ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown against the defending national champion Tommies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-14 MIAC, 6-16 Overall) at St. Thomas Tommies (13-5 MIAC, 17-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 13, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg rattled off 11 unanswered points as part of a 21-6 second-half run, as the Auggies dealt the Cardinals an 88-71 conference setback at Si Melby Hall | Recap
• St. Thomas—January 13, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.:
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Earlier This Year:
• January 18, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Fueled by an 8-2 run to open the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest, the Tommies raced out to a 50-25 lead at the half, and never let the Cardinals closer than 17 over the game's final 20 minutes in handing Saint Mary's a 100-65 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• January 16, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's put three players in double figures—and knocked down nine 3-pointers—but it was not enough to keep pace with sixth-ranked St. Thomas. The Tommies matched the Cardinals' long-range prowess—draining 10 treys—and pulled away in the second half to hand Saint Mary's a 91-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 20, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's struggled to get its offense on track in its regular-season finale. And against a team as high-powered as St. Thomas—the seventh-ranked team in the country—an off-shooting night is not what the Cardinals could afford. St. Thomas scored 23 of the final 30 points of the first half, and added a 19-3 run early in the second, as the Tommies pulled away and handed Saint Mary's a 77-48 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out their regular-season schedule on Saturday, hosting Saint John's in a 3 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies conclude their regular-season schedule on the road on Saturday, traveling to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium for a 3 p.m. MIAC contest against the Cobbers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against St. Thomas is the second of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who close out the regular season on their home court against Saint John's on Saturday. … The Cardinals have recorded four of their six wins this season on their home court. … With its five-point win over Hamline on Feb. 1, Saint Mary's last three wins have been decided by a combined nine points. Along with the 75-70 win over the Pipers, the Cardinals beat Gustavus 75-73 on Dec. 10, and Macalester 76-74 on Jan. 4. … Wylie Ferron (Waconia, Minn.) scored a team-high 14 points—including 13 in the first half—in the Cardinals' loss to Augsburg on Monday. … Ferron was one of three Cardinals to score in double figures vs. the Auggies Monday—Aaron Romportl (Stillwater, Minn.) chipped in 12 and Quashingm Smith-Pugh (St. Paul, Minn.) added 10. … Smith-Pugh also hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds en route to his sixth double-double of the season, and 10^th of his Cardinal career. … Smith-Pugh has now notched 10 or more rebounds seven times this season—including three games with a career-high 11 boards and four more with 10. … Ferron has scored in double figures in 11 of the Cardinals' last 14 games—and in 17 of the team's 22 contests this season. … Ferron has scored a career-high 24 points twice this season—setting the career mark against Augsburg on Jan. 11, and matching that performance against Macalester on Jan. 30. … Eighteen of Ferron's career-best 24 points vs. the Scots on Jan. 30 came in the first half. … Ferron owns a team-high four games of 20 or more points. Along with his 24-point efforts against Macalester and Augsburg, the senior also scored 22 points against Gustavus in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 10, and equaled that 22-point effort against St. Thomas on Jan. 18. … Ferron picked up his fourth double-double of the season, and fifth of his career, with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Macalester in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 4. … Ferron hauled in career-high 13 rebounds in the Cardinals' 75-73 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10. … Smith-Pugh scored a career-high 30 points in the Cardinals' 111-106 overtime loss to Augsburg on Jan. 11. … Smith-Pugh's 30-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Will Wright poured in 30—also against Augsburg—on Feb. 19, 