SAINT PETER, Minn. – The No. 11 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men's basketball team will take on the Augsburg University Auggies on Thursday, February 26 at 8:00 p.m. at Gus Young Court in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff Semifinals.
 
GUSTIES LEADING THE WAY
The Gusties enter the conference postseason as the No. 1 seed after winning their second consecutive MIAC Championship. Gustavus is 23-2 overall and went 15-1 against conference opponents during the regular season. Having secured a first-round bye, the Gusties open their conference playoff run tonight in the semifinals.
 
Myles Barnette leads Gustavus with 18.3 points per game on 59.1% shooting. The junior is also averaging 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game.
 
Jake Schmitt followed Barnette with 15.5 points per game this season. The junior leads the MIAC with an average of 3.0 three-point buckets per game, shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc.
 
AUGGIE AMBITION
No. 6 seeded Augsburg enters the semifinals after upsetting the No. 3 seeded St. Olaf College Oles 69-68 in the quarterfinals. The Auggies trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half and by six points with just 2:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Augsburg closed out the final three minutes on a 9-2 run to take the one-point win. Now in the semifinals, the Auggies will travel to Saint Peter to take on the top ranked team in the conference.
 
Augsburg is led by JJ Semanko, who is averaging 17.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 49.2% from the field.
 
Elias Batala follows, averaging 15.0 points per game on 51.6% shooting from the floor.
 
MOST RECENT HEAD-TO-HEAD CONTEST
The last time these two teams met was just over a month ago on January 24 this year. Eli Wolff led the way for the Gusties in that game with a 30-point performance on 9-for-11 shooting from long range, just one make shy of the all-time program record, as Gustavus defeated the Auggies 101-88.
 
Barnette followed Wolff with 19 points and added six rebounds and four assists. Carson Koch led the team with nine rebounds. Andrew Quam had a team-high six assists.
 
Second chance points were huge for the Gustavus in the win as they outscored Augsburg 17-3 off of those opportunities in the game and 13-0 in the second half alone. Fast break points were beneficial for the Auggies, as they bested the Gusties 24-11 in that statistic.
 
MOTIVATION & MOMENTUM
The Gusties enter this year's MIAC Playoffs still frustrated with how their 2025 postseason went. Last year, the Gusties clinched the 2025 MIAC Championship with an upset 66-62 win over No. 6 St. John's but then fell in their regular season finale the following week 73-61 to Carleton. Facing the Knights again the next week in the MIAC semifinals, Carleton again upset the Gusties 75-64 to end Gustavus' playoff run right as it was starting.
 
This year, the nationally ranked Gusties enter the postseason looking to make a splash as they seek to wash away the bitterness of last year. Gustavus has momentum on their side, having scored 244 combined points in the past two games: defeating St. Scholastica 124-66 last Thursday before then taking down Saint Mary's 120-92 last Saturday in their regular season finale.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY
Thursday's two semifinal winners will meet on Saturday, February 28 in the 2026 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoff Championship. The game is tentatively scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on the home court of the highest remaining seed. The MIAC Playoff champion will receive the playoff championship trophy and the Conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
 
PLAYOFF ADMISSION
All tickets will be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at any venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device, including while at the venue. Playoff tickets will go on sale after the regular season has concluded.
 
General Admission: $12 (plus HTT service charge)
Students with ID: $3 (plus HTT service charge)
Children 5 and Under: Free
* MIAC passes accepted
 
PAY-PER-VIEW
The 2026 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Individual playoff contests will be streamed for $10 each, or $25 for a "championship pass" to stream the entire tournament live. On-demand access to playoff games will be available after the NCAA Tournament concludes.
 
The MIAC Sports Network Help Page provides guidance and links to help fans navigate the streaming platform. Hudl Customer Support is also available by email or 24/7 chat to assist with any issues.
 
2025 MIAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026
No. 6 Augsburg 69, No. 3 St. Olaf 68 | Box Score |
No. 4 Concordia 74, No. 5 Carleton 52 | Box Score |
 
Semifinals | Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026
No. 4 Concordia at No. 2 Saint John's | 7:00 PM | Tickets | Live Stats | PPV Stream |
No. 6 Augsburg at No. 1 Gustavus | 8:00 PM | Tickets | Live Stats | PPV Stream |
 
Championship | Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026
High-seed Host | 7:00 PM | Tickets | Live Stats | PPV Stream |
 
| 2026 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs |