By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's basketball team is back on the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for a 3 p.m. conference showdown against Augsburg.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-12 MIAC, 7-13 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (10-4 MIAC, 14-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 31, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) each scored 24 points for the Cardinals, but St. Olaf outscored SMU 10-5 in overtime, as the Oles outlasted Saint Mary's 90-85 at Skoglund Center | Recap
• Augsburg—January 31, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: Kevin McKieman scored his 1,000th career point in helping the Auggies to a 76-69 conference victory over Carleton at West Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — Earlier This Year:
• January 5, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Augsburg found its long-range shooting touch early, as the Auggies drained seven first-half 3-pointers — while holding Saint Mary's to just 1 of 10 from behind the arc in the game's opening 20 minutes — and rolled to an 88-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
• December 2, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg had its offense cranked into high gear, as the Auggies erupted for 52 first-half points and Saint Mary's could not keep pace in falling 93-74 at Si Melby Hall | Recap
• January 27, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals could not contain the Auggies' balanced — and high-powered — offensive attack, as Augsburg dealt Saint Mary's a 96-62 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Monday, as they travel to Hamline's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC tilt against the Pipers.
• Augsburg: Augsburg takes to the road on Monday, as the Auggies head to Saint John's Sexton Arena for a key, 7 p.m. conference showdown against the nationally ranked Johnnies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Thursday's game against St. Olaf was the first of three straight road games for the Cardinals, who play four of their final six games on the road. … The Cardinals' 90-85 loss to St. Olaf Thursday was their first overtime game of the season — and first since dropping a 111-106 OT decision to Augsburg on Jan. 11, 2017. … Saint Mary's — which put a season-high five players in double figures against Gustavus last Saturday — had three players score 10 or more points against St. Olaf Thursday. Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) and Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) each netted 24 points against the Oles, while Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.) chipped in 14. … Along with his career-high 24 points against St. Olaf Thursday, Rosner also equaled his career best with 12 rebounds en route to his second collegiate double-double. Rosner's first double-double this was a 15-point, 12-rebound effort against North Park on Dec. 29. … Cave leads the team with three double-doubles — giving the Cardinals six for the season. Saint Mary's had just one double-double a year ago. … Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) also equaled his career-high with 12 boards against St. Olaf Thursday, missing double-double No. 2 by one point. Freetly scored 11 points and added 12 rebounds against Gustavus last Saturday for his first double-double as a Cardinals. … With the 24-point efforts by Cave and Rosner Thursday against St. Olaf, the Cardinals have now had two players score 20 or more points in the same game twice — Cave and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) finished with 29 and 21 points, respectively, against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … Cave, who has led or shared the team lead in scoring 13 times this season — has now scored 10 or more points in 19 of the team's 20 contests this season — including six games of 20 or more points. … 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. … The Cardinals boast 11 players who have posted single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Cave (35), Rosner (24), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 22), Anthony-Bello (21), Freetly (19), Jakob Bailey (Cameron, Wis. / 19), David Lindstrand (Lakeville, Minn. / 19), Hill (18), Jacob Chilson (Eau Claire, Wis. / 15), Nicolas Seaton (Lansing, Ill. / 12), and Brady Stevens (St. James, Minn. / 12). … Cave heads into Saturday's conference matchup against Augsburg averaging a team-best 18.1 ppg — ranking the sophomore No. 4 in scoring in the MIAC. … Rosner is second on the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg, followed by Gleason (9.6 ppg), and Freetly (8.2 ppg). … Along with his 18.1 ppg scoring average, Cave also leads the team in rebounds (135, 6.8 rpg) and assists (71). … Freetly (103, 5.2 rpg) and Rosner (75, 4.2 rpg) have also collected 70 or