2022-23: Men's Basketball Preview - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics (2024)

HEAD COACH:

•Joe Fano (5th season)

THE RECORDS:

•2021-22: 6-13 MIAC, 8-16 Overall

IN THE POST-SEASON:

•MIAC Playoffs: at Hamline (L, 89-64)

RETURNERS TO WATCH:

•Raheem Anthony (Senior •Guard | 2021-22: 22 GP, 16.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 23 steals, 101 assists, 9 blocks; 2021-22 First-Team All-MIAC; All-MIAC First-Year Team in 2019-20. …Led the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons. …Finished fifth in MIAC in scoring and second in rebounding in 2021-22. …Scored a career-high 35 points against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4, 2021. …Finished 2021-22 with six double-doubles, giving him 10 for his collegiate career).

•Noah Frechette (Junior •Guard | 2021-22: 23 GP, 10.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 34 3-pointers, 16 assists, 13 steals, 3 blocked shots; Scored career-high 24 points against St. Scholastica on XXX. …Scored 20 or more points in a game four times in 2021-22).

•Owen Ziegler (Sophom*ore •Guard | 2021-22: 6.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 38 3-pointers, 29 assists, 14 steals, one block; Led the team in 3-pointers (38) and 3-point FG % (42.2) in 2021-22. …Posted two games with a season-high five 3-pointers in 2021-22. …Scored a season-high 15 points twice in 2021-22 — against St. Scholastica on XXX and vs. Hamline on XXX).

•Breyton Buysman (Sophom*ore •Guard | 2021-22: 18 GP, 6.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 18 3-pointers, 14 assists, four steals, five blocks; Netted season-high 16 points against Hamline on Jan. 26, 2022)

•Jabari Sawyer (Sophom*ore •Guard | 2021-22: 20 GP, 5.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 11 3-pointers, 22 assists, 10 steals, one blocked shot; Scored career-high 18 points against Hamline on Jan. 26, 2022 —including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

BY THE NUMBERS:

•5:The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures against Concordia on Jan. 15, 2022. Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) led the way with 17 points, followed by Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) with 14, Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill.) with 12, Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights,, Minn.)with 11, and Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn.) with 10.The Cardinals’ performance against Concordia marked the first time since Jan. 11, 2020 that SMU has had five players score 10 or more points in the same game.

•10: Saint Mary’s had 10 players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points last season — Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill. / 35 v. St. Scholastica), Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 24 v. St. Scholastica), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 23 v. Macalester), Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, Minn. / 20 v. Concordia), Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 18 v. Hamline), Breyton Buysman (Mount Horeb, Wis. / Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 16 v. Hamline), Owen Ziegler ( 15 v. St. Scholastica, v. Hamline), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), Cameron Mallory (Joliet, Ill. / 12 v. Concordia), and Bruce Lockwood (Shakopee, Minn. / 10 v. Gustavus).

•13:Thirteen of Saint Mary’s 26 games, and six of its last 10, were decided by 11 points or less — including a 76-66 overtime loss to Carleton on Feb. 14 in which the Knights scored the game-tying basket with six seconds remaining, and a 65-64 loss to Concordia in which the Cobbers drained the game-winning 3-pointer with less than three seconds on the clock.

•35:Raheem Anthony’s (Chicago, Ill.) career-high 35-point performance against St. Scholastica on Dec. 4, 2021 accounted for more than half of the Cardinals’ 68 points —and was the team’s highest single-game performance since Eli Cave scored 35 against Martin Luther on Nov. 18, 2018.

•35: Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) recorded a single-season school-record 35 blocked shots during the 2021-22 season, giving the graduating senior 71 career blocks — which rank No. 2 all-time.

DID YOU KNOW?

•The Cardinals had three players post single-game career-highs of 10 or more points in 2020-21.Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, Minn.) scored 12 points against Bethel on Feb. 20, while Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) netted 10 points against Hamline on Feb. 27 and Nick Falls (Plymouth, Minn.) tallied 10 against Bethel on Feb. 17.

DID YOU KNOW, PART II?

•Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line against Hamline on Jan. 26. His 10 free throws were the most since Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) knocked down 13 of 15 attempts against Augsburg on Feb. 5, 2020.Sawyer’s effort against the Pipers marked the first time since Michael Burfeind on Jan. 12, 2013 that an SMU player has gone 10-for-10 from the line.

DID YOU KNOW, PART III?

• With their 22- and 20-point performances against Bethel on Feb. 5, 2022, Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) and Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn.) both scored 20 or more points in the same game twice last season —having also recorded 23 and 21 points, respectively, against Gustavus on Feb. 2.

RAPID FIRE:

•POST-SEASON HONORS: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) was named First-Team All-MIAC, while Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) was selected to the MIAC’s All-Defensive Team.

•MIAC HISTORY: Saint Mary’s made its second straight MIAC Playoff appearance on Saturday —and just the third post-season appearance in program history. Saint Mary’s made its first post-season appearance in 35 years following the 2019-20 season, beating Bethel 72-59 in the opening round, before falling to St. Thomas 79-66 in the semifinals. The MIAC did not have a post-season tournament in 2020-21 due to COVID-19.

