By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, as the Cardinals welcome nationally ranked St. Thomas to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 1 p.m. matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5 MIAC, 7-7 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (8-1 MIAC, 12-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 15, 2020 * Sexton Arena * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John's scored the first seven points of the game — and 11 of the first 13 points — and once in the driver's seat, the fourth-ranked Johnnies never took their foot off the gas in dealing the Cardinals an 80-62 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback | Recap
• St. Thomas Tommies — January 15, 2020 • West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: The Tommies bounced back from their first MIAC loss of the season — an 87-70 setback at the hands of Saint John's last Saturday — with a convincing 77-64road win over Carleton | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
• January 19, 2019 * Schoenecker Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: Throughout much of the season, Saint Mary's has enjoyed success away from the friendly confines of its home court at Saint Mary's Gym. And after a slow start against host St. Thomas, Saint Mary's started to look more and more comfortable. In the end, however, the 11th-ranked Tommies proved to be too much, as they topped the Cardinals 87-64 | Recap
• February 16, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals gave the sixth-ranked Tommies all they could handle in the teams' MIAC showdown, before UST slowly pulled away in the final minutes in deal SMU a 94-81 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Monday, heading to Carleton's West Gym in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Knights.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies return home to Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday, playing host to Bethel in a 7 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 was the second straight road game for the Cardinals, who are in the midst of playing four of five games away from the Saint Mary's Gym — the lone exception, Saturday's matchup against St. Thomas. … The Cardinals put four players in double figures in Wednesday's 80-62 loss to No. 4 Saint John's. Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) scored a team-high 17 points, with Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) adding 16, and Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) chipping in 13 and 10 points, respectively. … Rosner scored a season-high 21 points in the Cardinals' 87-73 win over Hamline last Saturday. Rosner's effort marked the third time in his career that he has eclipsed the 20-point barrier and was just three points shy of his career high. … The Cardinals have 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 — Anthony (26 v. Luther on Nov. 17), Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn. / 17 points vs. Gustavus on Wednesday), Greg Martin (Oklahoma City, Okla. / 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 on Jan. 6. 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 13 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 on Jan. 6, 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. Rosner recorded the Cardinals' other double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Dubuque on Dec. 31. … 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 Saturday's game against St. Thomas leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 ppg. Anthony (10.8 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (9.5 ppg), Anthony-Bello (8.9 ppg), and Gleason (7.6 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (74, 5.3 rpg), assists (48), steals (29), 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 drained 10 or more 3-points in a game six times this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 26 3-pointers, followed by Anthony-Bello (23), Cave (22), and Rosner (22). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 375-for-861 (.436) from the field — including 119-for-329 (.362) from behind the arc — and is 168-for-246 (.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 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 their 87-73 win over Hamline on Jan. 11, the Cardinals snapped their season-high five-game losing 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games for the Tommies, who are 4-1 on their home court, while going 8-1 away from Schoenecker Arena. … St. Thomas enters Saturday's matchup against the Cardinals ranked No. 9 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … St. Thomas' 87-70 loss to Saint John's last Saturday snapped the Tommies' 10-game winning streak. … Riley Miller scored 22 points and Burt Hedstrom chipped in 16 to lead the way for St. Thomas in its 77-64 win over Carleton Wednesday. … The Tommies head into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's with three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Anders Nelson (14.9 ppg), Elijah Hannah (11.5 ppg), and Tommy Anderson (10.9 ppg). … St. Thomas has five players with 40 or more rebounds, led by Nelson (55), Hedstrom (53), and Hannah (50). … Miller is the team's assist lead with 35, one more than Nelson and two in front of Lindberg, while Nelson leads the team with 19 steals. … The Tommies have poured in 150 3-pointers through 14 games, with and boast seven players with 10 or more 3-pointers. Lindberg leads the Tommies' long-range attack with 22 3-pointers, followed by Nelson and Zach Theisen with 21 each and Anderson with 20. … As a team, the Tommies are shooting 47.1 percent from the field (409-for-869), 37.9 from 3-point range (150-for-396), and 77.4 percent from the free throw line (192-for-248). … The Tommies are averaging 83.0 ppg and have netted 90 or more points four times — including a season-high 110-point outburst in drubbing St. Scholastica 110-64 on Nov. 20.