WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to action this weekend, taking part in the JustAGame Holiday Classic. The Cardinals square off against UW-Oshkosh at 5 p.m. on Friday, before returning to the court for a 3 p.m. matchup against UW-Platteville the following day.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, December 29, 2017 * Wisconsin Dells, Wis. * 5 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7 Overall) vs. UW-Oshkosh Titans (9-0 Overall)
Saturday, December 30, 2017 * Wisconsin Dells, Wis. * 3 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7 Overall) vs. UW-Platteville Pioneers (8-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 13, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf used a 7-0 run to start the game and a 14-1 burst to open the second half in dealing the Cardinals an 85-49 MIAC setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
• UW-Oshkosh—December 19-21, 2017 * Salem, Ore.: The Titans picked up a pair of convincing nonconference wins, rolling to a 79-58 victory over George Fox on Dec. 19, before adding a 77-57 victory over Willamette two days later | George Fox Recap * Willamette Recap
• UW-Platteville—December 16, 2017 * Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Alex Ranney scored 19 points in leading the Pioneers to an 80-72 nonconference win over Coe | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Oshkosh—Their Last Meeting:
• November 25, 2011 * Oshkosh, Wis.: Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a career-high 24 points and Saint Mary's boasted five players in double figures, but the Cardinals' late, second-half rally fell just short, as Saint Mary's dropped a 91-79 decision to UW-Oshkosh Friday in the first day of the two-day UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Classic | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Platteville—Their Last Meeting:
• November 30, 1992 * Platteville, Wis.: UW-Platteville erupted for 106 points in dropping the Cardinals 106-51 in a nonconference game.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as Saint Mary's travels to Saint John's Sexton Arena for a 3 p.m. matchup with the Johnnies.
• UW-Oshkosh: Following their two tournament games this weekend, the Titans return home to the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wis., Wednesday, kicking off WIAC play with a 7 p.m. showdown against UW-Whitewater.
• UW-Platteville: The Pioneers return to Bo Ryan Court in Platteville, Wis., on Wednesday, kicking off WIAC action with a 7 p.m. matchup against UW-Stout.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• This weekend's games against UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville are the second and third of four straight road games for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals have collected five of their last seven wins on their home court. … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and James Cullen each scored 10 points to pace the Cardinals in their 85-49 loss to St. Olaf on Dec. 13. … Anthony-Bello has now led or shared in the team lead in scoring in three straight games—and five times in the Cardinals' last six contests. … Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) equaled his career high with 11 points against Bethel on Dec. 9. The Cardinal freshman has now reached the 11-point mark three times this season. … Saint Mary's has had seven players record single-game career highs of 10 or more points this season—Cullen (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 this weekend's games against UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville averaging a team-best 10.8 ppg. Cullen is second with a 9.9 ppg scoring average, while Rosner (8.5 ppg), Bailey (8.4 ppg), and Lindstrand (8.0 ppg) are all averaging more than eight points per game. … Anthony-Bello is the team's rebounding leader with 39 (4.9 rpg), six more than Bailey (33, 4.1 rpg) … Lindstrand boasts a team-high 18 assists, while Anthony-Bello owns a team-high 14 steals, two more than Lindstrand. … The Cardinals have drained 52 3-pointers through eight games—including a season-high 10 against Gustavus on Nov. 29. … Cullen leads the team with 15 3-pointers, while Anthony-Bello is second with 12. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 39 percent from the field (180-for-461), while knocking down 98 of their 134 free throws (73 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 UW-Oshkosh Titans:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• With their wins over George Fox and Willamette on Dec. 19 and Dec. 21, the Titans pushed their season-opening winning streak to nine straight. … UW-Oshkosh, ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, is off to its best start since winning 11 consecutive games to open the 1996-97 season. … The Titans head into their games this weekend against Saint Mary's and Ripon boasting five players who are averaging in double figures—Ben Boots (15.1 ppg) Adam Fravert (14.1 ppg), Charlie Noone (13.9 ppg), Brett Wittchow (12.4 ppg), Jack Flynn (10.8 ppg). … Boots has scored in double figures in seven of the team's nine games—including three games with 20 or more points. … Boots scored a season-high 23 points against Augustana on Dec. 2. … Noone has also reached the 20-point plateau this season, scoring 20 points in the Titans' win over Willamette on Dec. 21. … Fraveret is the team's rebounding leader with 79 (8.8 rpg). … Boots owns the team lead in both assists (43) and steals (15), while Fravert has accounted for 12 of the team's 23 blocks. … As a team, the Titans are shooting 47 percent from the field (250-for-536) and have knocked down 72 3-pointers. … Noone is the team-leader with 30 3-pointers, while Boots and Wittchow have each added 13. … The Titans are averaging 79.7 ppg, while holding their opponents to a 65.2 ppg scoring average. … UW-Oshkosh has scored 95 or more points twice this season—beating Augustana 95-89 on Dec. 2, before dropping Finlandia 104-60 three days later.
 
Scouting The UW-Platteville Pioneers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• With their 80-72 win over Coe on Dec. 16, the Pioneers pushed their winning streak to five straight. … Sitting at 8-1, UW-Platteville is off to its best start since opening the season with nine straight wins during the 2008-09 season. … After three straight wins to start the season, but Pioneers suffered their first loss—an 84-71 setback to Carleton on Nov. 24—before rebounding with five consecutive wins. … This weekend's games against Ripon and Saint Mary's mark the second pair of neutral-site contests for the Pioneers, who lost to Carleton (84-71) and beat Millikin (74-60) at the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic. UW-Platteville is a perfect 6-0 on its home court, while going 2-1 away from Bo Ryan Court in Platteville, Wis. … Robert Duax heads into this weekend's JustAGame Classic games averaging a team-best 13.6 ppg. He is the only Pioneer averaging in double figures, but is one of seven Pioneers averaging six or more points through nine games. … Duax and Clay Gerds share the team lead with 37 rebounds each (4.1 rpg). … Matt Oestreich boasts a team-leading 23 assists, two more than Carter Voelker, while UW-Platteville has five players with 10 or more steals—led by Quentin Shields with 13 and Oestreich with 12. … UW-Platteville is shooting 40 percent from the field (260-for-516) and have knocked down 85 3-pointers. … Jake Showalter owns a team-best 13 3-pointers, three more than Duax. … Sixteen of the 19 Pioneers who have seen playing time this season netted at least one 3-pointer. … The Pioneers are averaging 81.9 ppg, while limiting their first nine opponents to just 60.7 ppg. … UW-Platteville has scored 80 or more points in six of its nine games—including a season-high 91 in a 91-55 rout of Simpson on Nov. 21.