•HOME ON THE ROAD: Saint Mary’s picked up five of its eight wins in 2021-22 on the road. The Cardinals finished 3-8 on their home court, while going 5-8 away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

•WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 76-66 loss to Carleton on Feb. 14 was the Cardinals’ second overtime game of the season. Saint Mary’s also dropped a 79-73 decision to Augustana on Nov. 16. The two overtime games were the first since SMU went 2-0 in OT games during the 2019-20 season.

•LEADING THE CHARGE: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.), who scored 10 or more points 17 times,closed out the season averaging a team-leading 16.4 ppg, followed by Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 10.3 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 8.1 ppg), Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 6.2 ppg) and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 6.1 ppg).

•GREATER THAN 20: Anthony poured in 20 or more points in a game seven times, including back-to-back 20+ showings against Gustavus (23 points) and Bethel (22 points) on Feb. 2 and Feb. 5, respectively. …Anthony has scored 20 or more points 12 times in his career. …Frechette and Zach Kjeseth (Wabasha, Minn.) were the only other Cardinals to eclipse the 20-point mark this season. Frechette recorded 20 or more points in a game four times —including a career-high 24 points against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29 —while Kjeseth delivered a career-best 20 points against Concordia last Saturday.

•WHAT A SENIOR SEND-OFF: Kjeseth —playing his final regular-season home game—poured in a career-high 20 points to lead the Cardinals in scoring in their 65-64 loss to Concordia on Feb. 12.

• CAREER NIGHT x 2: Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill.) and Buysman each recorded single-game career-high performances against Hamline on Jan. 26, with Sawyer scoring 18 points —including 10-for-10 from the free throw line —while Buysman chipped in 16 points. … All 18 of Sawyer’s points against the Pipers came in the second half.

•DOUBLING UP: Anthony picked up his sixth double-double of the season in SMU’s 89-64 MIAC Playoff loss to St. Olaf on Feb. 19, scoring 15 points and adding 11 rebounds. Anthony —who now owns 10 double-doubles as a Cardinal —missed his first collegiate triple-double by one assist against UW-Superior on Dec. 28. …Freetly recorded his second double-double of the season —and fourth of his collegiate career —against Concordia on Feb. 12, netting 10 points and adding 10 rebounds.

•SEEING DOUBLE: The double-doubles by Anthony (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Freetly (11 points, 10 rebounds) against Crown on Jan. 3 marked the first time since Wylie Ferron scored 16 points and added 11 boards, and Quashingm Smith-Pugh chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds, against Martin Luther on Nov. 15, 2016 that the Cardinals had two players record double-doubles in the same game.

•OH, SO CLOSE: Lockwood missed out on his first collegiate double-double by one point against St. Olaf on Feb. 7, scoring nine points and adding a career-high 10 rebounds.

•PLENTY OF OPTIONS: All 10 SMU players who saw playing time against Bethel on Dec. 11 scored at least two points. …Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who took the court against Augustana on Nov. 16 recorded at least two points.

•ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 16.4 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 179 (8.5 rpg), while Freetly is second with 110 (5.0 rpg). … Anthony has led or shared the team lead in rebounds in 16 of SMU’s 23 games. …Saint Mary’s recorded a season-high 54 rebounds against Crown on Jan. 3.

•GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s on Dec. 1. …SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. …Saint Mary’s knocked down 178 3-pointers, led by Ziegler with 38 and Frechette with 34. …Ziegler posted two games with five 3-pointers. … SMU boasted 11 players who have recorded at least one 3-pointer … The Cardinals — who recorded 10 or more treys in a game five times—attempted a season-high 34 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23.

•LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s dished out 298 assists, including a season-high 17 against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 30. Anthony led the team with 101 helpers, while Freetly (38) and Ziegler (31) have also recorded 30 or more assists this season. …Anthony’s nine assists against UW-Superior on Dec. 28 were a season- and career-high.

•FEW TRIED: Saint Mary’s attempted 13 free throws against Hamline on Jan. 26, with just two players —Sawyer and Anthony —accounting for all 13 attempts. Sawyer finished 10-for-10 and Anthony was 0-for-3.

•AS A TEAM: The Cardinals shot 41.0 percent from the field (612-for-1491), with 178 3-pointers, and are 187-for-314 (59.6 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s averaged 66.2 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 70.6 ppg clip. …The Cardinals scored a season-high 83 points in their 83-78 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 28. …SMU has recorded a season-high 30 field goals twice this season, vs. St. Scholastica on Jan. 5 and v. Bethel last Saturday.

•BIG SECOND HALF: The Cardinals’ 47 second-half points against Bethel on Feb. 5 were a season high, and marked the fifth time SMU scored 40 or more points in a half—with four of those five 40+ efforts coming in the second half.

•INDIVIDUAL HONORS: Anthony picked up his second MIAC Athlete of the Week honor on Monday, after averaging 22.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg in SMU’s two conference games. The junior was also named MIAC AOW on Dec. 6, and was a member of the D3hoops.com Team of the Week on Dec. 7, while also being selected to the D3hoop.com Classic All-Tournament Team on Dec. 31.