By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team returns to its home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Luther in a 3 p.m. nonconference matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 Overall) vs. Luther Norse (1-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 20, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals struggled out of the gate in their exhibition game against NCAA Division II Winona State last Tuesday, falling behind 17-2 and never recovered in dropping a 104-63 decision at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Luther—November 17, 2018 * Decorah, Iowa: The Norse raced out to a 37-22 halftime lead, but had to hold off an 11-4 Bethany Lutheran run over the last 48 seconds to secure the 82-80 nonconference win at Regents Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Luther — Their Last Meeting:
• November 18, 2017 * Decorah, Iowa: The Cardinals found themselves playing catch-up from the opening tip of their nonconference game against Luther. The Norse proved to be rather ungracious hosts, scoring the game's first 10 points — and 13 of the first 15 — as Luther handed the Cardinals a 85-59 setback at Regents Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Luther: The Norse are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to New Ulm, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown against Martin Luther.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• After three straight road games to open the season, Saturday's game against Luther is the second of five straight home games for the Cardinals. … Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) tossed in a team-high 10 points in the Cardinals' exhibition loss to Winona State last Tuesday. … Twelve of Saint Mary's 23 field goals against the Warriors last Tuesday were 3-pointers. The Cardinals finished 12-for-31 from behind the arc. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) poured in a season- and career-high 35 points in the Cardinals' nonconference win over Martin Luther last Saturday. … Cave's 35-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Michael Burfeind netted 38 against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2011. … Cave has now set a new career-high in each of the Cardinals' first three games — scoring 18 points in the Cardinals' season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10, before netting 20 a day later against UW-La Crosse. … Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) also scored in double figures against Martin Luther last Saturday, recording 15 and 13 points, respectively. … Freetly's 15 points vs. the Knights were a career-high — two more than his previous career-best of 13, set against Crown on Nov. 10. … Cave heads into Tuesday's exhibition game against Winona State averaging 24.3 ppg. … Cave is one of four Cardinals averaging in double figures through three games — Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 11.5 ppg), Freetly (10.3 ppg) and Gleason (10.3 ppg) are the other three. … Along with his 24.3 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (20, 6.7 rpg), assists (10), and blocked shots (4), while also sharing the team lead in steals (4) with Freetly and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.). … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 44 percent from the field (74-for-168) and have knocked down 30 3-pointers. … The Cardinals drained 13 3-pointers in their season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10. It was the most 3-pointers since pouring in 13 against Saint John's on Jan. 14, 2017. … Freetly leads the team with seven 3-pointers, two more than Cave, Rosner, Gleason, and Anthony-Bello. … Five of the Cardinals' last seven games have been decided by 10 points or less. … The Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10. … With their 76-71 win over Crown on Nov. 10, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last five seasons. … Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 10 was the first collegiate coaching victory for Cardinal head coach Joe Fano. … Saint Mary's improved to 5-0 all-time against Martin Luther with last Saturday's 79-63 win.
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Norse, who play four of their first five games away from Regents Center. … Last Saturday's 82-80 win over Bethany Lutheran was the Norse's first of the year. … Luther improved to 6-0 all-time against Bethany Lutheran following last Saturday's win. … Luther – picked ninth in the American Rivers Conference after going 5-20 a year ago, including 0-16 in conference play — returns its top-five scorers from a year ago, including Jared Nicolaisen, this year's lone senior. … Nicolaisen has led the Norse in scoring the past two years and entered his final collegiate campaign with 769 career points. … Gage Thompson led a trio of Luther players in double figures against Bethany Lutheran last Saturday, scoring a game-high 22 points. Nicolaisen chipped in 15 points and Jadyn Torres added 12 in the two-point win. … Luther enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's boasting two players — Thompson (15.5 ppg) and Nicolaisen (15.0 ppg) — averaging in double figures. … Thompson also leads the team in rebounds with 11 (5.5 rpg), while Spencer Sturges has distributed a team-leading four assists, one more than both Torres and Ray Whitlock. … As a team, the Norse are shooting 39 percent from the field (45-for-116) ­— including a 16-for-47 effort from behind the 3-point line. … Thompson owns a team-leading five 3-pointers, with Torres, Rahul Bagga, and Anthony Westhuesing each adding two. … Luther is averaging 73.0 ppg, while the Norse opponents are scoring at a 78.0 ppg clip.