJU has won 17 of the last 22 meetings overall.