By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center for a 1 p.m. showdown against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-6 MIAC, 8-8 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (5-7 MIAC, 8-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 20 * West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the Cardinals to a 79-77 conference win over Carleton | Recap
• St. Olaf — January 22, 2020 * Skoglund Center * Northfield, Minn.: After rallying from a 17-point second-half deficit, St. Olaf had a last-second tip-in waved off at the buzzer, as Augsburg escaped with a 75-74 victory over the Oles | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — Earlier This Year:
• November 23, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals put five players in double figures — led by Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) with 21 points and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) with 14 — and snapped a 12-game losing streak against St. Olaf with an 80-74 victory | 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: After back-to-back road games in Northfield, Minn., the Cardinals return home on Wednesday, entertaining Macalester in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• St. Olaf: The Oles take to the road on Wednesday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a conference showdown with the Pipers. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game at St. Olaf is the second of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who are in the midst of playing four of five games away from the Saint Mary's Gym — the lone exception, last Saturday's matchup against St. Thomas. … The Cardinals' 79-77 OT win over Carleton Monday snapped their two-game losing streak, with both losses coming against teams ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 10 — No. 4 Saint John's and No. 9 St. Thomas. … Saint Mary's two-point win over Carleton Monday was its first overtime game of the season — and first since falling to St. Olaf 90-85 on Jan. 31, 2019. … The Cardinals have played just four overtime games in the last seven seasons. … Saint Mary's win over Carleton Monday was its eighth of the season, equaling last season's win total — with nine games yet to be played. The Cardinals have not won nine or more games in a season since going 9-16 during the 2015-16 season. … With its 80-74 win over St. Olaf in the teams' first meeting 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. The Cardinals head into Saturday's rematch looking to sweep the Oles for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when the Cardinals won 63-57 and 64-54. … Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.) — coming of his first double-double of the season and seventh of his collegiate career with 13 points and 13 rebounds against No. 9 St. Thomas last Saturday — poured in 27 points against Carleton, while Sawyer Rosner (Phelps, Wis.) chipped in 15 points, and Kevin Gleason (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.) each added 11. … Cave has now scored 10 or more points in all 16 games this season ­— and has netted 20 or more points seven times this season and 17 times in his collegiate career. … 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's 13 rebounds — including 11 in the first half — against St. Thomas on Jan. 18 were a career high. … 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. … Rosner scored a season-high 21 points in the Cardinals' 87-73 win over Hamline on Jan. 11. 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. … 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' four double-doubles 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), Pickford (17 points vs. Gustavus on Jan. 8), 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 enters Saturday's game against St. Olaf leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.9 ppg. Anthony (10.5 ppg) is also averaging in double figures, followed by Rosner (9.8 ppg), Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill. / 7.9 ppg), and Gleason (7.8 ppg). … Cave also owns the team lead in rebounds (92, 5.8 rpg), assists (55), steals (29), and blocked shots (17). … The Cardinals knocked down 14 3-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 11, 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-pointers in a game seven times this season. … Gleason owns a team-best 31 3-pointers, followed by Cave (26), Rosner (25), and Anthony-Bello (23). … As a team, Saint Mary's is 426-for-972 (.438) from the field — including 135-for-371 (.364) from behind the arc — and is 193-for-278 (.694) 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 put five players in double figures three times this season. … 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. … 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. Olaf Oles:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is last of three straight home games for the Oles, who are 3-5 on their home court, while going 5-4 away from Skoglund Center this season. … Wednesday's last-second loss to Augsburg snapped St. Olaf's two-game winning streak. … The Oles' put an end to a season-high four-game losing streak with 75-60 win over Macalester on Jan. 18, and followed that up with an 89-68 victory against Concordia two days later, before losing to Augsburg on Wednesday. … Noah Beck and Troy Diggins Jr. both scored in double figures against Augsburg Wednesday, with Beck tossing in a team-best 18 points, while Diggins Jr. chipped in 16. … The Oles enter Saturday's rematch with Saint Mary's boasting four players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Nate Albers (15.4 ppg), Diggins Jr. (12.3 ppg), Beck (11.9 ppg), and Dominic Bledsoe (11.2 ppg). … Along with his team-leading 15.4 ppg scoring average, Albers also leads the team in rebounds with 113 (6.6 rpg), followed closely by Diggins Jr. (97, 6.1 rpg). … St. Olaf has five players with 20 or more assists, led by Bledsoe with 65. … Bledsoe is also the team-leader in steals with 41, while Carter Uphus has collected a team-high 18 blocked shots. … St. Olaf has drained 148 3-pointers through 17 games, led by Albers with 31. Beck (23), Bledsoe (23), Diggins Jr. (20), Charlie Haff (11), and Jake Weber (10) have also knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … As a team, St. Olaf is shooting 44.1 percent from the field (458-for-1038), while going 148-for-432 (34.3 percent) from beyond the arc and 196-for-273 (71.8 percent) from the free throw line. … St. Olaf is averaging 74.1 ppg, while the Oles' opponents are scoring at a 73.9 ppg clip. … The Oles have netted 80 or more points on four occasions this season — including 89 in drubbing Concordia 89-68 on Jan. 20, while netting a season-high 92 in a 92-64 win over Bethel on Nov. 26.