NORTHFIELD, Minn. – After knocking off third-seeded Augsburg in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night, the sixth-seeded St. Olaf College men's basketball team faces top-seeded Saint John's University in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Thursday evening.

St. Olaf (13-13) advanced to the semifinals with a 76-68 win over Augsburg in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The Oles trailed by four at halftime but used a 10-0 run to start the second half to take the lead for good.

Saint John's (23-2) shared the MIAC regular-season title with St. Thomas and was designated as the top seed in the six-team tournament as the result of a coin toss conducted by the conference office. As one of the top-two seeds, the Johnnies received a bye into the semifinals.

TICKET INFO
$10 - General Admission
$2 - Students with ID
Free - Children 5 and under
*MIAC passes accepted

MIAC PLAYOFF BRACKET
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 | 7:00 p.m. |
No. 6 St. Olaf 76, No. 3 Augsburg 68 | Recap | Box Score
No. 5 Saint Mary's 72, No. 4 Bethel 59 | Recap | Box Score

Semifinals | Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 | 7:00 p.m. |
No. 6 St. Olaf at No. 1 Saint John's | Live Video | Live Stats
No. 5 Saint Mary's at No. 2 St. Thomas | Live Video | Live Stats

Championship | Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 | 7:00 p.m. |
Highest remaining seed will host

QUARTERFINAL RECAP
Augsburg led 38-34 at halftime before St. Olaf held the Auggies scoreless for the first 3:22 of the second half as part of a 10-0 run to take the lead for good. The Oles built up a 55-42 lead with under 12 minutes to go but the Auggies chipped away and got back within three on three occasions in the final 3:15.

With St. Olaf clinging to a 69-66 lead, senior Noah Beck hit a three-pointer from in front of the Ole bench to push St. Olaf's lead to six with 41 seconds to go. Augsburg missed a three-pointer on the next possession and, after three fouls got the Oles into the bonus, senior Nate Albers knocked down two free throws to seal the victory.

Albers paced St. Olaf with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals, while first year Michael Meriggioli matched his career high with 16 points and added seven rebounds. The duo combined to score 17 of the Oles' first 19 points in the second half to help St. Olaf shoot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the field after halftime.

The victory was St. Olaf's first in the MIAC Playoffs since winning the second of its two tournament titles in 2016. The appearance in the semifinals is the fifth in the last seven seasons for head coach Dan Kosmoski's program.

SERIES HISTORY
Saint John's has won nine of the last 11 meetings in the series between the two programs dating back to Dec. 5, 2015. The Johnnies have come out on top in each of the last five games in Collegeville, as St. Olaf's last win at Sexton Arena came by an 84-73 margin on Dec. 10, 2014.

Saint John's swept the two regular-season meetings with St. Olaf this season, picking up a 91-75 win at Skoglund Center on Jan. 6 and a 68-53 home victory on Feb. 5. In the meeting in Northfield, all five SJU starters scored in double figures as the Johnnies built a 13-point halftime lead and used a 31-for-36 performance at the free-throw line to secure the victory. St. Olaf led 21-9 midway through the first half in Collegeville before Saint John's used a 10-0 run to close the half to take a 30-28 lead at the break on its way to a 15-point win.

ST. OLAF POSTSEASON HISTORY
The Oles are making their 13th all-time appearance in the MIAC Playoffs (1989, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and have missed the tournament just twice in the last 10 seasons. St. Olaf has won the MIAC Playoffs twice (2014, 2016) and is 6-10 all-time in the tournament.

St. Olaf and Saint John's are meeting for just the third time in the MIAC Playoffs, with all three meetings coming in the semifinals. The Oles topped the Johnnies, 91-80, in the semifinals in 2016 on their way to their second tournament title in three seasons. The Johnnies won the first postseason encounter between the teams by a 65-53 margin in the semifinals in 1993.

SCOUTING SAINT JOHN'S
Saint John's won a share of its ninth MIAC regular-season title with a 19-1 mark in conference play and moved up one spot to No. 3 in the country in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Despite being ranked third nationally, the Johnnies sit in third in the third set of NCAA West Region rankings, trailing St. Thomas and Nebraska Wesleyan.

Nationally, Saint John's commits the fewest turnovers per game (9.5) in NCAA Division III and also ranks in the top 10 in scoring defense (6th, 61.3), field-goal percentage (7th, .502), rebounding margin (8th, +9.6), and three-point field-goal percentage (8th, .395).

The Johnnies are making their 27th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs, which is the second-most of any program to St. Thomas (31). Saint John's has qualified for the tournament in each of the last nine seasons and is 23-20 overall in the MIAC Playoffs, including a 14-7 record in Collegeville.