SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(2-2 MIAC, 2-3 OVERALL)

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ST. OLAF OLES

(2-0 MIAC, 5-1 OVERALL)

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LAST MEETING: Jan. 25, 2021 * L, 74-62

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Dec. 4, 2021 * St. Scholastica * W, 68-66

ST. OLAF LAST ACTION: 

Dec. 1, 2021 * Macalester * W, 66-49

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Dec. 11, 2021 * Bethel * Winona, MN * 3:00

ST. OLAF UP NEXT: 

Dec. 11, 2021 * Augsburg * Northfield, MN * 3:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Wednesday’s conference meeting against St. Olaf sitting at 2-3 overall. SMU picked up its second MIAC win of the season last Saturday with a 68-66 win over St. Scholastica, evening their conference record at 2-2.

• LAST ACTION: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) erupted for 35 points — including a game-winning layup with four seconds remaining in regulation — in leading the Cardinals to a 68-66 conference win over St. Scholastica last Saturday.

• WEEKLY HONOR: Fueled by his 23- and 35-point performances last week, Anthony was named MIAC Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Monday. It was the second time in his collegiate career that Anthony has been named MIAC AOW.

• CLOSE CALLS: With last Saturday’s 68-66 win over St. Scholastica, the Cardinals’ first four conference games have been decided by a combined 17 points. SMU opened MIAC play with a two-point, 63-61 win over Macalester on Nov. 20, before dropping a three-point, 67-64 decision to Hamline and a 10-pont loss to Saint John’s in a game that was a four-point contest with 2:30 to play in regulation, prior to last Saturday’s two-point win over St. Scholastica.

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Anthony’s career-high 35-point performance against St. Scholastica last Saturday accounted for more than half of the Cardinals’ 68 points — and was the team’s highest single-game performance since Eli Cave scored 35 against Martin Luther on Nov. 18, 2018. At one point last Saturday, Anthony scored 10 consecutive points for the Cardinals, giving SMU a 64-55 lead. The junior would then break a 66-66 time with a layup with four seconds remaining to secure the victory. 

• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony’s 23- and 35-point performances last week against Saint John’s and St. Scholastica, respectively, marked the first two times this season the Cardinals had a player score 20 or more points in a game. It was also the eighth and ninth time in his collegiate career than Anthony has eclipsed the 20-point barrier.

• DOUBLING UP: Along with his career-high 35 points, Anthony also added 10 rebounds against St. Scholastica last Saturday en route to his first double-double of the season, and fifth of his collegiate career.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Anthony enters Wednesday’s matchup at St. Olaf averaging 24.0 ppg — tops in the MIAC. Anthony-Bello is sitting at 9.5 ppg, followed by Ziegler (7.6 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 6.8 ppg), and Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 6.0 ppg).

• CAREER PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has five players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica) Ziegler (15 v. Hamline), Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 14 v. Macalester), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 11 v. Macalester).

• PLENTY OF OPTIONS: Saint Mary’s put four players in double figures in last Wednesday’s 73-63 loss to Saint John’s. Anthony led the way with 23 points, while Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) chipped in 12, and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) each added 10.

• ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 24.0 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 25 (8.3 rpg) — including a season-high 10 rebounds vs. St. Scholastica last Saturday. Anthony-Bello and Freetly are second to Anthony with 24 boards each, and Phillips is fourth with 19. As a team, Saint Mary’s has recorded 38 or more rebounds in all four five games — including a season-high 41 against both Hamline and Macalester.

• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s last Wednesday, led by Anthony and Ziegler with three each. … SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. … Saint Mary’s has knocked down 40 3-pointers through four games, led by Ziegler with 11 — 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 59 assists in its first games, including a season-high 15 against Augustana on Nov. 16. Freetly leads the team with 10 helpers, one more than Anthony and two in front of Anthony-Bello.

• 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.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who saw playing time against Augustana on Nov. 16 scored at least two points, while nine different players have scored two or points three times this season.

• 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, last Wednesday’s matchup against Saint John’s. Following Wednesday’s road game at St. Olaf, Saint Mary’s will close out the 2021 portion of its schedule with back-to-back home games against Bethel and UW-La Crosse, and a pair of games against UW-Superior and Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 28 and 30 in Las Vegas, Nev.

• RARE HOME LOSS: The Cardinals’ 73-63 loss to Saint John’s last Wednesday snapped SMU’s three-game home winning streak. Saint Mary’s 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).

• 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 made its first MIAC Tournament appearance since 1985 in 2019-20, collecting 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.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles enter Tuesday’s home matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at a near-perfect 5-1 through six games — including posting back-to-back wins over Gustavus (57-54) and Macalester (66-49) in their first two conference games.

• LAST ACTION: St. Olaf got 39 points from its bench and held Macalester to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field en route to a 66-49 road win over Macalester last Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.

• ON A ROLL: After opening the season with a one-point, 74-73 loss to UW-Stout, the Oles have rattled off five consecutive wins, beating UW-Stevens Point (66-50), Bethany Lutheran 72-64), North Central (72-64), Gustavus (57-54), and Macalester (66-49).

• HOME COOKING: Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of three straight home games for St. Olaf, which has won three of its four home contests this season, while going a perfect 2-0 on the road.

• RUNNING THE SHOW: Dominic Bledsoe and Joe Thursby enter Wednesday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s as the Oles’ offensive leaders, averaging 15.5 ppg and 10.0 ppg, respectively. St. Olaf boasts three other players — Nathan Hendler (7.5 ppg), Charlie Haff (7.3 ppg), and Connor Martin (7.0 ppg) — who are averaging seven or more points per game. … Bledsoe has scored 10 or more points in four of the team’s six games — including three performances of 20 or more points. Bledsoe netted a season-high 27 points against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 13.

• HITTING THE BOARDS: Haff has hauled in a team-leading 37 rebounds (6.2 rpg), seven in front of Bledsoe (30, 5.0 rpg), while Michael Meriggioli (28, 4.7 rpg), Connor Martin (27, 4.5 rpg), and Carter Uphus (26, 4.3 rpg) have also collected 20 or more boards through six contests.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: St. Olaf has drained 26 3-pointers this season, led by Hendler with eight and Bledsoe with five. The Oles have gotten at least one trey from eight different players.

• LENDING A HAND: The Oles have four players who have dished out 10 or more assists this season, led by Meriggioli with 19, one more than Martin. Bledsoe (17) and Uphus (10) are the other two Oles with 10+ helpers.

• AS A TEAM: St. Olaf is shooting 44.3 percent from the field (149-for-336) with 26 3-pointers, and is 63 of 92 (68.5 percent) from the free throw line. The Oles are averaging 65.5 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 59.1 ppg clip. … St. Olaf has scored 70 or more points in a game three times this season — including a season-high 73 in its season-opening 74-73 nonconference loss to UW-Stout. On the flip side, UW-Stout’s 74 points mark the only time this season St. Olaf has allowed a team to score more than 64 points in a game.