SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(1-1 MIAC, 1-2 OVERALL)

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SAINT JOHN'S JOHNNIES

(1-0 MIAC, 4-2 OVERALL)

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SMU v. SJU: A YEAR AGO: 

Jan. 29, 2021 * L, 87-64

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Nov. 23, 2021 * Hamline * L, 67-64

SAINT JOHN'S LAST ACTION: 

Nov. 24, 2021 * Buena Vista * W, 81-65

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Dec. 4, 2021 * St. Scholastica * Duluth, MN * 3:00

SAINT JOHN'S UP NEXT: 

Dec. 4, 2021 * Concordia * Collegeville, MN * 3:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Wednesday’s showdown against Saint John’s sitting at 1-2 overall. SMU dropped a 79-73 decision to Augustana (Ill.) in its season-opener, before outlasting Macalester 63-61 and falling to Hamline 67-64 in its last two conference games.

• LAST ACTION: Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) scored 15 points and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) added 14, but the Cardinals’ rally from a 13-point second-half deficit fell short in dropping a 67-64 decision to Hamline on Nov. 23. 

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals are in the midst of opening the season playing five of their first six games on the road — the lone exception, Wednesday’s matchup against Saint John’s. Following the SJU game, SMU will play road games at St. Scholastica and St. Olaf, before closing out the 2021 portion of its schedule with three straight home games against Bethel, UW-La Crosse, and Crown.

• PERFECT AT HOME: The Cardinals closed out the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season a perfect 3-0 on their home court — beating Gustavus (67-45), Bethel (57-48), and Hamline (57-54).

• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals’ first two conference games of the season have been decided by a combined five points. SMU opened MIAC play with a two-point, 63-61 win over Macalester on Nov. 20, before dropping a three-point, 67-63 decision to Hamline three days later.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Saint Mary’s has two players averaging in double figures, led by Anthony at 14.0 ppg. Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) is sitting at 10.5 ppg. Ziegler (8.7), Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 8.0) and Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 8.0) are all averaging at least eight points per game.

• CAREER PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has four players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Ziegler (15 v. Hamline), Frechette (14 v. Macalester), Phillips (13 v. Martin Luther), and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 11 v. Macalester).

• ON THE GLASS: After recording 39 rebounds in their season-opening overtime loss to Augustana, the Cardinals have hauled in 43 boards in each of their last two games. … Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) leads the team with 18 rebounds (6.0 rpg), three more than Phillips (5.0 rpg) and four in front of Anthony-Bello (14, 7.0 rpg). 

• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals have poured in a season-high eight 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23 and have now recorded 20 treys in three games. Ziegler leads the team with eight three pointers — including five en route to his career-high 15-point performance against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 36 assists in its first two games, including a season-high 15 against Augustana on Nov. 16. Freetly leads the way with six helpers, followed by Anthony-Bello with five, and Ziegler, Sawyer, Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn.), and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) with four each.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 79-73 loss to Augustana on Nov. 16 was its first overtime game since beating Carleton 79-77 on Feb. 12, 2020. Saint Mary’s finished 2-0 in overtime games during the 2019-20 season.

• CONFERENCE CLIMB: Prior to its conference-opener against Macalester on Nov. 20, Saint Mary’s had not played an official MIAC game since the 2019-20 season, when the Cardinals finished 10-10 and earned their first MIAC Tournament berth since 1985. Saint Mary’s collected the program’s first postseason victory with its 72-59 quarterfinal win over Bethel on Feb. 25. … SMU’s 10 MIAC wins in 2019-20 were the most since going 11-9 during the 1999-2000 season.

• WINNING WAYS: Saint Mary’s 6-2 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 included a five-game winning streak. It was the longest winning streak since winning six in a row as part of an 8-1 start to the 2010-11 season.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who saw playing time against Augustana on Nov. 16 scored at least two points, while nine of 11 scored against Macalester last Saturday.

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint John’s enters Wednesday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 4-2 overall, including 1-0 in conference play. SJU opened MIAC action 74-51 win over St. Scholastica on Nov. 20.

• LAST ACTION: The Johnnies picked up win No. 4 on Nov. 24, rallying from an 8-0 deficit by outscoring Buena Vista 24-3 over the rest of the first half en route to an 81-65 win in SJU’s final nonconference game of the season.

• ROAD WEARY: Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the seventh straight road game for the Johnnies to open the season. SJU plays nine of its first 11 contests away from Sexton Arena in Collegeville, Minn. — the lone exceptions, Saturday’s home-opener against Concordia and a Dec. 14 date against Carleton.

• STREAKING ALONG: It’s been a season of streaks for the Johnnies thus far this year. After opening with back-to-back wins over UW-River Falls and UW-Superior, SJU dropped two straight to UW-Oshkosh and Hope, and are now riding another two-game win streak following victories over St. Scholastica and Buena Vista.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Saint John’s boasts a pair of players who are averaging 10 or more points through six games — Ryan Thissen (18.2 ppg) and Colton Codute (10.2 ppg). … Thissen poured in a season-high 22 points in SJU’s 81-65 win over Buena Vista on Nov. 24. He has scored 10 or more points in all six games this season, including a pair of 19-point efforts against UW-River Falls and Hope College.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: Codute has been the Johnnies’ long-range sniper this season, raining in 14 of the team’s 38 3-pointers, with Kooper Vaughn chipping in nine. As a team, the Johnnies are shooting 29.2 percent (38-for-130) from beyond the arc.

• CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: SJU has seven players who have amassed 10 or more rebounds this season — including five with 20 or more boards. Zach Hanson leads the Johnnies with 31 rebounds (5.2 rpg), followed by Thissen (27, 4.5 rpg), Carson Schoeller (26, 4.3 rpg), Codute (24, 4.0 rpg), and Vaughn (20, 3.3 rpg). … Hanson and Schoeller each recorded a season-high nine rebounds in the Johnnies’ 62-58 loss to Hope College on Nov. 13.

• LENDING A HAND: Codute has dished out a team=leading 22 assists this season, followed by Thissen with 14, Blake Berg with 12 and Hanson with 10.

• STEALING THE SHOW: Codute has accounted for 10 of the Saint John’s 38 steals through six games and is the only Johnnie with more than seven steals this season.

• AS A TEAM: The Johnnies are shooting 48.1 percent from the field (162-for-337) and have drained 38 3-pointers, while going 58 of 80 (72.5 percent) from the free throw line. SJU is averaging 70.0 ppg, while its opponents are scoring at a 63.2 ppg clip. … Saint John’s has scored 80 or more points in two of its four wins — beating Buena Vista 81-65, while pouring in a season-high 85 points in topping UW-River Falls 85-67 to open the season on Nov. 5.