The Teams
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5, 1-8)
vs.
Carleton Knights (1-6, 3-8)
The Vitals
Saturday, Jan. 13 • SMU Gym • 3 p.m.
A Year Ago
The Cardinals split their season series with the Knights, losing the first game 74-60, then rebounding with a 69-55 win.
Last Action
The Cardinals are coming off an 84-76 loss to Hamline on Wednesday, while Carleton dropped a 76-58 decision to Bethel.
This and That
SMU has now dropped five straight, while the Knights are currently mired in a three-game losing skid. … Andy Bohnker (Story City, Iowa) led four SMU players in double figures vs. Hamline, scoring 20 points. … SMU is still searching for its first home win of the season (0-4). … Jason Dzick leads the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 14.8 ppg, w hile Steve Nuessle's 15.1 ppg avearge is tops for Carleton.
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CARDINAL PROFILEBrett Johnson
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looks to snap 5-game slide
WINONA, Minn. — When the season started, Saint Mary’s University men’s basketball coach Bob Biebel had high expectations for his Cardinal squad.
Biebel knew his team had the potential to make some noise in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
But … .
“If we’re going to win, it’s not going to be because one guy scored 40 points, or one guy had 20 rebounds — it’s going to be because everyone did their part,” predicted Biebel. “It’s very important that the guys on this team understand and accept their roles.”
As the saying goes, “There’s no ‘I’ in team.”
Unfortunately for Biebel, he’s finding out the hard way that his Cardinals aren’t the best of spellers.
“Our biggest problem right now is that we are too individualistic,” said Biebel, whose team dropped its fifth straight last Wednesday, falling to previously winless Hamline 84-76. “We are not playing together as a team. Everyone is out there trying to do it all themselves — and that’s not going to work for us.
“Everyone’s got to get on the same page if we are going to turn this around,” continued Biebel. “We haven’t played a game yet where someone hasn’t complained about playing time, or lack thereof.
“We need to get out of the ‘me’ mindset and get back to a ‘we’ mindset.”
Biebel admits that, as the losses continue to pile up, the frustration continues to grow, and that forces everyone to press a bit more.
“It’s hard. Nobody likes to lose, but don’t need one person to hoist the rest of the team on his back and carry us through this,” Biebel said. “The effort is there — everyone is working hard, it’s just that it feels like we’re spinning our wheels.”
Biebel is hoping those wheels will finally get moving in the right direction this afternoon, as the Cardinals play host to Carleton.
“We’re still looking for that consistency, Biebel said. “(Against Hamline) our offense was not very good in the first half, but I thought our defense played better than it has.
“And then in the second half, it was just the opposite,” continued Biebel, noting that the Cardinals had 37 second-half field goal attempts to Hamline’s 19, yet they were outscored 52-50. “We still haven’t been able to put that complete game together.”
Biebel is hoping today will be different.
“We need to get back to the basics,” explained Biebel. “We’ve got to rebound the ball better, and we’ve got to play better on the defensive end of the court — without fouling.
“The effort’s been there — it’s the execution that’s been lacking.”