SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-2 MIAC, 1-5 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023-24: 0-2 MIAC, 1-4 Overall

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SMU-ST. OLAF * A YEAR AGO:

L, 75-69 * W, 66-65 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 29, 2023 * Collegeville MN

Saint John’s * L, 90-66

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 29, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

Macalester * L, 86-82

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 4, 2023 * Winona, MN

Concordia * 5:30 p.m.

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 4, 2023 * Northfield, MN

at Carleton * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Saturday’s conference showdown against St. Olaf sitting at 1-5 overall, while sitting at 0-2 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals put five players in double figures in scoring, but it was not enough to off-set Saint John’s 47-point second half, as the Johnnies dealt SMU a 90-66 conference setback Wednesday in Collegeville, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game at St. Olaf is the second of two consecutive road games for the Cardinals, who played at Saint John’s on Wednesday. … SMU opened the season with back-to-back road games, before playing three straight home contests prior to their Wednesday showdown at SJU. … Saint Mary’s — 1-2 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 then-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: Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) heads into Saturday’s matchup at St. Olaf boasting a team-leading 15.7 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 15.3 ppg and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) at 11.5 ppg. … Mallory has led or shared the team lead in scoring in four of SMU’s first six games.

• HITTING DOUBLE FIGURES: Buysman has scored in double figures in five of SMU’s six games — including a season-high 24-point effort against Hamline on Nov. 21. … Mallory has also scored in double figures in five of SMU’s first six contests. 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 31 games.

• CAREER SCORING NIGHTS: Saint Mary’s has had a player post a career high of 10 or more points three times this season. Mallory’s 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18 was a career high, while Bruce Lockwood’s (Shakopee, Minn.) tallied a career-best 11 points against Hamline on Nov. 21 and Jemari Moore (Broadview, Ill.) delivered a career-high 10 points against Saint John’s on Wednesday. … Saint Mary’s boasted six players who recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points last season.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s put five players in double figures against Saint John’s on Wednesday — Mallory (13 points), Sawyer (11), Lockwood (11), Buysman (10), and Jemari Moore (Broadview, Ill.). It was the first time SMU has put five players in double figures in the same game since Jan. 15, 2022. … SMU has now put at least three players in double figures in five of their first six games.

• ON THE GLASS: Saint Mary’s boasts four players with 20 or more rebounds through five games, led by Lockwood with 30 (5.0 rpg). Buysman owns 29 boards (4.8 rpg), followed by Sawyer (25, 4.2 rpg) and Mallory (22, 3.7 rpg). … Mallory, Lockwood, and Buysman have all posted season-high eight-rebound performances this season. … 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 35 of 112 3-point attempts this season (31.3 %) — 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.) and Khai Branham (Bemidji, Minn.) with six each, and Sawyer with five. … SMU drained a season-high 12 3-pointers against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18, just two treys shy of the program’s single-game record of 14, set against Finlandia a year ago.

• LENDING A HAND: Ziegler and Sawyer have accounted for 43 of the team’s 74 assists through five games, with Ziegler dishing out 23 helpers, and Sawyer adding 20. Buysman and Mallory are tied for third with eight assists each. … 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 45.9 percent from the field (158-for-344), with 35 3-pointers, and are 52 of 72 (72.2 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 67.2 ppg, with its opponents scoring at an 81.2 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s, which has scored 70 or more points in three of its first six 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.

ST. OLAF SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles enter their Saturday home conference showdown against Saint Mary’s sitting at 1-4 overall, and are still searching for their first conference win — having fallen to Gustavus and Macalester in their first two MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: St. Olaf got a 23-point, 16-rebound double-double from Kobe Kirk, but the Oles could not overcome Macalester’s five players scoring in double figures, as the Scots handed STO an 86-82 conference setback Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Oles are in the midst of playing four of five contests on their home floor – the lone road game, Wednesday’s 86-82 loss at Macalester. … St. Olaf, which plays back-to-back home contests against Saint Mary’s and Carleton in the next three days, is sitting at 1-1 at home, while still searching for their first win (0-3) away from Skoglund Center. 

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Kirk and Connor Martin both head into Saturday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s averaging in double figures. Kirk leads the offensive charge with an 18.0 ppg scoring average, followed closely by Martin at 16.8 ppg. … Kirk’s 23-point effort against Macalester Wednesday marked the third time in five games that the sophomore has eclipsed the 20-point mark, having also netted 20 points against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 15 and scoring a season-best 25 points against Whitworth on Nov. 11. … Martin has scored 10 or more points in all five St. Olaf contests, with 21-point showings against both Whitman on Nov. 10 and Whitworth the following day. 

• CLEANING THE GLASS: St. Olaf has seven players who have reached double figures in rebounds this season, including two who have eclipsed the 20-rebound mark. Kirk leads the Oles with 34 boards (6.8 rpg) — including a season- and career-high 16 against Macalester on Wednesday — followed by Brendan Kauls with 25 (5.0 rpg).

• DOUBLING UP: Kirk picked up his first double-double of the season with his 23-point, 16-rebound effort against Macalester on Wednesday. … Kirk’s double-double is the Oles’ only one of the season.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: As a team, St. Olaf has poured in 25 3-pointers in five games, with Kirk leading the Ole long-range bombers with six, followed by Addison Metcalf with four, Jayden Hannah with three, and Kauls, Josh Albers, Caleb Greer, and Martin with two each. 

• LENDING A HAND: Martin sits atop the team lead in assists with 15, seven more than Kauls, and eight in front of Greer and Albers. … Martin dished out a single-game season-high five helpers against Whitman on Nov. 10.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Oles are shooting 47.3 percent from the field (134-for-283), with 25 3-pointers, and are 57 of 81 (70.4 %) from the free throw line. … St. Olaf is averaging 70.0 ppg, while the Oles’ opponents are scoring at an 82.4 ppg clip. … The Oles have scored 80 or more points in a game twice this season — both in losses. St. Olaf dropped an 88-81 decision to Whitworth on Nov. 11 and netted a season-high 82 points in an 86-82 loss to Macalester on Wednesday. … St. Olaf surrendered a season-high 97 points in falling to Gustavus 97-59 on Nov. 21.