SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 7-11 MIAC, 8-15 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

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2023-24: 12-6 MIAC, 13-10 Overall

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SMU-GUSTAVUS * LAST MEETING:

Jan. 10, 2024 * St. Peter, MN

L, 88-68 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 7, 2024 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * W, 89-80

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 10, 2024 * St. Peter, MN

Augsburg * W, 90-66

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Feb. 17, 2024 * Northfield, MN

Carleton * 3 p.m.

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

Feb. 17, 2024 * St. Peter, MN

Hamline * 3 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals enter their regular-season home finale against Gustavus sitting at 8-15 overall, while owning a 7-11 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) each scored 32 points, as the Cardinals collected their third straight win, rolling to an 89-80 conference victory over Augsburg last Wednesday at the SMU Gym.

• HOME FINALE Wednesday’s game against Gustavus is the final home game for the Cardinals, who will close out the 2023-24 season at Carleton on Saturday. … Saint Mary’s is currently 6-7 on its home court, while sporting a 2-8 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• ON A ROLL: With their 89-8-win over Augsburg last Wednesday, the Cardinals have won back-to-back-to-back games for the first time this season, having dispatched of Macalester (72-69) and St. Scholastica (71-65) prior to their 89-80 victory over Augsburg. … SMU’s sweep-clinching win over St. Scholastica in their second meeting on Feb. 5 was its sixth straight win against the Saints and moved the Cardinals to 8-1 against CSS all-time.

• STREAK-SNAPPERS: The Cardinals’ thrilling 74-72, last-second win over St. Olaf on Jan. 20 put an end to their three-game losing streak. … SMU’s 83-56 victory over Macalester in their first meeting on Jan. 6 also snapped a three-game SMU losing streak, while the Cardinals’ 12-point, 92-80 win over St. Scholastica on Dec. 6 ended their season-high four-game losing streak.

• SATURDAY SUCCESS: With their 72-69 win over Macalester on Feb. 3, the Cardinals have gone 4-1 in their last five Saturday games, including back-to-back-to-back victories against St. Olaf (74-72), Bethel (85-76), and Macalester (72-69) in their last three Saturday contests. 

• BIG HALF: Saint Mary’s has recorded 50 or more points in a half twice this season, pouring in 51 first-half points against Augsburg last Wednesday, while netting a season-high 52 points against Bethel on Jan. 27. … Saint Mary’s 52-point second half against Bethel on Jan. 27 were the most in a half since scoring 55 in the first half of a 102-68 win over Finlandia on Jan. 2, 2023. … SMU has scored 40 or more points in a half seven times — achieving the feat three times in the first half and four times in the second.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: The Cardinals head into their matchup against Gustavus boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Buysman leads the way for SMU, owning a 15.3 ppg scoring average, percentage points in front of Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.), who is sitting at 15.1 ppg. Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) is also averaging in double figures, sitting at 10.1 ppg, while Ziegler is fourth on the team with a 9.8 ppg scoring average. … 

Mallory or Buysman has led or shared the team lead in scoring in 18 of SMU’s 23 games, while Sawyer has led the team three times.

• HITTING DOUBLE FIGURES: Mallory has scored in double figures in 16 of SMU’s 23 contests. He has set a single-game career high four times this season — netting a then-career-high 20 points against UW-Platteville on Nov. 10, bettering that by three with a 23-point showing against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18. He improved on that mark with 25 points against St. Scholastica on Dec. 6, before delivering his new career-best with 27 points against Macalester on Jan. 6. … Buysman has scored in double figures 17 times this season — including a career-high 32-point effort against Augsburg last Wednesday.

• GREATER THAN 30: Ziegler and Buysman both eclipsed the 30-point mark in last Wednesday’s 89-80 win over Augsburg, each scoring 32 points. … The 32 points were a career-high by Buysman and matched Ziegler’s career-best — and marked the first time SMU has had two players score 30+ points in the same game since Bill Skemp scored 41 and Ken Janssen added 38 against UM-Duluth during the 1954-55 season.

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points in a game 18 times this season — including 32-point performances from both Ziegler and Buysman against Augsburg last Wednesday. … Mallory has reached the 20-point mark nine times this season, while Buysman has netted 20+ points six times. Sawyer (2) and Ziegler (1) have accounted for SMU’s other three 20+ efforts.

