DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team heads to the U.P. of Michigan on Wednesday to face Finlandia University (Mich.) and then hosts Crown College at the Reif Gymnasium on Saturday.
Where:
Wednesday
Paavo Nurmi Center – Hancock, Mich.
Saturday
Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Wednesday at Finlandia – 5:30 p.m. (ET)
Saturday vs. Crown – 3 p.m.
Live Video vs. Finlandia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b18IUHHA4Gs
Live Video vs. Crown: http://csssaints.com/watch/?Live=89
Live Stats vs. Crown: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/mbball/
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/Csssaintsbball
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 6-7, 3-3 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints are coming off a four-point home loss to the University of Northwestern (Minn.) on Saturday.
-The last three home losses for CSS have been by a combined eight points.
-The last four losses overall have been by a combined 14 points.
-CSS has equaled the amount of the losses at the Reif Gymnasium this season (4), compared to the previous two seasons combined.
-The Saints are 0-5 in games decided by 10 points or less this year after going 16-7 in those games the past two seasons.
-CSS averaged around 23 free throw attempts per game the last two seasons and is currently at 18.5 per game this season.
-St. Scholastica has shot below 21 percent on 3-point attempts in all three of its conference losses.
-The Saints have the second-lowest shooting percentage from beyond the arc (.318) in the conference and have attempted 20 more 3-pointers than any other team in the league.
-The CSS defense leads the conference in points allowed (70.6), turnovers forced (13.6) and steals (89).
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Collin Anderson (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) leads the UMAC with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-The Saints rank eighth in NCAA Division III with a 1.52 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-St. Scholastica ranks sixth in the nation, averaging only 10.6 turnovers per game.
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Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) has recorded the second-most steals in the conference (23).
-CSS is 6-1 this season when it scores at least 40 points in a half.
What You Need to Know about Finlandia:
-The Lions enter Wednesday's matchup with a 2-9 overall record.
-Finlandia has lost five straight and have not played since December 30.
-The Lions have fallen by 30 points in each of their last two defeats.
-The Lions have played at home only twice this season and are 1-1.
-Finlandia is also 1-1 against the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), falling to Northland, but defeating Crown.
-Geoff Smart leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game.
-Brandon Robinette also averages double-figures at 12.1 points per game.
-Robinette leads the team with an average of 7.5 rebounds per game.
-The Lions have the third-worst turnover margin in the NCAA Division III at -8.1.
Series Record: CSS leads 23-8
(Last Meeting: 94-87 CSS – 1/28/2017)
Series History: The Saints have won five straight in the series and 11 of the last 12 overall … Seven of St. Scholastica's eight losses in the series have come in Hancock … CSS has won the last two meetings at Finlandia, but have never won three straight in Hancock.
What You Need to Know about Crown:
-The Storm hosts conference leader Bethany Lutheran College on Wednesday before facing the Saints Saturday.
-Crown currently holds a 6-7 overall record and is 2-3 in conference play.
-The Storm is coming off a buzzer-beating one-point loss at Northland College on Saturday.
-All five of their league games have been decided by eight points or less.
-In fact, six games this season have been decided by five points or less and the Storm are just 1-5 in those games.
-Crown holds the best scoring margin in the UMAC at +9.3 and has the highest field goal percentage (.481).
-The Storm also has the best field goal percentage defense (.428) in the league.
-The Storm lead the UMAC with a +8.2 rebounding margin.
-Crown has three players in the top 11 in the conference in scoring.
-Timothy Wendel and Austin VanDerHeyden each average over 17 points per game.
-Josh Volness and Wendel are the only players in the conference to average at least 2.5 made 3-pointers per game.
-Both lead the conference with 35 made 3-point field goals.
-VanDerHeyden is third in the UMAC in field goal percentage (.523) and is second in free throw percentage (.897).
Series Record: CSS leads 33-5
(Last Meeting: 85-73 CSS – 2/18/2017)
Series History: The last time the Storm visited The Reif, they came away with their first-ever victory in Duluth … Wendel and VanDerHeyden combined for 48 of the team's 84 points in the victory … The Saints have won seven of the last eight in the series.
Looking Ahead: The Saints travel East on Highway 2 to face Northland College on Wednesday, January 17.
