By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4 MIAC, 1-6 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (2-2 MIAC, 5-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 9, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Bethel scored the game's first 16 points, and the Cardinals could not recover, as Saint Mary's dropped an 81-60 conference decision at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Olaf—December 9, 2017 * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John's scored 38 first-half points to take an 18-point lead, as the Oles fell to SJU 72-46 in a conference game at Sexton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• January 16, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: When Saint Mary's and St. Olaf squared off a year ago, both matchups went down to the wire—with each game decided by eight points or less. And when the two teams met at Skoglund Center this time around, the end result was no different. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, for the third straight meeting, it was the Oles who escaped with the nail-biting victory, as St. Olaf used a 16-7 run over the game's final 4:30 to deal Saint Mary's a 79-71 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback | Recap
• February 4, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: St. Olaf used a 10-2 run to push its four-point lead to 10, 62-52 last in the second half—and the Oles would knock down six consecutive free throws down the stretch to seal their 74-63 victory over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 29-30, when they travel to Wisconsin Dells, Wis., to take part in the JustAGame Holiday Classic. Saint Mary's will face UW-Oshkosh at 5 p.m. on Dec. 29, before squaring off against UW-Platteville at 3 p.m. the following day.
• St. Olaf: The Oles return to action Dec. 29-30, heading to UW-Eau Claire's Zorn Arena in Eau Claire, Wis., for a pair of nonconference games against UW-River Falls and Northwestern. St. Olaf and UWRF will square off on Friday at 5 p.m., and the Oles will face Northwestern at 3 p.m. the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals play their next four games on the road—beginning Wednesday at St. Olaf. … The Cardinals have collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) led the team in scoring for the second straight game—and for the fourth time in the Cardinals' last five contests­—netting 12 points in Saint Mary's loss to Bethel last Saturday. … Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) and Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) also scored in double figures vs. the Royals last Saturday, finishing with 11 points each. … Bailey's 11-point effort against Bethel last Saturday equaled his career high. It was the third time in Saint Mary's first seven games that Bailey has scored 11 points. … Saint Mary's has had seven players record single-game career highs of 10 or more points this season—James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill. / 24), Anthony-Bello (16), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 15), Nate Urell (Fountain City, Wis. / 14), Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 12), Bailey (11), and Kristjan Meitz (Waukesha, Wis. / 10). … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in their 86-76 loss to Concordia-Chicago on Nov. 25. … Along with his 14 points against Concordia-Chicago on Nov. 25, Anthony-Bello also hauled in a career-best 11 rebounds en route to his first collegiate double-double—and the Cardinals' first double-double of the season. … Anthony-Bello enters Wednesday's game against St. Olaf averaging a team-best 10.9 ppg. Cullen is second with a 9.9 ppg scoring average, while Lindstrand (8.9 ppg), Rosner (8.5 ppg), and Bailey (8.4 ppg) are all averaging more than eight points per game. … Anthony-Bello is the team's rebounding leader with 35 (5.0 rpg), six more than Bailey (29, 4.1 rpg) … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 14 assists, while Anthony-Bello owns a team-high 13 steals, three more than Lindstrand. … The Cardinals have drained 45 3-pointers through seven games—including a season-high 10 against Gustavus on Nov. 29. … Cullen leads the team with 13 3-pointers. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 40 percent from the field (162-for-405), while knocking down 92 of their 124 free throws (74 percent). … With their 89-75 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now opened their season with a win in each of their last four seasons—including back-to-back years with season-opening victories over the Knights. … The Cardinals' 89 points vs. Martin Luther on Nov. 15 marked their highest offensive performance of the season, and the most points scored since erupting for 106 points in a 111-106 loss to Augsburg on Jan. 11. The 106 points were just four shy of the school-record 110 points, set against UM-Duluth during the 1952-53 season. … The Cardinals scored 80 or more points four times last season.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• After back-to-back road games, the Oles return home for Wednesday's conference matchup against Saint Mary's. The Oles have played just two of their first seven games on their home court—beating both UW-Eau Claire (75-61) and Bethany Lutheran (92-81). … St. Olaf's five wins have come during a three-game and a two-game winning streak. … The Oles' two-game winning streak was snapped with last Saturday's 72-46 loss at Saint John's. … Austin Korba scored 13 points to pace the Oles vs. Saint John's last Saturday. He was the only Ole to finish in double figures. … St. Olaf enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures—Korba (13.0 ppg), Robert Tobroxen (12.0 ppg), and Nate Albers (10.0 ppg). … Korba and Albers have both scored 20 or more points in a game this season—Albers netted 20 against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 15, while Korba poured in a season-high 23 against Bethany Lutheran on Dec. 4. … Troy Diggins Jr. has led the team in scoring three times, while Korba has been the team-leader twice, and Albers and Tobroxen have led the way once each. … Korba also leads the team with 48 rebounds (6.9 rpg) and 24 assists. … Korba is one of five Oles with 10 or more helpers this season—Tobroxen (17), Diggins Jr. (16), Frank Delaney (13), and Ben Scheffley (10) are the others. … Delaney has accounted for nine of the Oles' 21 blocked shots this season. … The Oles are shooting 43 percent from the field (170-for-394)—including 48 3-pointers—and are 69-for-96 (71 percent) from the free throw line. … Korba has drained a team-high 10 3-pointers, two more than Diggins Jr. … As a team, St. Olaf is averaging 65.3 ppg, while limiting its opponents to 60.8 ppg. … The Oles have scored 70 or more points just twice this season, netting 75 in a 75-61 win over UW-Eau Claire, and pouring in a season-high 92 in beating Bethany Lutheran 92-81. …