OSHKOSH, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team takes part in its second tournament in as many weeks beginning Friday, as the Cardinals take part in the UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Classic.



The Matchups:
Friday, Nov. 25 | 1 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (0-2 Overall) vs. UW-Oshkosh (0-2 Overall)
Saturday, Nov. 26 | 3 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (0-2) vs. UW-Eau Claire (3-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals opened their season last weekend at the University of Dallas Tip-Off Classic in Irving, Texas. SMU dropped a 75-71 decision to host University of Dallas on Friday, then fell to Austin College 67-52 on Saturday. … UW-Oshkosh, meanwhile, kicked off its home schedule on Tuesday in Oshkosh, Wis., dropping an 80-72 decision to Augustana, while UW-Eau Claire also opened its home season on Tuesday, outlasting Hamline 77-75 in Eau Claire, Wis.

SMU vs. UW-Oshkosh — Their Last Meeting:
November 22, 2000: The Cardinals and Titans have met just one time in the programs' history, as UW-Oshkosh missed just two of 38 free throw attempts — hitting 33 straight at one point — en route to an 80-55 nonconference victory over the Cardinals in Oshkosh, Wis.

SMU vs. UW-Eau Claire — Their Last Meeting:
November 25, 2006: UW-Eau Claire took advantage of the Cardinals' ice-cold second-half shooting to build on its four-point halftime advantage, as the Blugolds handed SMU it second straight loss with a 78-65 nonconference win at the SMU Gym.

SMU Up Next:
Following Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire, the Cardinals are off until Wednesday, when they kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a road game at St. Olaf. Tip-off in Northfield, Minn., is set for 7:30 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a career-high 19 points in the Cardinals' four-point loss to University of Dallas in their season-opening last Friday, while Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) equaled his career-best with a team-leading 14 points against Austin a day later. … Evan Pederson (La Crosse, Wis.) and Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) also enjoyed career games last weekend, as Pederson — playing in his first collegiate game on Friday vs. U. of Dallas — scored 11 points, while adding eight rebounds and four assists — while Gores tossed in a career-best 12 points against Austin. … Pederson, Freeman and Gores all missed out on their first collegiate double-doubles by two rebounds last weekend. … Freeman enters this weekend's games at the UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Classic averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg, while Burfeind (12.5 ppg) and Pederson (10.0 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Gores has hauled in a team-high 12 rebounds in two games, with Pederson one back with 11 boards. … The Cardinals, who closed out the 2010-2011 season as the top free-throw shooting team in all of NCAA Division III — shooting a school-record .794 from the line (394-for-496) — drained 42 of 54 free throw attempts (.778) last weekend. … SMU went to the free throw line 31 times against the Crusaders last Friday, converting on 25 of those 31 attempts. … SMU opens its season with five straight road games — including the Cardinals' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at Carleton on Nov. 30 — before kicking off its home schedule on Dec. 2 with a 3 p.m. contest against St. Olaf at the SMU Gym.

UW-Oshkosh Titans News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Titans enter Friday's game against Saint Mary's looking for their first win of the season, having fallen to St. Norbert (65-50) and second-ranked Augustana (80-72). … UW-Oshkosh's loss to St. Norbert on Nov. 15 marked just the sixth time in the past 28 seasons that the Titans have lost their season opener. … UW-Oshkosh is coming off back-to-back 11-14 records the past two seasons, including identical 5-11 marks in the WIAC. … The Titans boast four returners — including a pair of starters from last year's squad. John Flanigan topped the squad with averages of 15.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg. He picked up right where he left off in the Titans' first two games, totaling 18 points and 10 boards against St. Norbert, while adding 19 points and six rebounds against Augustana. … Greg Schrimpf has started 72 games during his three-plus seasons at UW-Oshkosh. He was second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) last year. … UW-Oshkosh has posted at least 16 victories in 12 of the past 16 years. That includes 21-plus wins during 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2007.

UW-Eau Claire Blugolds News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
UW-EC coach Kyle Green is in his first year with the Blugolds. He previously was head coach at Division II Lewis University and Western Colorado for 3 years combined. Most recently served as assistant at Northern Iowa, a Division I school. … Green picked up his first home win as the Blugolds' head coach last Tuesday against Hamline — his alma mater, having graduated from HU in 1992. … Jordan Petersen is leading the Blugolds in scoring (12.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.7 rebounds per game) this season. He started all eight games for the Blugolds in the second semester last year, after transferring from Winona State earlier in the year. … At the season-opening UW-Platteville Classic last weekend, the Blugolds split against North Park and Concordia (Wis.). In the 54-52 loss to North Park, the Blugolds led by as many as 18 points in the first half. Against Concordia on Saturday, the Blugolds trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half and went on to win 68-63. … Nick Craggs came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points in UW-Eau Claire's win over Hamline Tuesday, while Andy Kleist chipped in a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and Alex Anderson added 10 points. … Petersen and Craggs enter this weekend's UW-Oshkosh Tournament leading the team in scoring, averaging 10.5 ppg and 10.2 ppg, respectively. … The Blugolds' 77 points against Hamline Tuesday were a season high. … UW-Eau Claire has won its last two games by a combined seven points.