2010. … The Cardinals boast nine players who have recorded single-game career highs of 10 points or more this season—Smith-Pugh (30), Ferron (24), Aaron Romportl (22), James Cullen (Western Springs, Ill. / 22), Cole Kruger (Hayfield, Wis. / 17), Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn. / 15), Jason Timm (Brillion, Wis. / 12), David Lindstrand (Euclid, Minn. / 10), and Liam Gorman (Orland Park, Ill. / 10). … The Cardinals have posted five players scoring in double figures twice this season—achieving the feat in a 74-67 win over Carleton on Nov. 30 and in an 89-86 loss to Hamline on Jan. 2. … The Cardinals enter their conference game at St. Thomas Wednesday boasting three players averaging in double figures—Ferron (13.6 ppg), Romportl (11.4 ppg), and Smith-Pugh (11.2 ppg). … Ferron and Smith-Pugh are also the team's rebounding leaders with 149 (6.8 rpg) and 146 (6.6 rpg) rebounds, respectively. … Smith-Pugh leads the team in assists with 58. He is one of five Cardinals with 20 or more assists—Kruger (47), Romportl (44), Ferron (34), and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 27) are the others. … Ferron is the team's steals leader with 18, one more than Romportl and two in front of Smith-Pugh. … Saint Mary's shot a season-best 51 percent (32-for-63) from the field against Hamline on Jan. 2. … The Cardinals, who are shooting 44 percent from the field (570-for-1301) through 22 games, have knocked down 174 3-pointers—including 10 or more six times. … The Cardinals equaled their season high with 13 3-pointers against Saint John's on Jan. 14—it was the second time this season Saint Mary's has hit 13 treys in a game, and the most since raining in 13 against Bethel on Jan. 19, 2008. … Romportl leads the way with 48 3-pointers. … Saint Mary's has gotten at least one 3-pointer from all 15 players this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 72.6 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at an 81.1 ppg clip. … The Cardinals erupted for 106 points in their 111-106 loss to Augsburg in the team's first meeting 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 have scored 80 or more points four times this season. … Saint Mary's game against Augsburg on Jan. 11 was its first overtime contest of the season—and the first since beating Crown 86-81 on Nov. 23, 2013. … The Cardinals' 78-76 loss to Macalester on Jan. 30 marked the second straight meeting between the two teams that was decided by two points. Saint Mary's beat the Scots 76-74 in their first meeting on Jan. 4. … With their 75-73 win over Gustavus on Dec. 10, the Cardinals put an end to a 12-game slide against the Gusties that dated back to a 78-75 win on Jan. 27, 2010.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the final home game for the Tommies, who are 8-4 at Schoenecker Arena this season. … After winning 13 out of 14 games over a nine-week span, the Tommies' 74-65 loss to St. Olaf Monday was its second in three days—and dropped St. Thomas one-half game out of first place in the conference standings. … St. Thomas has now lost back-to-back games twice this season to account for four of its six losses. … St. Thomas never led in last Saturday's 79-63 loss to Carleton and never led in the final 31:22 against St. Olaf on Monday. … Grant Shaeffer scored a team-high 19 points and Michael Hannon chipped in 18 in the Tommies' loss to St. Olaf Monday. … Shaeffer enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 15.7 ppg. Ryan Boll (14.1 ppg) and Hannon (13.6 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through 23 games. … Boll and Shaeffer had each recorded a 25-point game this season, while John Veil owns the team's single-game season-high, scoring 27 points against Bethel on Jan. 4. … Veil (8.0 ppg) and Burich (6.8 ppg) are the only Tommies to have started all l23 games this season. … Jordan Burich is the team-leader in rebounds with 170 (7.4 rpg). Boll has also eclipsed the 100-rebound barrier this season with 127 (5.8 rpg). … Shaeffer owns a team-high 96 assists, while Burich boasts a team-best 18 steals and 33 blocks. … The Tommies are shooting 48 percent from the field (646-for-1346) and have drained 164 3-pointers. … Hannon has made a team-high 61 3-pointers and is one of six Tommies with 10 or more treys this season. … St. Thomas is averaging 74.8 ppg, and has scored 80 or more points nine times. UST has netted 83 four times, recorded 90 points in a 90-58 win over Concordia on Jan. 14, and scored a season-high 100 points in its first meeting against Saint Mary's on Jan.18. … St. Thomas has played one overtime game this season, beating Carleton 62-61 on Jan. 7.