• GREATER THAN 20 x 2: With Mallory’s 25 points and Buysman’s 24 against St. Scholastica on Dec. 6, the Cardinals recorded their second game with two players reaching the 20-point mark in the same game. The duo also achieved the feat against St. Olaf on Dec. 2. … SMU had two 20+ scorers in the same game six times last season — including a program record three players with 20 or more points in the same game against Augsburg on Jan. 16, 2023.

• CAREER SCORING NIGHTS: Saint Mary’s has had a player post a career high of 10 or more points in a game five times this season — Buysman (32), Mallory (27), Sawyer (23), Khai Branham (Bemidji, Minn. / 14), Jemari Moore (Broadview, Ill. / 14) and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn. / 14). … Ziegler’s 32 points against Augsburg last Wednesday matched his career-high.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s put five players in double figures against Saint John’s on Nov. 29 — Mallory (13 points), Sawyer (11), Lockwood (11), Buysman (10), and Moore (10). It was the first time SMU put five players in double figures in the same game since Jan. 15, 2022.

• ON THE GLASS: Saint Mary’s boasts four players with 80 or more rebounds through 23 games, led by Lockwood with a single-season career-high 130 (5.9 rpg). Buysman owns 120 boards (5.2 rpg), followed by Mallory (94, 4.1 rpg), and Sawyer (93, 4.0 rpg). … Lockwood and Buysman each pulled down 10 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Feb. 5. It marked the second straight game in which SMU has had two players with 10 rebounds in the same game — Lockwood and Khai Branham (Bemidji, Minn.) each had 10 boards against Macalester on Feb. 3. … Lockwood pulled down a season- and career-high 12 rebounds against Saint John’s on Jan. 17. …  Branham collected a career-high 10 rebounds in SMU’s win over Macalester on Feb.3, and Buysman delivered a career-best 10 boards vs. St. Scholastica two days later.. … As a team, Saint Mary’s matched its season high with 42 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Feb. 3.

• DOUBLING UP: With his career-highs in points (14) and rebounds (12) against Saint John’s on Jan. 17, Lockwood collected his first collegiate double-double. … Branham posted career-highs in points (14) and rebounds (10) against Macalester on Feb.3 en route to his first collegiate double-double … Lockwood and Branham own SMU’s only two double-doubles this season.

• FEW FREE POINTS: The Cardinals attempted just two free throws — making both — in their 71-57 loss to Concordia on Dec. 4. It was the fewest FT made in a game since hitting 2 of 4 against St. Olaf on Feb. 9, 2015, while the two FT attempts were the fewest since Feb. 8, 2006, when SMU went 0-for-1 from the line against Hamline. 

• DEAD-EYE FROM THE LINE: With his 9-for-10 showing from the free throw line against St. Scholastica on Feb.3, Mallory has now drained a season-high nine free throws twice this season — having also gone 9-for-11 from the line against Carleton on Jan. 13. … Ziegler heads into Wednesday’s final having missed just one free throw in the last two seasons — going 20-for-20 a year ago, and 19-for-20 this season.

• GOING DEEP: Saint Mary’s has made 170 of 474 3-point attempts this season (35.9 %) — including a season-high 12 treys against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18. … Ziegler leads the team with 62 3s, followed by Buysman with 28, Branham with 24, and Mallory with 21. … Ziegler matched is own single-game program record with eight 3-pointers against Augsburg last Wednesday — including knocking down six in the first half. … The Cardinals have gotten at least one 3 from nine different players. … SMU’s season-high 12 3-pointers against UW-River Falls on Nov. 18 were just two treys shy of the program’s single-game record of 14, set against Finlandia a year ago.

• ALL-TIME LEADER: With the first of his four 3-pointers against Macalester on Jan. 6, Ziegler became the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made. Ziegler has now drained a program-record 191 3-pointers during his four-year career.

• LENDING A HAND: Sawyer and Ziegler lead the way for SMU with 75 and 65 assists, respectively. Buysman (36), Mallory (34), and Moore (25) have also dished out 20+ helpers. … Sawyer has delivered a season-high seven assists twice this season — against St. Olaf on Dec. 2 and vs. Augsburg las Wednesday.

