SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus men's basketball is on the road for the team's first NCAA appearance since 2012, heading to Platteville to face 20th-ranked Loras (23-5) in the first round of the national tournament. The Gusties earned the MIAC's automatic bid after defeating Hamline 72-71 in the conference championship last Saturday, while Loras punched its ticket with an 85-76 win over No. 17 Nebraska Wesleyan last weekend to win the American Rivers Conference Tournament. The Gusties' regional bracket also includes host No. 11 UW-Platteville (23-4) and Bethany Lutheran (24-3). Tip-off is set for 5:20 p.m.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

For the first time in school history, the Gustavus men's and women's basketball teams are both dancing in the NCAA Tournament in the same season. The Gustie basketball teams are the first in the MIAC in eight years to sweep the playoff titles (St. Thomas in 2015). 

GUSTIES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

The Gusties are set to make their 14th NCAA appearance (1987, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2024) and first since the 2012 season when the Gusties earned an at-large bid to the tournament. St. Thomas holds the MIAC record for NCAA postseason appearances with 20, but the Gusties' 14 are the most among current conference teams, followed by Saint John's (11). 

The 2012 Gusties fell in the first round of the tournament to Wheaton, 68-60. The program's best finish came in the 2003 season, advancing to the National Championship game in Salem, Va., falling to Williams 67-65 to finish as national runners-up.

THE SERIES

The first round matchup between the Gusties and the Duhawks will be the second meeting between the two programs. The last time they met was in the 1972-73 season, as Loras defeated Gustavus 73-55 in Dubuque. The '73 Gusties finished the year 11-14 overall.

PLAYOFF PATH

The Gusties completed one of the most exciting MIAC postseason runs in conference history last week, winning all three games in epic fashion.

The Gusties defeated Bethel 85-80 in the MIAC quarterfinal, defeating the Royals for the first time all season when it mattered most. The Gusties and Royals exchanged the lead 12 times in the game, before Gustavus went up by five in the final three minutes of the game and never let the Royals back in.

Against Carleton in the semifinal, the Gusties and Knights played in the highest-scoring MIAC playoff game in conference history, winning 124-116 in double overtime. Jonah Anderson made the Gusties' most important shot of the 2023-24 season, beating the buzzer with a jumper to tie the game 94-94 and send the semifinal to overtime. Anderson came off the bench for 12 points, a pair of rebounds, an assist, and a crucial steal, and scored eight points in the two extra frames to lead the Gusties to victory. 

In the title game, despite being outscored 43-34 in the second half, and 10-6 in the final minutes of play, Hamline's buzzer-beater came up short thanks to the defense of Adam Biewen, giving the Gusties a one-point victory in the title game. 

SCOUTING THE GUSTIES

The Gusties ended the regular season with a 15-10 overall record and 14-6 mark in the MIAC to tie for second in the conference standings. The team is averaging 78.9 points per game and holding opponents to 73.0 for a scoring margin of 5.9. The team is shooting 49.0 percent from the field this season, a mark that ranks 12th in the NCAA. The Gusties have consistently ranked in the top shooting teams in the country, and have a three-point percentage of 39.5, which is fourth in the country. The team's 7.2 rebound margin is ranked 24th in Division III. 

SUPER SWANSON

Spencer Swanson was sensational in the Gusties' MIAC playoff run, averaging 21.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 43.3 minutes in all three games. Swanson played every minute of playoff basketball for the Gusties, made a career-high 12 free throws on 13 attempts in the Carleton double OT thriller, and nearly completed a triple-double with 21 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The Waconia native shot an impressive 58.8 percent against Bethel, dominating the court with 10-for-17 shooting and nine rebounds, and led the Gusties in the championship with 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting and 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

KEEPING UP WITH KIENITZ

Brady Kienitz, who scored 20 points only once in the first half of the season, has averaged 19.5 in his last six games, and is easily having the best season of his career. Kienitz has beat his career-high in points five times this season, and tallied a team-high 30 against Carleton last Thursday. In 28 games, Kienitz is shooting 48.3 percent, including a mark of 44.7 from beyond the arc with 72 made 3-pointers. His percentage from beyond the arc ranks ninth in the country heading into the weekend. Kienitz has collected 48 rebounds, 40 assists, nine blocks, and 16 steals in total this season. 

