SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2022-23: 2-4 MIAC, 6-5 Overall
SAINT JOHN’S JOHNNIES
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2022-23: 5-1 MIAC, 8-3 Overall
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SMU-SJU * A YEAR AGO:
L, 73-63 * L, 80-53 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
Jan. 4, 2023 * Winona, MN
Hamline * W, 81-72
SAINT JOHN’S * LAST ACTION:
Dec. 21, 2022 * Spokane, WA
Linfield * W, 70-55
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
Jan. 11, 2023 * Winona, MN
Bethel * 7:00
SAINT JOHN’S * UP NEXT:
Jan. 11, 2023 * Collegeville, MN
Concordia * 7:00
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference showdown against Saint John’s sitting at 6-5 overall, including a 2-4 showing after five conference games.
• LAST TIME OUT: Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored 25 points and Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 23, as the Cardinals rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to beat Hamline 81-72 Wednesday evening at the SMU Gym.
• ON A ROLL: With their 81-72 win over Hamline, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to four straight. SMU’s current four-game run is its longest win streak since winning five straight during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season.
• HOME (OR ROAD) SWEET HOME: With their win over Hamline on Wednesday, SMU moved to 3-2 on its home court this season, while going 3-3 in six road contests. … Saturday’s matchup against Saint John’s is the third of four straight home games for the Cardinals.
• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals’ nine-point, 81-72 win over Hamline on Wednesday was their seventh game this season decided by 10 points or less — including five of six MIAC contests. SMU has dropped nail-biting decisions to Concordia (82-77), Gustavus (74-71), Macalester by one (77-76) and St. Olaf (75-69), while beating No. 7 UW-La Crosse (73-66), North Park (83-82), and Hamline (81-72).
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Buysman and Anthony led the way for the Cardinals against Hamline on Wednesday with 25 and 23 points, respectively, while Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.) each chipped in 10 points.
• DOUBLE-DIGIT AVERAGES: Anthony, who has scored in double figures in all 11 contests this season, and 48 times in his four-year collegiate career, is averaging a team-leading 23.3 ppg, while Buysman and Ziegler are also averaging in double figures at 14.8 ppg and 14.6 ppg, respectively.
• AMONG THE PROGRAM’S BEST: Anthony’s 41-point showing against North Park on Dec. 30 — which included 26 points in the second half — was the highest single-game individual performance since Will Wright netted 41 against MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. … Anthony’s 41 points were the third-most in program history and just five shy of the school-record 46 posted by Ken Jansen against Macalester during the 1956-57 season.
• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points in nine of its 11 games this season — including each of their last five contests. … Anthony’s 23-point showing against Hamline on Wednesday was the 19th time in his career that he has scored 20 or more points in a game.
• GREATER THAN 20 x 2: With the 25-point effort by Buysman and 23-point showing by Anthony against Hamline on Wednesday, the Cardinals have had two players score 20 or more points in the same game four times this season — including each of SMU’s last two games. Mason Klett (Apple Valley, Minn.) tallied 27 points and Anthony added 21 against Finlandia on Monday.
• GREATER THAN 30 x 2: With Ziegler’s 30-point showing against Carleton on Dec. 3, Saint Mary’s has had a player score 30 points in a game twice this season. Anthony netted 30 against Crown on Nov. 8.
• CAREER NIGHTS: Saint Mary’s has had four players recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (41), Ziegler (30), Klett (27), and Buysman (25), while Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn.) equaled his career-high with 10 points against Hamline Wednesday. …
• JOINING THE CLUB: With his field goal at 5:48 of the second half against Finlandia on Monday, Anthony became the 28th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Anthony — who is SMU’s first 1,000-point scorer since Eli Cave ’21 hit the milestone during the 2020-21 season — currently sits 26th all-time with 1,024 career points. Next up: Will Swiggum ’16 (1037), Al Williams ’64 (1044), Michael Burfeind ’13 (1058), Nick Michaels ’03 (1059), and Mike Horvath ’82 (1066).
• HITTING DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary’s has put at least three players in double figures in 10 of its first 11 games – including four double-figure scorers five times.
• DOUBLING UP: Along with his 23 points against Hamline on Wednesday, Anthony also equaled his career-high with 15 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. … Anthony now owns 16 double-doubles in his four-year collegiate career. … Anthony collected his first points/assist double-double against Gustavus on Nov. 19, scoring 19 points and adding a career-high 10 assists. … Anthony was just two rebounds short of his first collegiate triple-double vs. the Gusties on Nov. 19, and three assists short of a triple-double vs. Hamline on Wednesday.
• ON THE GLASS: Anthony leads the team in rebounds with 105 (9.5 rpg), while Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) is second with 43 (3.9 rpg) — with 37 of his 43 boards coming on the defensive end. … Anthony’s 15 rebounds against Hamline Wednesday matched his career-high and were just one shy of the program record of 16, set by Will Swiggum against Martin Luther on Nov. 24, 2015. … SMU has amassed 372 rebounds in 11 games (33.8 rpg) — including 282 defensive boards.
• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s equaled the program’s single-game record with 14 3-pointers against Finlandia on Monday. It marked the second time this season the Cardinals have hit 14 3s in a game, having first achieved the feat against Carleton on Dec. 3. … Ziegler netted a single-game program record eight 3-pointers for the second straight game against Carleton on Dec. 3, going 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. The junior was 8-for-13 in first setting the school record against St. Olaf on Nov. 30. … Ziegler leads the way for SMU with 43 treys, followed by Buysman with 26.
