The Gustavus men’s basketball team will host Bethel College in a MIAC Playoff semifinal game on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30 pm. The Royals advanced to the semifinals by defeating Carleton 83-76 in Arden Hills on Tuesday night.
The Gusties are making their eighth appearance in the MIAC Playoffs in the past nine years. This is the first time since 1996-97 that Gustavus is the top seed. Coach Mark Hanson’s squad won the MIAC Playoff Championship with a convincing 62-36 win over St. Thomas in St. Paul.
The Royals are making their fifth consecutive appearance in the MIAC Playoffs. Bethel lost a heartbreaker (65-64) to Gustavus in St. Peter in the tournament semifinals last year. This will be the fourth time in the past five years that the two teams have met in the tournament semifinals.
Gustavus and Bethel will be meeting for the third time this season. The Gusties claimed victories in both meetings including a 74-44 win in Arden Hills on January 17 and a 65-49 win in St. Peter last Wednesday.
The game time is set for 7:30 pm on Thursday night. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for students. Only MIAC passes will be accepted at the gate and children five and under are free. Tickets will go on sale one hour before the game starts at the main entrance to the gym.
You can listen to the game in the St. Peter area on KRBI Radio (1310 am) or worldwide over the internet. Clay Kepner will be announcing the play-by-play. You can access the the link to the internet broadcast at this address: http://www.gustavus.edu/oncampus/athletics/audio.cfm.
The winner of the Gustavus/Bethel contest will play the winner of the Macalester/Concordia matchup for the MIAC Playoff Champion on Saturday night at the site of the highest remaining seed. The winner of the MIAC Playoff Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.