SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-1 MIAC, 1-4 Overall

SAINT JOHN’S JOHNNIES

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2023-24: 1-0 MIAC, 2-2 Overall

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SMU-SJU * A YEAR AGO:

W, 69-57 * L, 90-58 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 21, 2023 * Winona, MN

Hamline * L, 81-75

SAINT JOHN’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 21, 2023 * Northfield, MN

Carleton * W, 74-72

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 2, 2023 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * 3 p.m.

SAINT JOHN’S * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 2, 2023 * Collegeville, MN

Hamline * 3 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Wednesday’s conference showdown against Saint John’s sitting at 1-4 overall, while suffering an 81-75 loss to Hamline in their MIAC-opener on Nov. 21.

• LAST TIME OUT: Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored a season-high 24 points and led three Cardinals in double figures in scoring, but it was not enough, as Hamline held off SMU down the stretch in dealing Saint Mary’s an 81-75 loss in the teams’ MIAC opener at the SMU Gym.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game at Saint John’s is the first of two consecutive road games for the Cardinals, who next travel to Northfield, Minn., on Saturday to face St. Olaf. … SMU opened the season with back-to-back road games, before playing three straight home contests prior to Wednesday’s showdown at SJU. … Saint Mary’s — 2-2 at home this season — closed out last season 10-3 on their home court, while going 6-7 in 13 road contests.

• FACING THE NATION’S BEST: Saint Mary’s has already faced two teams that received recognition in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll. UW-Platteville received votes in the opening poll, while UW-Whitewater — an NCAA Division III Final Four participant last season — was ranked No. 2. … SMU’s six-point win over No. 7 UW-La Crosse a year ago 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.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Buysman heads into Wednesday’s matchup at Saint John’s boasting a team-leading 16.8 ppg scoring average. Buysman is one of three Cardinals averaging in double figures in scoring this season, being joined by Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) at 15.8 ppg and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) at 11.6 ppg. … Buysman has scored 17 or more points in four of SMU’s five games — including a season-high 24-point effort against Hamline on Nov. 21. … Mallory has also scored in double figures in four of SMU’s first five games. He netted a then-career-high 20 points against UW-Platteville on Nov. 10, before bettering that by three with a 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18.

• GREATER THAN 20: With Buysman’s single-game season-high 24-point showing against Hamline on Nov. 21 and Mallory’s 20- and 23-point efforts against UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls, Saint Mary’s has now had a player score 20 or more points in 23 of its last 30 games.

• CAREER SCORING NIGHTS: Mallory’s 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18 was a career high, while Bruce Lockwood’s (Shakopee, Minn.) 11 points against Hamline on Nov. 21 were also a career-best. … Saint Mary’s boasted six players who recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points last season.

• HITTING DOUBLE DIGITS: The Cardinals have put three players in double figures in four of their first five games. … Saint Mary’s put at least three players in double figures in 19 of its 26 games a year ago – including four double-figure scorers in the same game eight times.

• ON THE GLASS: Lockwood leads the Cardinals in rebounds with 26 (5.2 rpg), with Buysman and Sawyer right his heels with 24 boards each (4.8 rpg.). Mallory has also reached double figures in rebounds with 14 (2.8 rpg). … Lockwood finished second on the team with 115 rebounds (4.6 rpg) a year ago, and posted a career-high 11 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Feb. 4, 2023.

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s, which knocked down 242 3-pointers and led the nation in 3-point FG percentage (46.2 %), has made 32 of 96 3-point attempts this season (33.3 %) — including a season-high 12 against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18. … Buysman leads the team with eight treys, followed by Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) with six, and Sawyer and Branham with five each. … SMU equaled the program’s single-game record with 14 3-pointers against Finlandia on Jan. 2, 2023. … Ziegler went 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line against Augsburg on Feb. 8, 2023 to break the single-season record of 71, held by Donald Jordan during the 1994-95 season. … Ziegler — who led the team with a single-season program-record 86 treys last season — netted a school record eight 3-pointers for the second straight game against Carleton on Dec. 3, going 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. He was 8-for-13 in first setting the school record against St. Olaf on Nov. 30.

