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2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

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2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Ranking
APNo. 25
Record30–6 (16–2 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcKeon Pavilion
Seasons
2017–18 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Gonzaga 17 1   .944 32 5   .865
No. 25 Saint Mary's 16 2   .889 30 6   .833
BYU 11 7   .611 24 11   .686
San Diego 9 9   .500 20 14   .588
San Francisco 9 9   .500 22 17   .564
Pacific 9 9   .500 14 18   .438
Santa Clara 8 10   .444 11 20   .355
Loyola Marymount 5 13   .278 11 20   .355
Portland 4 14   .222 10 22   .313
Pepperdine 2 16   .111 6 26   .188
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 17th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 in West Coast Conference play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament, they defeated Pepperdine in the quarterfinals before losing to BYU in the semifinals. They were one of the last four teams not selected for the NCAA tournament and as a result earned a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the first round and Washington in the second round before losing to Utah in the quarterfinals.

Previous season

[edit]

The Gaels finished the 2016–17 season 29–5, 16–2 in WCC play to finish in second place. In the WCC tournament, they defeated Portland[1] and BYU[2] before losing to Gonzaga in the championship game.[3] They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 7 seed in the West region, they beat VCU in the first round[4] before losing to No. 2-seeded Arizona in the second round.[5][6]

Offseason

[edit]

Departures

[edit]
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Stefan Gonzalez 2 G 6'2" 195 Sophomore Pocatello, ID Transferred to UC Davis
Dane Pineau 22 F 6'9" 225 Senior Melbourne, Australia Graduated
Joe Rahon 25 G 6'2" 195 RS Senior San Diego, CA Graduated

Incoming transfers

[edit]
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Cullen Neal 44 G 6'5" 195 RS Senior Albuquerque, NM Transferred from Ole Miss. Will eligible to play since Neal graduated from Mississippi.
Malik Fitts F 6'8" 237 Sophomore Rancho Cucamonga, CA Transferred from South Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Fitts will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kristers Zoriks
#46 PG
Dobele, Latvia New Hampton School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sep 20, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr   Rivals: nr  ESPN: nr
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "ESPN". ESPN.com.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