CONFERENCE HONORS

Swanson earned his second consecutive All-MIAC honor after season leading the Gusties in nearly every statistical category. Swanson averaged 19.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.4 blocks and 37.5 minutes per game, all team-leading statistics. The junior became the 34th member of the program's elite 1,000 point club this season, and is the first player to eclipse 1k career points in five years. The star forward has shot 56.0 percent from the field this season, and 50.0 from three, and ranks fourth in the country in minutes per game. Swanson was one of two players to be named both MIAC Offensive Player of the Week and MIAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, and was the only player in the conference to rank in the top-five of scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and minutes. Swanson's 539 points this season are ninth all-time in the Gustie program records, tied with D.L. Smith who scored 539 in the 1956-57 season and one point behind Luke Schmidt (1996-97). His 212 field goals rank seventh and 254 rebounds eighth in program season records, with the Gusties' NCAA Tournament play still left in the season. 

Olson earned his first All-Conference selection after averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in his second year in a Gustie jersey. Olson shot 53.1 percent from the field while starting in all 28 of the Gusties' games this season, averaging 27.4 minutes per contest. The senior knocked down a team-high 79 free throws (sixth/MIAC) on 75.2 percent shooting from the charity stripe. His seven rebounds per conference game was seventh in the league, while his field goal percentage ranked fifth. 

Swanson, Olson, and Adam Biewen led the Gusties to their first MIAC Playoff Championship since 2005, and were all selected to the conference's playoff team. Olson nearly averaged a point/rebound double-double per game, with 13.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, including a career-high 17 boards in the team's overtime victory over Carleton. Adam Biewen made a number of key plays for the team on both sides of the court in the MIAC postseason. The senior put up 15.3 points and 5.7 boards last week. Biewen scored 17 against Bethel, including an impressive steal/dunk to end the game. Against Carleton, Biewen scored 15 in the final 10 minutes of regulation, including a 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock to set the stage for the game-tying buzzer-beater. In the title game, Biewen added the game-winning stop, what would have been a buzzer-beater for the Pipers to take the championship. 

SCOUTING THE DUHAWKS

Loras is back in the NCAA Tournament after a five-year drought. The team is ranked 20th in the country by D3hoops.com, and posted an overall record of 23-5 and 11-5 record in the American Rivers Conference. The Duhawks are one of four ARC teams in the NCAA tourney, joined by No. 19 Nebraska Wesleyan, the University of Dubuque, and No. 25 Coe College. Loras earned the ARC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 3-0 record during the conference tournament this past week to claim their first tournament title since 2008. 

Loras lost its last regular season game to Dubuque, 74-66, but went perfect through the conference postseason, winning 86-62 over Buena Vista in the quarterfinal, 76-73 over Coe in the semis, and upsetting NWU on the road 85-76 in overtime in the title game. 

The Duhawks have posted one of the best offenses in Division III men's hoops this season, averaging in the top-20 of six NCAA statistics. Loras has an assist/turnover ratio of 1.47 (16th/NCAA), 78.0 free throw percentage (9th), 31.6 3-pointers attempted (6th), 11.8 3-pointers made per game (4th), 13.5 point scoring margin, and 85.5 points per game (both 15th in the nation). Loras is shooting 46.5 percent from the field this season, and has held opponents to a mark of 43.8 percent. Loras is the closest team to host UW-Platteville, with only 21.3 miles between the two institutions. 

DUHAWKS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

Friday's game will mark just the second NCAA appearance for the Duhawks in the national tourney, with the only other coming in the 2018-19 season. Loras advanced to the NCAA Sectional Final in the 2019 tournament, winning 75-64 over Albion in the first round, 84-82 over No. 15 North Central in the second round, and falling to eventual national champion No. 4 UW-Oshkosh in the Sweet 16.

SABET'S STATS 

Ali Sabet, who was recently named First Team All-Conference by the ARC, averages 18.9 points per game to lead the team. Sabet scored 24 in the team's ARC championship game on 7-for-12 shooting to lead his squad to an overtime victory. In 28 games so far this season, Sabet averages 31.0 minutes, 18.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. Sabet has the best free throw percentage in the NCAA at 92.9 percent, knocking down 79 of 85 attempts. His 3.21 3-pointers per game rank seventh in the nation, 3-point attempts rank 11th (219), and his total made 90 3-pointers sit fourth in Division III. Sabet has shot 47.1 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from beyond the arc this season.