• NOBODY’S BETTER: The Cardinals — who have knocked down 106 3-pointers in 11 games — lead all of NCAA Division III in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 43.3 percent (106-for-245) from behind the arc.
• LENDING A HAND: The Cardinals recorded a season-high 19 assists against Gustavus on Nov. 19 — including a career-high 10 from Anthony. The 10 assists by Anthony were the most by a Cardinal since Evan Pederson put together an 11-assist showing against Macalester on Feb. 14, 2014. … Anthony leads SMU with 64 assists, followed by Sawyer with 31. … SMU’s 19-assist effort against the Gusties were the most in a game since the Cardinals dished out 20 helpers against Augsburg on Feb. 2, 2021.
• HITTING 100: The Cardinals’ 102 points in Monday’s 102-68 win over Finlandia were the most since they beat Luther 103-97 in overtime on Nov. 30, 2019. … Saint Mary’s has now had a team score 100 or more points 10 times in program history — including a program-record 110 in a 110-99 win over UM-Duluth on Jan. 26, 1956.
• BIG HALF: The Cardinals erupted for 55 first-half points against Finlandia on Monday, they highest single-half performance in more than 30 years. … SMU has scored 40 or more points in a half in eight of its 11 games — including 40+ in both halves against Carleton (Dec. 3), Finlandia (Jan. 2), and Hamline (Jan. 4).
• A WIN FOR THE AGES: SMU’s six-point win over No. 7 UW-La Crosse on Dec. 14 marked the first time in program history the Cardinals had beaten a team ranked in the Top 10 in the country. … The win also snapped a six-game losing streak against the Eagles — dating back to a 65-50 triumph on Nov. 24, 1986.
• SEASON-BESTS: Saint Mary’s recorded season-highs in numerous statistical categories against Finlandia on Monday, including points (102), field goals made (41), field goals attempted (82), 3-pointers made (14), 3-pointers attempted (36), rebounds (52), assists (23), and blocked shots (6).
• BY THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 47.8 percent from the field (330-for-690), with 106 3-pointers, and are 105-for-142 (73.9 %) from the free throw line. … Saint Mary’s is averaging 79.2 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 73.8 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s has scored 80 or more points in a game five times this season, including a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Monday.
SAINT JOHN’S JOHNNIES SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: Saint John’s, which has been off since Dec. 21, heads to the Saint Mary’s Gym sporting an 8-3 overall record, including a 5-1 mark through its first six conference tilts.
• LAST TIME OUT: SJU scored 35 points in each half, and shot 51.1 percent (24-for-47) from the field and 84.2 percent (16-for-19) from the free-throw line, in cruising to a 70-55 nonconference win over Linfield on Dec. 21 in Spokane, Wash.
• WHAT A RUN: The Johnnies closed out the 2021-22 season with a stellar 23-5 overall record, claiming their third straight MIAC tournament title, while falling to Calvin 77-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Division III national tournament. … The 23 wins a year ago marked the fourth straight 20+-win season for the Johnnies.
• ROAD WARRIORS: Saturday’s game at Saint Mary’s is the fifth straight road contest for the Johnnies, who are a perfect 4-0 on their home court, while going 4-3 away from Sexton Arena.
• HITTING THEIR STRIDE: After opening the season 2-2, Saint John’s has rattled off wins in six of its last seven games — the lone setback a 65-56 decision to Whitworth on Dec. 20. … SJU’s loss to Whitworth on Dec. 20 snapped its season-high five-game winning streak.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Saint John’s enters 2023 boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Ryan Thissen’s 17.8 ppg average. Kooper Vaughnand Mitchell Plombon are also averaging in double figures, sitting at 13.4 ppg and 11.4 ppg, respectively. … Thissen has led the team in scoring in each of its last three games — and in seven of its 11 contests overall. … Plombon poured in a single-game season-high 27 points against Macalester on Dec. 7, while Thissen boasts a season-high 26-point night against Gustavus on Nov. 22.
• CLEANING THE GLASS: Carson Schoeller has pulled down a team-leading 76 rebounds (6.9 rpg) through 11 games, while Plombon (60, 5.7 rpg) and Thissen (57, 5.2 rpg) have also recorded more than 50 boards this season. … Sixty of Schoeller’s 76 rebounds this season have come on the defensive end. … Schoeller recorded a single-game season-high 16 rebounds against Gustavus on Nov. 22.
• DOUBLING UP: Schoeller has posted a pair of double-doubles — 11 points and 13 boards vs. UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 12, and 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. Linfield on Dec. 21, while Plombon owns a 16-point, 13-rebound performance against Buena Vista on Nov. 16.
• RAINING IN 3s: SJU has knocked down 69 3-pointers, led by Vaughn with 26 and Zach Longueville with 12. … Vaughn is shooting 50 percent from behind the arc (26-for-52).
• LENDING A HAND: As a team, Saint John’s has dished out 155 assists, with Thissen (42) and Longueville (35) accounting for 75 of those 155 helpers.
• WORKING (DOUBLE) OVERTIME: Saint John’s has played one game that has gone into overtime, outscoring UW-Eau Claire 8-7 in the second extra session en route to a 71-70 victory over the Blugolds in their second game of the season on Nov. 12.
• BY THE NUMBERS: As a team, Saint John’s is shooting 50.1 percent from the field (303-for-605) with 69 3-pointers and a 106-for-149 (71.1 %) from the free throw line. … SJU is averaging 71.0 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 59.6 ppg. … SJU has scored 80 or more points twice this season, netting 80 in an 84-80 loss to UW-La Crosse on Nov. 8, and scoring a season-high 81 in beating St. Scholastica 81-58 on Nov. 30.
