NEW ULM, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team steps out of conference play on Tuesday, as the Cardinals head to Martin Luther for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the Knights.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at Martin Luther Knights (x-x-x Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals played their second straight exhibition game last Thursday, falling to NCAA Division II University of Sioux Falls 97-57 in Sioux Falls, S.D. | Recap
• Martin Luther: x
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• January 26, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) nearly equaled his career high—in the first half—and went on to score a now-career-high 22 points in helping the Cardinals to an 83-73 nonconference victory over Martin Luther at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, heading to Duluth, Minn., for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against St. Scholastica.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are off until Dec. 4, when they kick off UMAC play with a 5:30 home game against St. Scholastica in New Ulm, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Last Thursday's game against the University of Sioux Falls was the second of back-to-back exhibition games for the Cardinals, who squared off against NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha on Nov. 15. … Tuesday's showdown at Martin Luther is the third of five straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Dec. 5, when they entertain Macalester in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest. … Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis.) scored a team-high 10 points in the Cardinals' exhibition loss to the University of Sioux Falls last Thursday. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) led the team in scoring in each of the Cardinals first two contests this season. Smith-Pugh knocked down 5 of 9 field goals and added a 5-for-8 showing from the free throw line en route to his game-high 15-point effort in the Cardinals' 83-66 season-opening win over Crossroads College on Nov. 13. Smith-Pugh then poured in 12 points in the Cardinals' exhibition loss to Nebraska-Omaha two days later. … Smith-Pugh was one of four Cardinals to score in double figures vs. Crossroads in the Cardinals' season opener—Kaiser (14), Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn. / 13), and Kai Endahl (Mendota Heights, Minn. / 12) were the others. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) recorded a team-best 13 rebounds vs. Crossroads—including 12 on the defensive end. … Swiggum's 13-rebound showing was just one shy of his collegiate best. … With his 13-point effort vs. Crossroads, Schumacher has scored in double figures in six of the Cardinals' last nine regular-season contests—including a career-high 20-point effort against Illinois Institute of Technology on Feb. 2, 2015. … Swiggum and Kaiser each had career nights against Martin Luther last season, as Swiggum equaled his career high with 24 points, while Kaiser chipped in a career-best 22 points. The efforts by Swiggum and Kaiser marked the first time the Cardinals had two 20-point scorers in a game since Jan. 21, 2013. … Swiggum heads into Tuesday's game at Martin Luther owning six games of 20 or more points in his collegiate career. … Saint Mary's had five players who scored 20 or more points in a game last season. … Swiggum notched a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double against Macalester on Jan. 17, 2015—it was the eighth double-double of his collegiate career. … As a team, Saint Mary's netted 134 3-pointers last season, including a season-high 10 treys in a game twice—vs. Saint John's on Feb. 11 and vs. North Park on Dec. 30. … The Cardinals' 83 points against Crossroads in their season opener on Nov. 13 equaled their highest offensive output of a year ago—an 83-73 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26. … Saint Mary's netted 70 or more points in a game seven times a year ago.
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Tuesday's game against Saint Mary's is the home opener for the Knights, who finished 4-7 on the home court last season. … After four straight road contests to open the schedule, Martin Luther plays its next three—and four of their next five—at home. … Tuesday's matchup against Saint Mary's is the third against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference—MLC opened the season with back-to-back games against Bethel (L, 94-71) and Macalester (L, 87-78). … The Knights head into Tuesday's game against Saint Mary's still searching for their first win, having dropped four straight to open the year. … With their 104-xx loss to Lakeland last Saturday, the Knights have now surrendered 100 or more points in back-to-back seasons—MLC fell to Central-Iowa 109-50 on Dec. 6, 2014. … Todd Brassow owns a team-leading 20.8 ppg scoring average, while T.J. Babinec (15.8 ppg) and Josh Rathje (14.5 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Rathje scored a team-best 13 points against Lakeland last Saturday, becoming the third different Knight to lead the team in scoring through four games—Babinec scored 22 to pace MLC in its season-opener vs. Bethel, while Brassow scored 29 and 25 points, respectively against Macalester and Maranatha Baptist. … Brassow also leads the team in rebounds with 23 (5.8 rpg), four more than Rathje (19, 4.8 rpg). … Martin Luther has drained 25 3-pointers this season, led by Babinec with 11. … Martin Luther has been outscored 360-280 through four games, including 187-122 in the game's opening 20 minutes.