Playoff Primer: Cobbers Travel To St. John's For MIAC Semifinals

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/26/26)— No.4 seed travels to No.2 seed St. John's for the semifinals of the MIAC playoffs. The Cobbers advanced to the semifinals by posting a 74-52 win over Carleton in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for all others are $12 for adults and $3 for any students (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC passes will be honored. No other passes will be accepted. Fans can purchase ticked by clicking on the link below.

MIAC Playoff Ticket Site (Hometown Ticketing)

WHAT: MIAC Men's Basketball Semifinals

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Sexton Arena - Collegeville, Minn.

TEAMS: No.4 Seed Concordia (20-6/11-5 MIAC) at No.2 Seed St. John's (15-10/11-5 MIAC)

LIVE LINKS:  Live Video (PPV$) | Live Stats

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Concordia advanced to its first MIAC semifinal game since 2013 by using a dominant inside game to beat Carleton in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Prior to the start of the playoffs, the Cobbers used a 5-game winning streak to finish in a 4-way tie for second place and earn the No.4 seed via the tie-breaking procedure. The second-place finish was the highest for the Cobbers since 2013 and their 11 wins in league play are the most since 2024 when they went 12-8 and finished in fifth place. Concordia also had a 4-game win streak starting in the middle of January which helped CC end the year with a 9-1 mark.

St. John's was one of the four teams tied for second place in the final MIAC regular season standings. The Johnnies claimed the No.2 seed by virtue of the tie-breaker and their sweep over Carleton in the regular season. SJU enters the postseason on a 4-game win streak and won five of its last six games to climb into the tie for second place. St. John's had a slow start to the conference season as they went 1-2 in their three games before the start of the New Year. The Johnnies started the 2026 calendar year by going 4-0 in the MIAC. They stumbled in the next six games, posting a 3-3 record before closing out the year with their 4-game win stretch.    

RECORDS VS. OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS: Concordia went 4-5 against the other five MIAC playoff teams in the regular season. The Cobbers split their season series with the Johnnies, Carleton and St. Olaf. CC beat Augsburg in their only match-up of the year and were swept by regular-season champion Gustavus in their two games. St. John's went 5-4 against the other five MIAC playoff teams. They swept Carleton and Augsburg, were swept by regular-season champion Gustavus and split with the Cobbers. SJU also dropped their only game against St. Olaf which came in the first three games of the league season.       

HOME AND AWAY: Concordia was 9-5 on the road this season in all games and 4-4 in conference games. CC started slowly on the road in the MIAC as they lost their first three games. The Cobbers went 4-1 in their final five games away from Moorhead gainst league opponents with their only loss coming at St. Peter against Gustavus. The Johnnies went 9-3 at home in all games in 2026 and 6-2 in conference play. Their only two losses came against St. Olaf in the MIAC opener and then against Gustavus on Feb. 4.           

PLAYOFF PEDIGREE: Concordia is making its third straight MIAC playoff appearance and 15th overall. The Cobbers are playing in their first semifinal contest since 2013 when they were the No.2 seed and lost at home to Augsburg. Concordia had lost nine straight MIAC tournament games before its win over Carleton on Tuesday. CC is 4-13 all-time in MIAC playoff games and won their only conference playoff championship in 1996 when they beat Carleton in the semifinals and Gustavus in the title game. The Cobbers are 1-10 on the road in the conference playoffs with their only victory coming during the title run in 1996. CC is now 1-3 as the No.4 seed in the tournament.

St. John's is making its 32nd overall appearance in the MIAC playoffs and 14th straight trip. Their 32 trips to the conference tournament are the most of any team in the league. The Johnnies are 31-21 in their 31 previous trips to the MIAC postseason and have won the title on nine different occasions – third most of any team in the conference. SJU is the defending league playoff champion after they beat Hamline and Carleton in last year's tournament. St. John's is 21-8 at home in the conference playoffs and 7-3 as the No.2 seed. The Johnnies won the playoff championship as the No.2 seed in 2025 and 2019.     

PLAYOFF HEAD-TO-HEAD: This will be the third time that Concordia and St. John's have met in the MIAC playoffs with the Johnnies claiming in both of those games. The first meeting in the conference postseason came in 1995 with the No.3 seed SJU posting a 72-67 win over the No.2 seed Cobbers in Moorhead in the semifinals. The last time the schools met in the playoffs was also in the semifinal and came in 2001 in Collegeville. The Johnnies were the No.1 seed that year and used a 52-36 advantage in the second half to post a 69-62 win. Joe Snowden led CC with 16 points and Kermit Cooper had 17 rebounds, while Troy Bigalke put up 20 points and six boards to help SJU get the win.               

| 2001 MIAC Semifinal Recap |
   

REGULAR SEASON MATCH-UP: St. John's won the series opener in Collegeville. The game was decided by a pair of cold stretches for the Cobbers. The Johnnies went on a 15-6 run in the first half and a 15-2 streak in the final period. CC was also done in by a cold shooting touch from the outside down the stretch as they went 1-for-9 from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes of play. SJU outrebounded the Cobbers 43-29 which included a 12-5 edge in offensive rebounds that turned into a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.        

| Game 1 Recap/Box Score: Concordia 65 at St. John's 82 |

The second game of the series was decided in the final 4-minutes of play as Concordia held St. John's scoreless during that stretch, outscored the Johnnies 10-0 and came away with the 2-point win. The game in Moorhead was a back-and-forth affair with seven lead changes and two tie scores in the final 36 minutes of play – including a 32-32 tie ballgame at the half. The shooting totals were similar to the first game with St. John's switching places with CC in the inability to connect from distance.         

| Game 2 Recap/Box Score: St. John's 69 at Concordia 71 |

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: How each team ranks in the MIAC for conference games only.

STAT STARS: Concordia has two of the Top 4 rebounders in the MIAC in conference play. Seniors Jacob Cook and Jackson Loge give the Cobbers a 1-2 punch in almost every stat category. Cook led the league in rebounding (12.1 rpg) and was second in scoring (21.4 ppg). He also led the MIAC in offensive rebounds (48) and was tied for fourth in assists per game (3.6 apg). Loge was fourth in rebounding (8.3 rpg), tied for third in blocks 1.0 bpg), sixth in field goal percentage (58.7%) and 14th in scoring (15.3 ppg). Peyton Belka gives Concordia a 3-headed stat monster. Belka led the league in minutes played (35.4 mpg), was ninth in 3-point field goals per game (2.3) and 11th in 3-point field goal percentage (35.9). First-year forward Payton Schell was a defensive force for the Cobbers. He led the MIAC in blocked shots during the regular season (1.9 bpg).         

St. John's is led in scoring by first-year guard Peyton Podany, who is the frontrunner to be the MIAC Rookie of the Year. Podany was seventh in scoring in the MIAC during the regular season in conference games. He averaged 16.5 points per game and scored in double figures in 13 of the team's 16 league games. He also put up at least 20 points on six occasions. Podany scored 34 points in two of the last three games. He was also second in the league in 3-point field goals per game (2.8), fourth in 3-point percentage (43.3%) and in the Top 20 in rebounds (5.3 rpg). Junior Vincent Hillesheim led the MIAC in field goal percentage (67.5%) and was 13th in rebounding (6.1 rpg). Junior guard Baiden Bean runs the offense. He led the conference in assists per game (5.8), was second in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1) and tied for fourth in steals (1.7 spg).