WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team kicks off its home schedule on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. Opening tip is set for 3 p.m.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 MIAC | 0-5 Overall)
vs. St. Olaf Oles (0-1 MIAC | 1-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals could not get in any offensive rhythm in the first half in falling to Carleton 93-48 in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday in Northfield, Minn. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, also dropped its conference opener on Wednesday on the road, falling to defending national champion St. Thomas 72-56 in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
January 5, 2011: Chris Palmer scored 16 points and added 13 rebounds, but it was not enough, as the Cardinals dropped a 65-55 conference decision to the Oles at the SMU Gym.
February 9, 2011: Chris Palmer recorded his second double-double in as many meetings with the Oles, netting 15 points and hauling in 11 rebounds, but St. Olaf scored the game's first seven points and never looked back, beating SMU 83-65 in an MIAC at Skoglund Arena in Northfield, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return to the road on Monday, traveling to Collegeville, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Saint John's. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, heads back to Skoglund Arena in Northfield, Minn., on Monday, hosting Macalester in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC tilt.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Saturday's game against St. Olaf is the home opener for the Cardinals, who played their first five games away from the SMU Gym, and will play nine of their first 11 contests on the road. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) scored a career-high 14 points in the Cardinals' loss to Carleton on Wednesday. It was the third time in five games that the SMU freshman has netted 10 or more points. … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in 12 points and six rebounds against the Knights Wednesday. … Burfeind, who netted 24 and 21 points, respectively, in last weekend's two games at the UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Classic, has scored 10 or more points four times this season. … Burfeind's 24-point effort against UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 25 was a career high. … The Cardinals boasted five players — Burfeind (24), Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 13), LaMonte Hall (Minneapolis, Minn. / 12), Pederson (Onalaska, Wis. / 10) and Brandon Larsen (Rochester, Minn. / 10) — in double figures against UW-Oshkosh. It was the first time since Feb. 10, 2010 that the Cardinals recorded five double-figure scorers in a game. … Hall's 12-point effort and Larsen's 10-point showing vs. the Titans were career-bests. … Burfeind enters Saturday's game against St. Olaf averaging a team-best 16.4 ppg, while Freeman is also averaging in double figures at 11.4 ppg. … Pederson has dished out a team-high 21 assists through five games, while Burfeind is tops in rebounds with 22 (4.4 rpg). … As a team, the Cardinals committed just three turnovers vs. UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 25, the fewest since recording three turnovers against Augsburg on Feb. 10, 2007. … 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) — are 92-for-117 (79 percent) from the line this season.  … SMU went to the free throw line a season-high 32 times against UW-Oshkosh last Friday, converting on 28 of those 32.

St. Olaf Oles News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Saturday's game is the fifth straight road game for St. Olaf. … The Oles enter Saturday's game at Saint Mary's looking to snap their season-high four-game losing streak. … St. Olaf was held below 60 points for the second time in its last four games Wednesday in its 72-56 loss at St. Thomas. The Oles netted a season-low 55 points in a 65-55 loss at Luther on Nov. 21. … On the flip side, St. Olaf has surrendered 70 or more points in each of its last three games. … Stu Neville scored a team-high 20 points against St. Thomas Wednesday, while Sterling Nielson came off the bench to chip in 13 points. … Neville has now led the team in scoring in its last two games and in four of the Oles' five games this season. … Neville canned a season-high 24 points in St. Olaf's 79-76 loss at Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 26. … Neville enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's boasting a team-best 17.8 ppg, while Bobby Fong is close behind at 16.8 ppg. … Fong and Neville have accounted for 33 of the team's 56 made free throws this season, with Fong going 14-for-27 from the line, while Neville is 19-for-26. … St. Olaf has been outscored 170-161 in the first half and 178-171 after halftime.