IRVING, Texas — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team kicks off its season on the road Friday and Saturday, taking on the University of Dallas and Austin College at the University of Dallas Tip-Off Classic.



The Matchups:
Friday, Nov. 18 | 8 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (0-0 Overall) at U. of Dallas Crusaders (0-1 Overall)
Saturday, Nov. 19 | 1 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (0-0) vs. Austin College Kangaroos (1-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
Today's game is the season opener for the Cardinals. SMU is coming off an 9-16 season a year ago that included a 4-16 mark in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. … University of Dallas, meanwhile, kicked off its season on Tuesday, falling to UT-Dallas 81-54 in Richardson, Texas, and Austin College opened with a 76-72, come-from-behind win against Texas-Tyler in Sherman, Texas.

SMU vs. University of Dallas Tournament Field:
This weekend's matchups against the University of Dallas and Austin College are the first-ever meetings between the schools.

SMU Up Next:
Following Saturday's game against Austin College, the Cardinals are back in action on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25-26, when they travel to Oshkosh, Wis., to take part in the UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Tournament. SMU faces host UW-Oshkosh on Friday at 1 p.m., while squaring off against UW-Eau Claire at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2010-11 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Cardinals closed out the season as the top free-throw shooting team in all of NCAA Division III. SMU shot a school-record .794 from the line (394-for-496). … Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored a game-high 27 points in SMU's exhibition loss to NCAA Division II Concordia-St. Paul on Nov. 9. Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in 18 points vs. the Golden Bears. … The Cardinals open the season without their top three scorers from a year ago in Chris Palmer (17.5 ppg), Will Wright (16.7 ppg) and Lukas Holland (11.3 ppg). … Palmer led the Cardinals' free throw prowess, ranking No. 1 in the MIAC by draining 143 of his 159 free throws — including a 21-for-23 performance against Macalester on Jan. 29. The 21 free throws made tied the MIAC single-game record, originally set in 1957. … Wright, meanwhile, closed out an illustrious four-year career as the fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,772 career points. … Holland also closed the book on a stellar career at SMU, scoring 1,362 career points to rank No. 7 all-time. … SMU had a pair of 20-point scorers in the same game twice last season. … SMU's 35 free throws made and 43 free throws attempted against Macalester on Dec. 4 were both season highs, and the most since the Cardinals went 37-for-47 against Hamline on Feb. 11, 2009. … With their win over Macalester on Jan. 29, the Cardinals improved to a perfect 6-0 against the Scots under Coach Landrum. … The Cardinals' 8-1 start to the season a year ago marked the second-best opening to a season in program history.

University of Dallas Crusaders News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Crusaders are coming off a 4-23 season a year ago that ended with back-to-back losses to eventual tournament champion Chapman (73-43) and Nebraska Wesleyan (57-55) at the Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) Postseason Tournament. … The Crusaders' 17-man 2011-12 roster includes 13 freshmen. … U. of Dallas boasted four players who averaged in double figures a year ago, but only one — Braeton Hightower (10.2 ppg) is back this season. … Three of the Crusaders' four wins last season came on their home floor. UD was 1-13 on the road a year ago. … Tanner Bruffey scored a team-high 11 points in his first collegiate game against UT-Dallas Tuesday, while Hightower chipped in 10 points. … Dallas scored 27 points in each half of its season opener against UT-Dallas Tuesday, while surrendering 41 points in the first half and 40 in the second.

Austin College Kangaroos News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The 'Roos return four starters — Josh Saunders, Walter Phillips, Jordan Hancock and Ransom Okpala — from last year's 12-14 team that finished third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. … Last year's berth in the SCAC Tournament marked the fourth straight year Austin has qualified for post-season play. … Austin returns seven of its top nine scorers, led by Hancock, who averaged 13.9 ppg a year ago as a freshman, earning him third-team All-SCAC honors. … Saunders, meanwhile, was an honorable-mention All-SCAC selection a year ago, after leading the conference in block shots (42). Saunders, who averaged 11.3 ppg, also boasted a team-best 175 rebounds (6.7 rpg). … Phillips was the team's second-leading scorer in 2010-11, averaging 12.9 ppg, while also leading the SCAC in field goal percentage (62.3%). … Antoine Thompson scored 18 points off the bench to lead Austin in its season-opening win against Texas-Tyler Tuesday, while Saunders tallied 14 points and Hancock added 13. … Among the new faces on the Austin roster is Greg Harrell, who joined the team this year after being a First-Team All-SCAC wide receiver for the Austin football team in 2009 and 2010.