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

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.

2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Ranking
APNo. 25
2017–18 record30–6 (16–2 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcKeon Pavilion
2017–18 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 8 Gonzaga171 .944  325  .865
No. 25 Saint Mary's162 .889  306  .833
BYU117 .611  2411  .686
San Diego99 .500  2014  .588
San Francisco99 .500  2217  .564
Pacific99 .500  1418  .438
Santa Clara810 .444  1120  .355
Loyola Marymount513 .278  1120  .355
Portland414 .222  1022  .313
Pepperdine216 .111  626  .188
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

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

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Stefan Gonzalez2G6'2"195SophomorePocatello, IDTransferred to UC Davis
Dane Pineau22F6'9"225SeniorMelbourne, AustraliaGraduated
Joe Rahon25G6'2"195RS SeniorSan Diego, CAGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious school
Cullen Neal44G6'5"195RS SeniorAlbuquerque, NMTransferred from Ole Miss. Will eligible to play since Neal graduated from Mississippi.
Malik FittsF6'8"237SophomoreRancho Cucamonga, CATransferred 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

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:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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

    2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 00 Tanner Krebs 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SoLake Ginninderra College Hobart, Australia
    C 1 Jordan Hunter 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrSt. Ignatius College Vaucluse, NSW, Australia
    G 3 Emmett Naar 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS SrSydney Boys Sydney, Australia
    C 5 Jock Perry 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)260 lb (118 kg) RS FrLake Ginninderra College Melbourne, Australia
    F 10 Elijah Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS FrSunrise Mountain Peoria, AZ
    G 12 Tommy Kuhse (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS FrMountain View Mesa, AZ
    F 15 Dan Sheets (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SoDougherty Valley San Ramon, CA
    C 21 Evan Fitzner 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS JrFrancis Parker School San Diego, CA
    G 23 Kristers Zoriks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrNew Hampton School Dobele, Latvia
    F 24 Calvin Hermanson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SrLake Oswego Lake Oswego, OR
    G 30 Jordan Ford 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)160 lb (73 kg) SoFolsom Folsom, CA
    F 33 Kyle Clark 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrHellyer College Wynyard, TAS, Australia
    C 34 Jock Landale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)255 lb (116 kg) SrGeelong Grammar Malvern East, VIC, Australia
    G 44 Cullen Neal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)191 lb (87 kg) RS SrEldorado HS
    Ole Miss
    Albuquerque, NM
    F Malik Fitts  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)237 lb (108 kg) SoBrewster 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

    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

    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
    Week
    Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Final 
    AP 22 22 21 21 RV NR NR NR NR NR RV 16 13 11 15 22 22 20 25 Not released 
    Coaches 22 22 22* 21 RV RV RV RV NR RV RV 18 14 12 15 20 20 19 23 RV

    *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

    References

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