more rebounds this season. … Bailey boasts a team-best 11 blocked shots — including a season-high three against Saint John's on Dec. 12 — while Freetly leads the team in steals with 17, one more than Rosner. … As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 42.6 percent from the field (503-for-1181) and are 189-for-264 (71.6 percent) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's has drained 184 3-pointers — including a single-game school-record 14 against Gustavus on Dec. 5. … The Cardinals have knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers in a game 10 times this season. … Saint Mary's has seven players with 10 or more 3-pointers this season — Gleason (36), Rosner (36), Freetly (30), Cave (24), Hill (15), Anthony-Bello (12), and Bailey (10). … Saint Mary's set single-game season-highs in points (86), FGM (32), FGA (72), 3FGM (14), 3FGA (37), assists (22) and steals (9) in their first meeting against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … Saint Mary's is averaging 68.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 75.5 ppg clip … The Cardinals have scored 70 or more points in each of their seven wins this season — including a season-high 86 points against Gustavus on Dec. 8. … The Cardinals put to rest another pair of long streaks with their 79-64 win over Gustavus last Saturday. Not only did Saint Mary's snap its season-high eight-game losing streak, but the Cardinals also completed the two-game MIAC sweep of the Gusties — something they had not done since the 1979-80 season, when SMU beat GAC 86-78 and 91-81. … Earlier this year, the Cardinals snapped a 19-game road losing streak with their season-opening 76-71 win at Crown on Nov. 10. Saint Mary's also ended a 27-game conference losing streak with a 71-64 win over Concordia on Dec. 5, and, three days later, SMU halted a 35-game road losing streak against Gustavus, beating the Gusties 86-81. It was Saint Mary's first win in St. Peter, since beating GAC 86-82 in overtime during the 1982-83 season. … With their 76-67 win over North Park on Dec. 29, the Cardinals closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 4-1 mark — the lone loss, a 70-60 setback against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 11. … Saint Mary's 3-1 start to the season was its best since the 2010-11 season, when the Cardinals opened 8-1. … 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.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Auggies head into Saturday's home matchup against Saint Mary's having lost just twice in eight contests at Si Melby Hall this season. Augsburg plays three of its final six contests on its home floor. … With their 76-69 win over Carleton on Thursday, the Auggies have now scored 76 points in back-to-back games — Augsburg also netted 76 in last Saturday's 79-76 loss to Concordia. … Augsburg put four players in double figures in its win over Carleton Thursday — led by Booker Coplin with 23 points. Matt Carik and Henry Mulligan each chipped in 14 and Kevin McKiernan added 13. … With his 13 points against the Knights Thursday, McKiernan became the 22^nd player in program history to reach the 1,000 career-point mark. … Thursday's game proved to be another milestone for McKiernan as well, as the senior played in his 100^th career game. … Augsburg heads into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures — led by Booker with a conference-leading 25.5 ppg scoring average. Mulligan is second at 11.6 ppg, followed by McKiernan (11.5 ppg) and Carik (10.6 ppg). … With his 23-point showing against Carleton Thursday, Coplin has now scored 20 or more points in a game 14 times this season — including five games of 30 or more points. … Coplin scored a season-high 38 points in the Auggies' win over St. Olaf on Jan. 19. … Coplin, who has not scored less than 13 points in a game this season, also leads the team in double-doubles with seven. … Along with his team-leading 25.5 ppg scoring average, Coplin is also the Auggie leader in rebounds with 176 (9.3 rpg), while Carik has also eclipsed the 100-rebound mark, sitting at 106 (5.6 rpg). … Carik boasts a team-leading 83 assists, five more than Coplin — who also owns team-highs in steals (50) and blocks (17). … As a team, the Auggies a shooting 46.1 percent from the field (554-for-1202) and have knocked down 250 of their 323 free throw attempts (77.4 percent). … Augsburg has drained 213 3-pointers, and boast six players — Mulligan (51), McKiernan (48), Coplin (39), Martin Mitchell (31), Carik (29), and Will Schmidt (12) — with 10 or more treys through 19 games. … The Auggies are averaging 82.6 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 75.2 ppg clip. … Augsburg has scored 90 or more points six times — including a 99-point showing in routing UM-Morris 99-67 on Dec. 11, and a 105-point effort in falling to nationally ranked St. Thomas 112-105 in triple overtime on Jan. 12.