WINONA, Minn. — Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Feb. 21: The Saint Mary's men's basketball team is headed back to the playoffs!
 
The Cardinals overcame a sluggish start to the season — including three straight losses to open the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference slate — climbing all the way to third in the conference's final regular-season standings and earning a home game against Hamline to open the MIAC Playoffs.
 
And while coach Joe Fano is pleased with the Cardinals' turnaround and ascent up the conference ladder, he and the team are not about to rest on their laurels.
 
"We have to focus on what we're doing, play our own game," said Fano. "We knew that we wanted to be a playoff team, and we can be good enough to win the league.
 
"Our goal is to make the NCAA tournament." 
 
That goal is very much alive and well — thanks to the Cardinals' never-say-die attitude.
 
Sitting at 0-3, and about to face eventual regular-season champion Carleton, the Cardinals put together a performance that may have turned their whole season around, routing the Knights 85-66 in a showing that proved to be just the motivation the team needed — a taste of victory.
 
After a heartbreaking five-point loss to Concordia on the road a week after the Carleton win, the Cardinals went to work, rattling off a program-record eight consecutive wins — including a seven-point victory over then-seventh-ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a last-second buzzer-beating victory on the road against North Park, and a 12-point triumph against Saint John's that put an end to a 29-game losing streak against the Johnnies.
 
And, with their regular season-ending win over Gustavus on Saturday, the Cardinals wrapped up a 16-9 season, including a 12-8 mark in conference play to earn the No. 3 seed in the MIAC Playoffs.
 
The Cardinals are making their third postseason appearance in five years under Fano, who is extremely pleased with the team's dedication to the game and to each other. 
 
"I'm proud of them, really proud of them," said Fano. "Seeing the guys happy, watching them succeed, that makes me happy."  
 
The team is loaded with talent, including Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.), who leads the team and the conference — and is second in the nation — in scoring. Anthony has turned more than a few heads this season, as evidenced by his being named to  the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List for the 2022-23 season. The list is compiled of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, USCAA, and NCCAA. 
 
"I hold myself to high standards," said Anthony, who is averaging 24.9 ppg and has recorded six games of 30 or more points — including twice posting career-high 41-point performances. "And for the playoffs, I want to hold the guys to higher standards than they've ever been held." 
 
Along with his 24.9 ppg scoring average and 622 points, Anthony also leads the Cardinals with 226 rebounds (third in the MIAC) and 116 assists (second in the MIAC).
 
"There's pressure being first in the MIAC, but I think that pressure can be motivation," said Anthony. 
 
But it's not just Anthony making the Cardinals tick.
 
Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) is a force in his own right, leading the MIAC in 3-pointers with an impressive 83 — 12 more than his nearest competitor — and sitting No. 5 in all of NCAA Division III in 3-point field goal percentage (40.7 %). 
 
Ziegler's best showing came in Saint Mary's exciting 85-66 upset of Carleton on Dec. 3, when he knocked down a program-record eight 3-pointers and totaled 32 points.
 
But for Ziegler, it's not about the stats. 
 
"I'm most proud of my teammates," he said. "It could have been so easy to give up at the beginning when things were going south, but we stuck together and it's been a special year." 
 
Clinching a playoff berth with an 83-67 win over Bethel on Feb. 15 was exciting for the team, but they know it's important to keep their heads in the game and focus on the task at hand. 
 
"Every game is a close game, and we always fight to the end," said Ziegler. "That's something great about us — we won't give up against any team."