• LENDING A HAND: Sawyer and Ziegler have both reached double figures in assists, with Sawyer dishing out 18 helpers, one more than Ziegler. … The Cardinals recorded a season-high 19 assists in their first meeting against Gustavus last season. SMU’s 19-assist effort was the most in a game since the Cardinals dished out 20 helpers against Augsburg on Feb. 2, 2021.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 47.0 percent from the field (132-for-281), with 32 3-pointers, and are 43 of 58 (74.1 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 67.8 ppg, with its opponents scoring at a 78.4 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s, which has scored 70 or more points in three of its first five games — including a season-high 76 against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18 — scored 80 or more points in a game 10 times last season, including a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Jan. 2.

SAINT JOHN’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint John’s heads into its conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-2 overall, including a 1-0 showing in conference play — thanks to a two-point win over Carleton on Nov. 21.

• LAST TIME OUT: Luke Healy scored what proved to be the game-winning basketball with 4.4 seconds remaining in regulation, lifting the Johnnies a two-point, 74-72 win over MIAC defending regular-season and playoff champion Carleton in the teams’ conference opener on Nov. 21 in Northfield, Minn.

• FINALLY HOME: After four straight road games to open the season, Wednesday’s contest against Saint Mary’s is the first of three straight home games for the Johnnies, who finished the 2022-23 season 11-2 at Sexton Arena.

• HITTING THEIR STRIDE: After dropping 82-69 and 80-78 decision s to UW-Eau Claire and UW-Platteville to open the season, SJU has rattled off back-to-back wins over Stockton (77-64) and Carleton (74-72) in their last two games.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Saint John’s enters its mid-week conference showdown against Saint Mary’s boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Kooper Vaughn leads the way for SJU, averaging 17.3 ppg, with Blake Berg (14.5 ppg) and Ryan Thissen (10.3 ppg) also averaging 10+ points through four games. … SJU has had a player score 20 or more points twice — Berg netted 20 against Stockton on Nov. 18 and Vaughn tallied a season-high 23 points against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 14. … Vaughn and Berg have each led the team in scoring twice — Vaughn scoring 23 and 19 points in SJU’s first two games of the season, with Berg leading the way with 20 and 16 points in the Johnnies’ last two games.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Luke Budzyn has amassed a team-best 33 rebounds (8.3 rpg) coming off the bench, with Vaughn and Brandon Adelman each owning 15 boards (3.8 rpg). Berg and Thissen have also reached double digits in rebounds with 11 each (2.8 rpg). … Budzyn has recorded 10+ rebounds in two of SJU’s four games — pulling down 10 boards against UW-Platteville on Nov. 17, and posted a season-best 12 rebounds vs. Stockton the following day.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: SJU has poured in 29 3-pointers in four games, shooting 34.5 % from behind the 3-point line (29-for-84). … Vaughn leads the Johnnies’ long-range bombers with 11 treys, followed by Zach Longueville with five, and Berg and Kyle Johnson with four each. … Longueville drained a season-best five 3-pointers against Stockton on Nov. 18, with Vaughn delivered four 3s against UW-Platteville the previous day.

• LENDING A HAND: Thissen and Berg are the team’s assist leads, dishing out eight and seven helpers, respectively, followed by Adelman with six, and Johnson and Healy with five each. … SJU has gotten at least one assist from 12 of the 13 players who have seen playing time.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, Saint John’s is shooting 43.5 % from the field (94-for-210), with 29 3-pointers, and are 81 of 97 (83.5 %) from the free throw line … SJU and its opponents are both averaging 74.5 ppg. … The Johnnies have outscored their opponents by five, 139-134, in the first half, and have been outscored by five, 164-159, after the break. … Saint John’s has scored 70 or more points in three of its four games, including a season-high 78 points against UW-Platteville on Nov. 17. On the flip side, SJU has allowed 80+ points twice, including surrendering a season-high 82 points to UW-Eau Claire in the Blugolds’ 82-69 win on Nov. 14.