[edit]
2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 00 Tanner Krebs 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Lake Ginninderra College Hobart, Australia
C 1 Jordan Hunter 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr St. Ignatius College Vaucluse, NSW, Australia
G 3 Emmett Naar 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Sydney Boys Sydney, Australia
C 5 Jock Perry 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS Fr Lake Ginninderra College Melbourne, Australia
F 10 Elijah Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Sunrise Mountain Peoria, AZ
G 12 Tommy Kuhse (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Mountain View Mesa, AZ
F 15 Dan Sheets (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Dougherty Valley San Ramon, CA
C 21 Evan Fitzner 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Francis Parker School San Diego, CA
G 23 Kristers Zoriks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr New Hampton School Dobele, Latvia
F 24 Calvin Hermanson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Lake Oswego Lake Oswego, OR
G 30 Jordan Ford 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Folsom Folsom, CA
F 33 Kyle Clark 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Hellyer College Wynyard, TAS, Australia
C 34 Jock Landale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Sr Geelong Grammar Malvern East, VIC, Australia
G 44 Cullen Neal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) RS Sr Eldorado HS
Ole Miss
Albuquerque, NM
F Malik Fitts Current redshirt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 237 lb (108 kg) So Brewster Academy
South Florida
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 25, 2017*
8:00 pm
Fresno State
North Bay Fire relief
W 85–76 
McKeon Pavilion 
Moraga, CA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2017*
5:00 pm
No. 22 Saint Francis (PA) W 85–68  1–0
McKeon Pavilion (3,276)
Moraga, CA
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm, CHN
No. 21 New Mexico State W 92–74  2–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,811)
Moraga, CA
Nov 15, 2017*
7:00 pm
No. 21 Cal State Fullerton W 76–57  3–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,769)
Moraga, CA
Nov 19, 2017*
5:00 pm, Stadium
No. 21 at San Jose State W 79–61  4–0
Event Center Arena (2,377)
San Jose, CA
Nov 23, 2017*
1:00 pm, ESPNews
No. 21 vs. Harvard
Wooden Legacy quarterfinals
W 89–71  5–0
Titan Gym (2,131)
Fullerton, CA
Nov 24, 2017*
10:30 am, ESPNews
No. 21 vs. Washington State
Wooden Legacy semifinals
L 79–84  5–1
Titan Gym (2,513)
Fullerton, CA
Nov 26, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 21 vs. Georgia
Wooden Legacy 3rd place game
L 81–83 OT 5–2
Titan Gym (1,733)
Fullerton, CA
Dec 2, 2017*
8:00 pm, P12N
at California W 74–63  6–2
Haas Pavilion (7,831)
Berkeley, CA
Dec 5, 2017*
7:00 pm
Sacramento State
Wooden Legacy unbracketed game
W 70–54  7–2
McKeon Pavilion (2,588)
Moraga, CA
Dec 9, 2017*
5:00 pm
Seattle W 97–73  8–2
McKeon Pavilion (3,324)
Moraga, CA
Dec 16, 2017*
5:00 pm
UC Irvine W 73–66  9–2
McKeon Pavilion (2,809)
Moraga, CA
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm, NBCSBA
Dayton W 69–54  10–2
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm, CHN
UNC Asheville W 95–69  11–2
McKeon Pavilion (3,221)
Moraga, CA
WCC regular season
Dec 28, 2017
8:00 pm, NBCSBA
Loyola Marymount W 87–59  12–2
(1–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,062)
Moraga, CA
Dec 30, 2017
1:00 pm, ESPNU
at BYU W 74–64 OT 13–2
(2–0)
Marriott Center (16,212)
Provo, UT
Jan 4, 2018
7:00 pm
Pacific W 74–56  14–2
(3–0)
McKeon Pavilion (2,752)
Moraga, CA
Jan 6, 2018
8:00 pm, NBCSBA
San Diego W 70–63  15–2
(4–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,317)
Moraga, CA
Jan 11, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Santa Clara W 81–57  16–2
(5–0)
Leavey Center (2,871)
Santa Clara, CA
Jan 13, 2018
5:00 pm, NBCSBA+
at Pepperdine W 91–67  17–2
(6–0)
Firestone Fieldhouse (1,574)
Malibu, CA
Jan 18, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 13 Gonzaga
Rivalry
W 74–71  18–2
(7–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
Jan 20, 2018
7:00 pm
at Pacific W 72–69  19–2
(8–0)
Alex G. Spanos Center (3,306)
Stockton, CA
Jan 25, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 16 BYU W 75–62  20–2
(9–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
Jan 27, 2018
8:00 pm, NBCSCA
No. 16 Portland W 72–55  21–2
(10–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
Feb 1, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 13 San Francisco W 79–43  22–2
(11–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,258)
Moraga, CA
Feb 3, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSCA
No. 13 at San Diego W 65–62  23–2
(12–0)
Jenny Craig Pavilion (3,152)
San Diego, CA
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm
No. 11 at Loyola Marymount W 83–62  24–2
(13–0)
Gersten Pavilion (1,258)
Los Angeles, CA
Feb 10, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 11 No. 12 Gonzaga
Rivalry
L 65–78  24–3
(13–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
Feb 15, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 15 at San Francisco L 63–70  24–4
(13–2)
War Memorial Gymnasium (2,679)
San Francisco, CA
Feb 17, 2018
7:00 pm, NBCSBA
No. 15 at Portland W 73–61  25–4
(14–2)
Chiles Center (4,547)
Portland, OR
Feb 22, 2018
7:00 pm
No. 22 Pepperdine W 75–61  26–4
(15–2)
McKeon Pavilion (3,167)
Moraga, CA
Feb 24, 2018
3:00 pm, NBCSCA
No. 22 Santa Clara W 67–40  27–4
(16–2)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
WCC tournament
Mar 3, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPN2
(2) No. 22 vs. (10) Pepperdine
Quarterfinals
W 69–66  28–4
Orleans Arena (7,279)
Las Vegas, NV
Mar 5, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPN2
(2) No. 20 vs. (3) BYU
Semifinals
L 72–85  28–5
Orleans Arena (8,296)
Las Vegas, NV
NIT
Mar 13, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPNU
(1) No. 25 (8) Southeastern Louisiana
First Round – Saint Mary's Bracket
W 89–45  29–5
McKeon Pavilion (1,249)
Moraga, CA
Mar 19, 2018*
8:00 pm, ESPNU
(1) No. 25 (5) Washington
Second Round – Saint Mary's Bracket
W 85–81  30–5
McKeon Pavilion (2,274)
Moraga, CA
Mar 21, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN
(1) No. 25 (2) Utah
Quarterfinals – Saint Mary's Bracket
L 58–67 OT 30–6
McKeon Pavilion (2,309)
Moraga, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source[7][8]

Rankings

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP22222121RVRV1613111522222025Not released
Coaches222222*21RVRVRVRVRVRV1814121520201923RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Portland vs. Saint Mary's – Game Recap – March 4, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  2. ^ "Saint Mary's cruises past BYU to reach WCC final". The Mercury News. March 7, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  3. ^ "Gonzaga rolls past Saint Mary's to win WCC tournament title". The Seattle Times. March 7, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  4. ^ "NCAA Tournament: Saint Mary's clamps down on VCU in first-round win". The Mercury News. March 17, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  5. ^ "Saint Mary's sunk by Arizona in second round of NCAA Tournament". The Mercury News. March 19, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  6. ^ "Arizona Wildcats rally to beat Saint Mary's Gaels in NCAA Tournament second round: Score, stats, live updates recap". OregonLive.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  7. ^ "Saint Mary's Gaels Basketball 2017–18 Schedule – Gaels Home and Away – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "SMCGaels.com :: Saint Mary's College Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball". www.smcgaels.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.