• FACING THE NATION’S BEST: Saint Mary’s has 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.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals are shooting 44.9 percent from the field (618-for-1377), with 170 3-pointers, and are 206 of 293 (70.3 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 70.0 ppg, with its opponents scoring at a 77.4 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s has scored 70 or more points 12 times — including four games of 80+ points. SMU netted a season-high 92 points against St. Scholastica on Dec. 6. On the flip side, Saint Mary’s has surrendered 80 or more points nine times, including allowing 90+ points on three occasions. … SMU’s 92-point effort in its 92-80 win over St. Scholastica on Dec. 6 were the most since netting a season-high 102 against Finlandia on Jan. 2, 2023.

GUSTAVUS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties head into their mid-week road showdown at Saint Mary’s owning a 13-10 overall record, including an 12-6 mark in conference play

• LAST TIME OUT: Gustavus shot 53.2 percent from the field, and used a game-opening 9-0 run to set the tone, as the Gusties cruised to a 90-66 conference win over Augsburg Monday evening in St. Peter, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Gusties are in the midst of closing out their regular-season schedule playing three of their final four games on their home court. The lone exception, Wednesday’s matchup at Saint Mary’s. GAC, which played back-to-back home games against Saint John’s last Saturday and vs. Augsburg on Monday, close out the regular season with a home game against Hamline on Saturday. … GAC is 7-3 on its home floor this season, while sitting at 6-7 in 13 games away from Gus Young Court.

• STREAKING: GAC enters Wednesday’s road finale against Saint Mary’s having won three of their last four ­— beating Macalester (83-70), Concordia (65-44), and Augsburg (90-66), while suffering a 66-64 loss to Saint John’s.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Spencer Swanson enters the Gusties’ final two games of the regular season leading the team with a 19.3 ppg scoring average. Swanson is one of four Gusties who are averaging in double figures in scoring, being joined by Wyatt Olson (12.9 ppg), Evan Walker (11.9 ppg), and Brady Kienitz (10.5 ppg). … Swanson, who has scored in double figures in 21 of the team’s 23 games, owns 12 games of 20+ points — including a season-high 28 against both Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 18 and vs. Macalester on Dec. 6. … GAC has had a 20+ point scorer in 18 of its 23 games this season., including 23-point performances from Swanson and Kienitz in the Gusties’ last two games. 

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Gustavus boasts three players who have reached the 100-rebound mark this year, led by Swanson, who has hauled in 207 boards (9.0 rpg). Olson is second on the team with 155 rebounds (6.7 rpg), with Wieker chipping in 111 (4.8 rpg). … Swanson has hit the 10+ rebound mark nine times this season — with a season-best 13-rebound effort against both St. Olaf on Jan. 24 and vs. St. Scholastica a week later — and owns eight double-doubles. … 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: The Gusties have rained in 181 3-pointers in 23 games, shooting 38.5 percent (181-for-470) from beyond the arc. … Kienitz leads the Gusties’ long-range bombers, drilling 52 3s, followed by Swanson with 43. Adam Biewen (24) and Wieker (23) have also knocked down more than 20 treys this season. … As a team, GAC has netted 11 3-pointers in a game five times, while draining a season-high 13 3s against St. Scholastica on Jan. 31, while Wieker accounted for a single-game season-high five of those 13 3-pointers.

• LENDING A HAND: Swanson has dished out 57 assists through 23 games, with Biewen (35), Wieker (32), Kienitz (31), and Jonah Anderson (30) also dishing out at least 30 helpers. … Swanson has recorded a single-game season-high six assists twice, with Biewen also recording six assists in a game this season. … Gustavus delivered a season-high 44 assists against Carleton on Nov. 29.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Gusties are shooting 49.0 percent from the field (662-for-1351), with 181 3-pointers, and have gone 270-for-391 (69.1 %) from the free throw line. … GAC is averaging 77.1 ppg, while the Gusties’ opponents are scoring at a 71.6 ppg clip. … Gustavus has scored 90 or more points five times this season, and netted a season-best 97 points in topping St. Olaf 97-59 on Nov. 21. On the flip side, GAC has allowed 80+ points five times, with UW-Whitewater’s 88 points in an 88-59 win the most allowed by the Gusties all season. … Gustavus has played on overtime game this season, falling to Bethel 80-71 on Jan. 6.