MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team hits the road on Saturday, traveling to Augsburg for a 3 p.m. game against the Auggies at Si Mellby Hall.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-11 MIAC | 5-16 Overall)
at Augsburg Auggies (11-6 MIAC | 14-8 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Streaming Audio/Video

Last Action:
Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a team-high 15 points, but it was not enough, as league-leading Gustavus pulled away for a 64-44 MIAC victory at the SMU Gym Wednesday. … Augsburg, meanwhile, held off Macalester, beating the Scots 58-56 Wednesday evening in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Augsburg — Earlier This Year:
January 14, 2012: In a game that saw 13 lead changes and neither team owning a lead of bigger than five points, SMU's first meeting with Augsburg went right down to the wire. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, despite boasting four players in double figures, it was the Auggies who came out on top, as Augsburg knocked down four free throws over the final 44 seconds to escape the SMU Gym with a 65-61 win over the Cardinals.

SMU vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
December 1, 2010: The Cardinals, fresh off back-to-back wins over Crown and Luther to kick off the season, had their sights set on their third straight win, after racing out to a 31-25 halftime advantage against visiting Augsburg. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Auggies frustrated them with a number of different defensive looks in the second half — and Augsburg walked out of the SMU Gym with a 63-54 come-from-behind win.
January 19, 2011: SMU boasted four players in double figures — and enjoyed a sizzling 7-for-10 showing from behind the 3-point line in building a 10-point halftime lead, but Augsburg rallied to outscore SMU 37-24 over the final 20 minutes in handing the Cardinals a 68-65 MIAC setback in Minneapolis, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action — and right back on the road — as SMU travels to Arden Hills, Minn., Monday for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Bethel. … Augsburg, meanwhile, plays its second straight home game on Monday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC contest at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Beginning with Saturday's game at Augsburg, SMU plays three of its final four games on the road. … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a team-high 15 points against Gustavus Wednesday. … Burfeind — who owns the top five individual offensive outputs this season — has now scored in double figures in 20 of the Cardinals' 21 games. … Burfeind's 22-point effort against Concordia on Jan. 30 marked the ninth time this season the SMU junior has scored 20 or more points. …  Burfeind's career-high 38 points against Concordia on Dec. 7 was the first 30-point effort of Burfeind's career and was the most scored by a Cardinal since Will Wright tossed in 41 against MacMurray (Ill.) on Nov. 22, 2008. … Burfeind, who recorded his first collegiate double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds in SMU's first meeting against Saint John's on Dec. 5, enters Saturday's game at Augsburg as the team leader in scoring (19.5 ppg). He also boasts a team-best .836 free throw percentage, going 112-for-134. … Burfeind's 19.5 ppg average ranks him second in the MIAC in scoring. … Gustavus held Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) to six points Wednesday, snapping a string of six straight games in which Burfeind and Freeman both scored in double figures. … In his last three games, Freeman has netted 39 points — 26 of which have come in the second half. … After scoring in double figures just 11 times in his first three seasons, Freeman has scored 10 or more points 12 times this season. … Freeman led the team with eight rebounds against Gustavus Wednesday. It was one board shy of his career-high nine-rebound effort vs. Hamline on Jan. 16. … Freeman enters Saturday's game at Augsburg averaging 11.3 ppg, while also leading the team with 107 rebounds (5.1 rpg), one more than Burfeind. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) is the team's assist leader with 68 and ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.0 ppg. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Gustavus averaging 59.6 ppg. They scored a season-high 79 points in a 91-79 loss at UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 25, 2011. … SMU's top four offensive outputs have come on the road. … With their 54-41 win over Macalester last Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 8-0 vs. the Scots under coach Todd Landrum. … SMU's 64-60 win over Carleton on Jan. 18 put an end to a pair of streak for the Cardinals, who snapped their two-game losing streak, while also ending a 23-game losing streak against the Knights. SMU had not beaten Carleton since a 69-55 win in Northfield on Jan. 29, 2000.

Augsburg Auggies News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
With their two-point, 58-56, win over Macalester Wednesday, Augsburg held on to the No. 4 spot in the MIAC standings. The Auggies currently lead Saint John's by one game, and Hamline and Bethel by two games in the chase for one of the six MIAC Tournament berths. … After opening the season with eight wins in their first 11 games — including a season-opening six-game winning streak — the Auggies are 6-5 in their last 11 contests. … Noah Veach scored a career-high 19 points to lead Augsburg against Macalester Wednesday. … Fifteen of Veach's 19 points came in the second half, when the Auggies rallied from a 13-point deficit to post the two-point win. … Andy Grzesiak-Grimm recorded his second double-double in the Auggies' last three games with a 14-point, 11-rebound effort vs. Macalester. … Tyler Schmidt, who finished with nine points vs. Macalester, extended his 3-point streak, going 1-for-8 from behind the arc vs. Macalester, marking the 31st straight game with at least one trey. … With Veach's 19-point effort vs. Macalester, the Auggies have now had a different leading scorer in each of its last three games. … Grzesiak-Grimm enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 16.0 ppg. He is one of three Auggies averaging in double figures. Schmidt (13.8 ppg) and Cory Polta (11.5 ppg) are the other two. … Schmidt and Polta share the Auggies' individual game high with 27-point efforts. … Schmidt has knocked down a team-best 61 3-pointers. … Augsburg boasts six players with 30 or more assists, led by Parker Hines with 51. … As a team, Augsburg is averaging 70.3 ppg — including five games of 80 or more points. … Augsburg scored a team-high 99 points in a 99-91 victory over Hamline on Feb. 1. … Nine of Augsburg's 14 wins have come on the road. The Auggies are 9-3 away from home and 5-5 at Si Melby Hall. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 1,547-1,390 — including 859-758 afte