NORTHFIELD, Minn. – After a first-round bye, the fifth-seeded St. Olaf College men's basketball team heads to St. Peter to take on fourth-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Wednesday evening.

St. Olaf (15-10) secured the No. 5 seed in the MIAC Playoffs with an 11-9 record in conference play during the regular season and will hit the road to face No. 4 seed Gustavus (14-8, 11-6 MIAC) in the quarterfinals at 7:45 p.m. at Gus Young Court. The game will tip-off at 7:45 p.m. due to the Gusties hosting a women's quarterfinal beforehand at 5:45 p.m.

Fans are permitted to attend the game but must be properly masked per MIAC policy. Tickets are $10 for adults and $2 for students (ages six and up). Seniors (62+) and children five and under get in free. MIAC passes will be honored but no other passes will be accepted. Fans unable to attend the game in-person can follow along via live video and live stats.

The winner of Wednesday night's quarterfinal will advance to take on the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 1 seed Saint John's and No. 8 seed Hamline in the semifinals on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The other quarterfinals see No. 6 seed Macalester visit No. 3 seed Carleton (7 p.m.) and No. 7 seed Bethel visit No. 2 seed Augsburg (7:45 p.m.).

St. Olaf is making its 14th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs and is 5-11 all-time in the tournament. The Oles are in the field for the ninth time in the last 11 editions of the MIAC Playoffs and have won the tournament on two occasions (2014, 2016). St. Olaf has made it to the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs in five of its last six appearances in the tournament.

The Oles and Gusties split the two regular-season meetings with both teams winning on their home court. Both games were decided by six points or fewer.

St. Olaf led for over 30 minutes in the home meeting on Nov. 23 and was up by 10 early in the second half before the Gusties came back to take a 54-53 lead with 1:46 remaining. The Oles scored the next four points – including a fast break dunk by senior Carter Uphus with 10 seconds to go – to take a three-point lead and held on for a 57-54 win as the Gusties missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

In the Jan. 26 meeting in St. Peter, St. Olaf rallied from a 13-point deficit midway through the second half to force overtime before falling in the extra session by a 96-90 score. Gustavus led 67-54 with 9:50 remaining in regulation before the Oles exploded for 29 points over the remainder of the second half to send the game to overtime. Kaleb Feahn scored seven of his game-high 30 points in overtime to help the Gusties salvage a split.

Wednesday night's game will be the fifth head-to-head meeting between the two programs in the MIAC Playoffs and the Gusties have won three of the previous four postseason encounters. The Oles won the most recent meeting with a 66-53 victory in the semifinals in 2014.

Entering the postseason, St. Olaf has three of the top-20 scorers in the MIAC, led by fifth-year senior Dominic Bledsoe, who is seventh in the conference at 15.0 points per game. Bledsoe also leads the conference in steals (2.4) and is fourth in assists (3.0), while ranking in the top 20 in field-goal percentage (.469) and three-point field-goal percentage (.339). He also leads the conference and ranks in the top 10 nationally in minutes per game (37.6).

Senior Nathan Hendler ranks third in the conference in field-goal percentage (.540) and fourth in three-point field-goal percentage (.438), while sitting 15th in the conference in scoring (12.7). Sophomore Connor Martin is second in the MIAC in assists (3.8), 10th in field-goal percentage (.510), and 20th in scoring (12.1). Martin has scored in double figures in 18 games in a row dating back to Dec. 11, while Hendler has scored at least 10 points in the last 11 games going back to Jan. 15.