By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals welcome St. Olaf to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 1 p.m. matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 1-0 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (0-0 MIAC, 3-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — November 15, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored 24 points and Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) and Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) each added 12, as the Cardinals opened the season with a 68-52 nonconference win over Crown at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Olaf — November 19, 2019 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Nate Albers and Noah Beck each recorded double-doubles, as the Oles picked up their third nonconference win of the season, beating North Central 70-67 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
• November 28, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals kicked off conference play putting four players in double figures — not to mention rallying from a double-digit deficit — against St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, one final, late-game push came up just short, as St. Olaf held off the hard-charging Cardinals in dealing SMU a 75-67 setback | Recap
• January 31, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals drilled a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining in regulation to pull even — and force overtime — against the host Oles, but St. Olaf had the upper hand in the five-minute extra session, outscoring Saint Mary's 10-5 to secure a 90-85 victory at Skoglund Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Tuesday, as Saint Mary's entertains nationally ranked Saint John's in a 7 p.m. conference contest.
• St. Olaf: The Oles hit the road again on Tuesday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC contest against the Royals.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against St. Olaf is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals, who finished 3-8 on their home court a year ago. … With their 68-52 win over Crown Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now beaten Crown in their season-opener in back-to-back years — Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown a year ago was the first collegiate coaching victory for Joe Fano. … With last Friday's 68-52 win over Crown, Saint Mary's is now 6-0 in its last six season-openers. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) — a Second-Team All-MIAC selection a year ago — scored a team- and game-high 24 points in Saint Mary's season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 15. Cave scored 19 of his 24 points against Crown in the second half, going 6-for-9 from the field with five 3-pointers. … Cave averaged a team-high 19.6 ppg a year ago, ranking No. 2 in the MIAC. … Cave, who scored 30 or more points twice a year ago — including a career-high 36 points in the Cardinals' 86-69 win over Macalester on Feb. 9 — has now scored 20 or more points in each of his last four outings. Along with his 24 points against Crown, the junior closed out the 2018-19 season scoring 29, 36, and 23 points. … Cave's 36-point effort against Macalester on Feb. 9 was the highest single-game performance since Chris Palmer scored 37 against Bethel on Dec. 6, 2010. … Cave has eclipsed the 20-point barrier 11 times in his collegiate career. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) and Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) also finished in double figures against Crown on Nov. 15, scoring 12 points each. … All 12 of Rosner's points against the Storm last Friday came in the first half. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5 — knocked down 11 3-pointers against Crown on Nov. 15. … Saint Mary's has now connected on 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 14 times in the last two seasons. … Eleven of the Cardinals' 17 losses last season were decided by 10 points or less. … The Cardinals' 90-85 loss to St. Olaf on Jan. 31 was their only overtime game a year ago — and first since dropping a 111-106 OT decision to Augsburg on Jan. 11, 2017.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the second of four straight road contests for the Oles, who is in the midst of playing six of its first seven contests away from Skoglund Center — the lone exception, last Saturday's 82-77 win over Bethany Lutheran. … With their 70-67 victory over North Central (Minn.) on Tuesday, all three of the Oles' wins this season have been by six points or less. Along with the three-point win over the Rams, St. Olaf has also beaten UW-Stout (63-57) and Bethany Lutheran (82-77). … St. Olaf boast a pair of players with double-doubles against North Central (Minn.) Tuesday — Nate Albers scored a team-high 16 points and added 10 rebounds, while Noah Beck chipped in 12 points and 12 boards. … Albers has now led the team in scoring in three of its four games — including a season-high 19-point effort against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 13. … St. Olaf heads into Saturday's conference-opener at Saint Mary's with three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Albers (16.0 ppg), Troy Diggins Jr. (14.0 ppg), and Beck (13.3 ppg). … Beck has also hauled in a team-leading 35 rebounds through four games (8.8 rpg), with Albers chipping in 30 (7.5 rpg). … Dominic Bledsoe is the team-leader in both assists (10) and steals (10). … As a team, St. Olaf is shooting 35.6 percent from the field (96-for-249) and 67.9 percent from the free throw line (53-for-78). … The Oles have knocked down 29 3-pointers, led by Albers and Beck with six each. … St. Olaf has outscored its opponents 151-145 in the second half, but have been outscored 133-125 in the game's opening 20 minutes.