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

Mode:Basketball
Year:2017–18
Team:Saint Mary's Gaels
Conference:West Coast Conference
Short Conf:WCC
Record:30–6
Conf Record:16–2
Aprank:25
Hc Year:17th
Asst Coach2:Marcus Schroeder
Bowl Result:Quarterfinals

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

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

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Stefan Gonzalez 2 G 6'2" 195 Sophomore Transferred to UC Davis
Dane Pineau 22 F 6'9" 225 Senior Graduated
Joe Rahon 25 G 6'2" 195 RS Senior Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Cullen Neal 44 G 6'5" 195 RS Senior Transferred from Ole Miss. Will eligible to play since Neal graduated from Mississippi.
F 6'8" 237 Sophomore 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

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| WCC regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| WCC tournament|-!colspan=9 style=| NITSource[7] [8]

Rankings

See main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Portland vs. Saint Mary's – Game Recap – March 4, 2017 – ESPN. ESPN.com. 2017-10-18.
  2. News: Saint Mary's cruises past BYU to reach WCC final. 2017-03-07. The Mercury News. 2017-10-18. en-US.
  3. News: Gonzaga rolls past Saint Mary's to win WCC tournament title. 2017-03-07. The Seattle Times. 2017-10-18. en-US.
  4. News: NCAA Tournament: Saint Mary's clamps down on VCU in first-round win. 2017-03-17. The Mercury News. 2017-10-18. en-US.
  5. News: Saint Mary's sunk by Arizona in second round of NCAA Tournament. 2017-03-19. The Mercury News. 2017-10-18. en-US.
  6. News: Arizona Wildcats rally to beat Saint Mary's Gaels in NCAA Tournament second round: Score, stats, live updates recap. OregonLive.com. 2017-10-18. en-US.
  7. Web site: Saint Mary's Gaels Basketball 2017–18 Schedule – Gaels Home and Away – ESPN. ESPN.com. 2017-10-18.
  8. Web site: SMCGaels.com :: Saint Mary's College Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball. www.smcgaels.com. 2017-10-18.