By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Saint John's Sexton Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown against the nationally ranked Johnnies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-4 MIAC, 7-6 Overall) at No. 4 Saint John's Johnnies (8-0 MIAC, 12-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 11, 2020 * Hutton Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals put five players in double figures — led by Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) with 21 — and pulled away late in the second quarter in dealing Hamline an 87-73 conference setback | Recap
• Saint John's — January 11, 2020 * Schoenecker Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: The seventh-ranked Johnnies shot 65.5 percent from the field and extended their win streak to 12 games with a convincing 87-70 win at No. 5 St. Thomas | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's — Earlier This Year:
• November 26, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Saint John's knocked down 37 of 44 free throws — while the Cardinals hit on just 14 of 21 — as the Johnnies dealt the Cardinals their first loss of the season, a 77-63 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
• December 12, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Johnnies knocked down 20 of their final 27 first-half field goal attempts — and the Cardinals could not keep pace, falling to 19th-ranked Saint John's 87-70 | Recap
• January 23, 2019 * Sexton Arena * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John's outscored the Cardinals 21-7 over the final eight minutes of the opening half — turning a three-point game into a 17-point halftime advantage — and the Johnnies never took their foot off the accelerator, rolling to an 89-58 conference victory over Saint Mary's | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to conference play on Saturday — against another nationally ranked opponent — as the Cardinals welcome No. XXX St. Thomas to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 1 p.m. conference matchup.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies are back on their home court at Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn., on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game at Saint John's is the second straight road game for the Cardinals, who are 4-3 on their home court, while going 3-3 away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … With their 87-73 win over Hamline last Saturday, the Cardinals snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) scored a season-high 21 points in the Cardinals' 87-73 win over Hamline last Saturday. Rosner's effort marked the third time his has eclipsed the 20-point barrier and was just three points shy of his career high. … Phelps was one of five Cardinals to score 10 or more points against Hamline last Saturday, being joined by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn. / 16 points), Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill. / 16 points), Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn. / 13 points), and Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla. / 10 points). … The Cardinals have now put five players in double figures three times this season. … The Cardinals boast four players who have scored single-game career-highs of 10 of more points this season — Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / 26 v. Luther on Nov. 17), Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn. / 17 points vs. Gustavus on Wednesday), Martin (14 points v. U. of Dubuque on Dec. 31), and James Connolly (Round Lake Park, Ill. / 11 v. Martin Luther on Dec. 19). … Cave scored a season-high 32 points against Augsburg last Monday. The 32-point effort was just four points shy of his career-high — a 36-point showing against Macalester on Feb. 9, 2019 — and marked the third time in his Saint Mary's career that he has eclipsed the 30-point barrier. … Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all 12 games this season ­— and has netted 20 or more points six times this season and 16 times in his collegiate career. … Cave missed out on his first double-double of the season by one assist against Augsburg last Monday, finishing with a career-high nine helpers. … Rosner scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 31. It was his first double-double of the season and third of his collegiate career. … Anthony — who, along with his career-high 26 points, posted a career-best 11 rebounds in recording his first collegiate double-double against Luther on Nov. 30 — owns two of the Cardinals' three double-doubles this season. … Cave scored 27 points and Anthony chipped in 26 against Luther on Nov. 30 — marking the first time this season the Cardinals have had two players with 20 or more points in the same game. Saint Mary's achieved that feat three times a year ago. … Cave enters Wednesday's game at Saint John's leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.9 ppg. … Anthony (10.1 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (9.2 ppg), Anthony-Bello (8.8 ppg), and Gleason (8.2 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (69, 5.3 rpg), assists (46), steals (27), and blocked shots (15). … Anthony has recorded 10 or more rebounds three times this season. … The Cardinals knocked down 14 3-pointers against Hamline last Saturday, equaling the program's single-game school-record, set last year against Gustavus on Dec. 5, 2018. … Saint Mary's, which drained a single-season school record 233 3-pointers a year ago has knocked down 10 or more 3-points in a game six times this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 26 3-pointers, followed by Cave (21), Anthony-Bello (21), and Rosner (19). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 354-for-805 (.440) from the field — including 112-for-313 (.358) from behind the arc — and is 155-for-227 (.683) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary's went 25-for-30 from the free throw line against Martin Luther on Dec. 19 — both season highs. … The Cardinals' 103-point effort in beating Luther 103-97 on Nov. 30 was their highest single-game offensive output since pouring in 106 points in a 111-106 overtime loss to Augsburg on Jan. 11, 2017. … The Cardinals have scored 80 or more points in a game four times this season — and 10 times in the last two seasons. … The Cardinals' 77-63 loss to No. 14 Saint John's in the teams' first meeting on Nov. 26 snapped their season-opening two-game winning streak, while their 77-67 loss to Wheaton on Dec. 30 snapped their season-high four-game winning streak. … With its 80-74 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 23, Saint Mary's snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Oles. It was the Cardinals' first win over St. Olaf since Jan. 16, 2013, when Saint Mary's posted a 66-57 victory. … Saint Mary's got scoring from 15 different players in its 93-61 win over Martin Luther on Dec. 19. … The Cardinals' 6-1 start to the season was their best start since 2010-11, when they opened the year 8-1. … 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. … Thanks to its 68-52 win over Crown on Nov. 15, Saint Mary's is now 6-0 in its last six season-openers.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home games for the Johnnies, who have played just three of their first 13 games on their home court — all wins. SJU is 3-0 at home and 9-1 away from Sexton Arena. … With their convincing win over fifth-ranked St. Thomas last Saturday, the Johnnies pushed their winning streak to 12 straight. … Saint John's enters Wednesday's game against the Cardinals ranked No. 4 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … Eight of the Johnnies' 12 wins during their current 12-game winning streak have been by 10 or more points. … Saint John's lone loss this season was a season-opening, 78-56 setback at the hands of 10th-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan. … Zach Hanson scored 20 points and Jubie Alade chipped in 18 to pace the Johnnies in their 87-70 win over No. 5 St. Thomas last Saturday. … With his 18 points against St. Thomas, Alade moved up to 22nd on the Johnnies' all-time career scoring list with 1,126 points. … Alade has now led the team in scoring in eight of its last 10 games. … Saint John's enters Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Alade (19.4 ppg), Lucas Walford (12.3 ppg), Hanson (12.1 ppg), and Colton Codute (10.6 ppg). … Walford owns a team-leading 146 rebounds (11.2 rpg) and has posted seven double-doubles through 13 games this season. … Oakley Baker is the team's assist leader with 37, one more than Codute, while Alade (25), Hanson (25), and Walford (21) have all dished out more than 20 helpers this season. … Alade (14) and Hanson (11) are the Johnnies' steals leaders , and Walford boasts a team-high 26 blocked shots. … As a team, the Johnnies are shooting 49.0 percent from the field (358-for-730) — including 102-for-262 from behind the 3-point line — and are 176-for-239 (73.6 percent) from the free throw line. … Baker has nailed a team-high 30 3-pointers, followed by Codute (28), Alade (15), and Sean Ryan (14). … Saint John's is averaging 76.5 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 62.5 ppg. … The Johnnies have scored 80 or more points six times this season, and have posted their top two offensive performances in their last two games — scoring a season-high 91 in beating St. Olaf 91-75 last Wednesday and netting 87 in dropping St. Thomas  87-70 three days later.