By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team kicks off conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 3-1 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (0-0 MIAC, 1-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 24, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) each scored 19 points, as the Cardinals picked up their third win of the season, holding off Luther 74-72 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Olaf—November 24, 2018 * Mankato, Minn.: The Oles picked up their first win of the season, getting 31 points from senior Austin Korba en route to an 81-68 nonconference win over Bethany Lutheran at North Gymnasium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
• December 13, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals put together a rock-solid offensive effort through the first half, shooting 46 percent from the field — and were still staring at a 20-point halftime deficit. St. Olaf erupted for 51 first-half points, shooting a sizzling 64.5 percent from the field — draining 20 of 31 attempts from the field, including seven 3-pointers — and never cooled off in dealing the Cardinals an 85-49 setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
• January 24, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Oles, who shot 64.5 percent from the field and knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half of the teams' first meeting earlier this season, did that performance one better the second time around, draining 20 of their 30 first-half field goal attempts — including eight 3-pointers—in rolling to an 82-59 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, playing host to Carleton in a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
• St. Olaf: The Oles are back on the road on Saturday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup against Macalester.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's matchup against St. Olaf is the third of five straight home games for the Cardinals. … With their 74-72 win over Luther last Saturday, the Cardinals have now won three of their first four games. … Saint Mary's 3-1 start is its best since the 2010-11 season, when the Cardinals opened 8-1. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinals against Luther last Saturday, scoring 19 points each. … Cave and Bailey were two of four Cardinals in double figures vs. Luther — Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively. … Bailey's 19-point effort was his single-game career high. … Cave poured in a season- and career-high 35 points in the Cardinals' nonconference win over Martin Luther on Nov. 17. … Cave's 35-point effort was the highest single-game performance since Michael Burfeind netted 38 against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2011. … Cave 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, and draining 35 against Martin Luther on Nov. 17 … Saint Mary's has now had three players post single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Cave (35), Bailey (19), and Freetly (15). … Along with his 19 points, Cave also hauled in a career-high 12 rebounds against Luther last Saturday for his first collegiate double-double. … Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) also enjoyed a career day vs. Luther last Saturday, corralling a career-best 13 rebounds. … Cave heads into Wednesday's conference-opener against St. Olaf averaging a team-best 23.0 ppg. … Cave is one of four Cardinals averaging in double figures through four games — Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis. / 11.5 ppg), Freetly (11.3 ppg) and Gleason (11.0 ppg) are the other three. … Along with his 23.0 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (32, 8.0 rpg), assists (15), and blocked shots (4). … Anthony-Bello (25 / 6.3 rpg) and Freetly (22, 5.5 rpg) have also collected 20 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best six blocked shots, while Freetly is the team-leader in steals with five. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 43 percent from the field (99-for-228) and have knocked down 40 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 nine 3-pointers, two more than Gleason, while Cave has knocked down six, and Rosner, Anthony-Bello, and Bailey each have five. … With their 74-72 win over Luther last Saturday, six 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of six straight road games for the Oles, who play seven of their first eight contests away from Skoglund Center. … With their 81-68 win over Bethany Lutheran last Saturday, the Oles snapped their season-high four-game losing streak. … Austin Korba scored a career-high 31 points — including 28 in the second half — against Bethany Lutheran last Saturday. The senior went 8-for-9 from the field and 10-for-13 from the free throw line in the game's final 20 minutes. … Korba's 31 points are the most by an Ole since Ben Figini netted 31 against Bethel on Feb. 27, 2015. … Troy Diggins Jr. and Dominic Bledsoe also scored in double figures against Bethany Lutheran, finishing with 15 and 10 points, respectively. … Korba heads into Wednesday's conference-opener against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 19.4 ppg. Bledsoe (12.4 ppg) and Diggins Jr. (11.4 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … The Oles boast three players with 20 or more rebounds through five games, led by Diggins Jr. with 32 (6.4 rpg). Korba has hauled in 25 boards (5.0 rpg) and Frank Delaney owns 22 (4.4 rpg). … Diggins Jr. has dished out a team-best 15 assists, four more than Ben Scheffley, while Scheffley and Korba share the team lead in steals with eight. … As a team, the Oles are shooting 43 percent from the field (119-for-275) and have drained 40 3-pointers on 103 attempts (39 percent). … Korba leads the Oles with 11 3-pointers, two in front of Diggins Jr. and three clear of Bledsoe. … St. Olaf has been outscored 181-152 in the first half, while holding a slim, 188-187 advantage after the halftime break. … St. Olaf has played one overtime game this season, falling to George Fox 91-88 on Nov. 17. … St. Olaf has scored 80 or more points in each of its last two games — including a season-high 88 in its overtime loss to George Fox.