WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-11 MIAC | 8-14 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (13-5 MIAC | 15-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program

Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Bethel scored game's first eight points and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's an 88-70 conference setback Wednesday evening at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Olaf: Ben Figini scored on a driving layup with 6.5 seconds left in regulation to lift the Oles to an 82-80 MIAC win over Gustavus at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—Earlier This Year:
• January 9, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals owned the game's final 20 minutes, outscoring St. Olaf 41-34—including a 14-point second-half showing by Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.). Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that Herculean second-half effort was not quite enough to erase a 12-point halftime deficit, as St. Olaf dealt Saint Mary's a heartbreaking 85-80 setback at Skoglund Center | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• January 7, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked the wrong time to struggle from the field, as St. Olaf took advantage of Saint Mary's icy shooting touch to pull away for an 81-50 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 9, 2015 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals—coming off back-to-back wins over Martin Luther and Illinois Institute of Technology on the previous two Mondays—could not pull a third Monday victory out of their hat, as the 15th-ranked Oles built a commanding 36-21 halftime advantage in handing Saint Mary's a 68-40 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals play their third straight home game on Wednesday, hosting Hamline in a 7 p.m. conference contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• St. Olaf: The Oles close out the regular season at home on Wednesday, hosting St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Saturday's game against St. Olaf is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals. … Last Monday's win over Concordia was the Cardinals' eighth of the season—their most wins since the 2010-11 season, when they finished 9-16. … Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a team-high 17 points in the Cardinals' 88-70 loss to Bethel Wednesday. … Smith-Pugh has now scored 10 ore more points 16 times this season. … Smith-Pugh scored a career-high 24 points to lead four players in double figures against Saint John's on Feb. 6. … Smith-Pugh's 24 points were the most by a Cardinal this season, and marked the eighth time Saint Mary's has had a player score 20 or more points in a game. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) became the 26^th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000 career-point mark against Saint John's on Feb. 6.. … Swiggum has recorded seven career games of 20 or more points. … The Cardinals boast eight players who have recorded a single-game career-high of 10 or more points this season—Smith-Pugh (24), Connor Kaiser (Rockland, Wis. / 22), Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn. / 20), Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn. / 22), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 20), Braden Walbeck (Fall Creek, Wis. / 14), Kai Endahl (Mendota Heights, Minn. / 13), and Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill. / 11). … Saint Mary's has had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season. … Swiggum owns a team-high two double-doubles this season—giving the Cardinal senior 10 for his collegiate career. … Smith-Pugh recorded his first collegiate double-double against Macalester on Jan. 23, scoring 16 points and adding a career-high 12 rebounds. … Ferron owns the Cardinals' other double-double this season with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Concordia on Jan. 13. … Ferron hauled in a career-high 11 boards against Bethel on Jan. 11. … Smith-Pugh and Kaiser enter Saturday's conference game against St. Olaf averaging in double figures at 12.4 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively. … Swiggum is the team's rebounding leader with 163 (7.4 rpg), while Ferron has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 112. … Swiggum—who has recorded 100 or more rebounds in all four of his seasons as a Cardinal—has had 10 or more rebounds in a game four times this season—including a season- and career-best 16-rebound effort against Martin Luther on Nov. 24. … The Cardinals netted a season-high 11 3-pointers against Saint John's on Feb. 6.… Kaiser owns a team-high 30 3-pointers—including a season-high five in the team's first meeting against Saint John's on Jan. 2. In meeting No. 2 vs. the Johnnies, Kaiser drained four treys. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 55 and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) is the team-leader in blocks with 17. … Kaiser boasts a team-best 14 steals, one more than Romportl. … Saint Mary's equaled its season high with 24 made free throws against Hamline on Jan. 20. The Cardinals also drained 24 free throws against St. Olaf on Jan. 9. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points five times this season—including a season-high 85-point effort in its 85-70 win over Macalester on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals' 85 points vs. the Scots marked the highest offensive output since Saint Mary's tossed in 87 in an 87-80 victory over Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010. … Saint Mary's is averaging 68.2 ppg. … Saint Mary's held Concordia to 55 points last Monday, marking the third time this season the Cardinals have held a team to less than 60 points. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high five players in double figures in the Cardinals' first meeting against Macalester—an 85-70 win—on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals have put an end to three lengthy MIAC streaks this season. Saint Mary's snapped a nine-game losing streak with last Monday's 56-55 win over Concordia, while ending a six-game drought against Carleton with their 57-52 win on Jan. 30, and ending an 11-game losing streak against Augsburg with their 68-65 victory on Dec. 9.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• After three straight home games, the Oles play their final road contest of the season Saturday at Saint Mary's. … With their 82-80 win over Gustavus on Wednesday, the Oles pushed their winning streak to a season-high five straight. … St. Olaf's 82 points vs. the Gusties Wednesday marked the fourth time this season the Oles have scored 80 or more points—including a season-high 87-point effort in an 87-73 win over Hamline on Jan. 30. … Ben Figini, who had the game-winning basket vs. Gustavus Wednesday with 6.5 seconds remaining, finished with a game-high 23 points. … Justin Pahl and Riley Aeikens also scored in double figures vs. the Gusties, netting 11 and 10 points, respectively. … St. Olaf has now had a player score 20 or more points in 17 of its 23 games—including one in 12 of the Oles' first 13 games. … The Oles head into Saturday's game at Saint Mary's boasting three players averaging in double figures—Figini (17.9 ppg), Pahl (15.3 ppg), and Aeikens (14.4 ppg). … Aeikins has compiled the Oles' top two offensive performances this season, scoring 28 points against UW-River Falls on Nov. 29, and adding a 27-point showing against Bethel on Jan. 6. … Aeikens and Figini are also the team's rebounding leaders with 125 and 124 boards, respectively. … Pahl has amassed 67 assists, one more than Aeikens, while Aeikens' 28 steals are also a team high. … The Oles are shooting nearly 50 percent from the field (567-for-1204) and have knocked down 119 3-pointers. … Pahl owns a team-leading 52 3-pointers, with Aeikens second with 32. … The Oles are averaging 71.0 ppg, while limiting their opponents to 66.8 ppg. … St. Olaf has played one overtime game this season, beating Concordia 73-70 on Dec. 9. … St. Olaf heads to Saint Mary's with a 7-5 road record this season—the Oles are 8-3 on their home court.