vs.
Saint Mary's Cardinals   0-0 Overall		Winona State Warriors   0-0 Overall

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Last Action: Tonight's game is the season opener for the Cardinals. … Winona State, meanwhile, are coming off a pair of exhibition victories, having edged UW-La Crosse 79-76 last Saturday and UW-Superior 91-79 on Wednesday.

Last Meeting: Winona State made SMU its 45th straight regular-season victim in convincing fashion a year ago, as the Warriors gunned down the Cardinals in convincing fashion, 118-53.

All-Time Series: The Cardinals have dropped their last 21 meetings vs. Winona State, dating back to a 55-46 victory on Nov. 22, 1986. SMU, however, owns a 44-41 record all-time against WSU.

Probable Starters:

Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0)	Pos.
#3 Lukas Holland (So., 13.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg)	G
#34 Will Wright (So., 17.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg)	G
#12 Brad Knights (Jr., 2.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg)	F
#33 Josh Knghts (Jr., 5.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg)	F
#25 Pat Conway (So., 1.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg)	C
Winona State Warriors (0-0)	Pos
#3 Travis Whipple (Sr., 6.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg)	G
#5 Curtrel Robinson (Sr., 6.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg)	G
#11 Ben Fischer (So., 5.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg)	G
#24 David Johnson (Jr., 11.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg)	G
#41 Ryan Gargaro (Sr., 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)	F

Cardinal Notes: Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) earned All-MIAC honorable-mention and All-MIAC First-Year Team honors a year ago. … Wright was the team's scoring leader, averaging 17.3 ppg in 25 games. He also led the team in scoring in 17 of SMU's 25 games … Wright closed out his freshman year scoring 10 or more points in 22 of SMU's 25 games. … Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.), who scored a career-best 30 points in SMU's season-finale vs. Concordia, finished second on the team in scoring with a 13.2 ppg average. … Holland and Wright led the team in scoring in 22 of their 25 games — including the last 17 in a row. … Wright finished the season ranked fourth in the MIAC in scoring (19.1 ppg), while he and Holland were sixth and seventh, respectively, in the conference in free-throw percentage (81-for-97, 8.35 / 52-63, .825). …. …  With their season-ending 81-77 loss at Concordia, the Cardinals closed out their season having lost three straight and 14 of their last 15. … Both of the Cardinals' wins last season came on the road — SMU was 0-10 on its home floor. SMU's last home win was an 84-70 victory over Hamline on Jan. 27, 2007, a span of 11 straight games. … SMU surrendered 70 or more points 21 times in its 25 games a year ago. SMU also gave up 100 or more points twice — a 118-53 loss to NCAA Division II Winona State on Nov. 17 and a 100-49 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 23 … SMU scored a season-high 89 points in an 89-75 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 5. … As a team, the Cardinals averaging 64.1 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at an 80.6 ppg clip. … Both of SMU's wins came in conference play — SMU went 0-5 against nonconference foes Winona State, Luther, Nebraska Wesleyan, Minnesota State-Mankato and Loyola.

Warrrior Notes: The Warriors are coming off three spectacular seasons, which included three trips to the NCAA Division II National Championship game — including two NCAA Division II National Championships — 2005-06 and 2007-08 — and three straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Championships. … The Warriors enter the 2008-09 season with a 27-game winning streak and a No. 8 ranking in the Division II Bulletin preseason poll. … WSU opens the season minus graduated seniors Jonte Flowers, John Smith and Quincy Henderson. The trio boasted three of WSU's top four scorers a year ago. Flowers averaged a team-best 17.9 ppg, while Smith (17.5 ppg) also averaged in double figures. Henderson closed out his senior season averaging 8.8 ppg. … In their two exhibition games this season. the Warriors have scored 79 and 91 points, while allowing 76 and 79.