2018–19 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College of California during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 18th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels play their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 22-12, to finish in 2nd place. In the WCC Tournament, they defeated San Diego in the semifinals and beat Gonzaga in the championship to win the WCC Tournament. Therefore, they received a automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the first round to Villanova.

2018–19 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball
WCC Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Record22–12 (11–5 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcKeon Pavilion
Seasons
2018–19 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 4 Gonzaga160 1.000334 .892
Saint Mary's115 .6882212 .647
BYU115 .6881913 .594
San Francisco97 .5632110 .677
Loyola Marymount88 .5002212 .647
Santa Clara88 .5001615 .516
San Diego79 .4382115 .583
Pepperdine610 .3751618 .471
Pacific412 .2501418 .438
Portland016 .000725 .219
2019 WCC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2017–18 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.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Emmett Naar3G6'1"195RS SeniorSydney, AustraliaGraduated
Evan Fitzner21C6'10"230RS JuniorSan Diego, CAGraduate transferred to Indiana
Calvin Hermanson24F6'6"200RS SeniorLake Oswego, ORGraduated
Jock Landale34C6'11"255SeniorMalvern East, AustraliaGraduated
Cullen Neal34G6'4"191RS SeniorAlbuquerque, NMGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious school
Aaron Menzies41C7'3"285RS SeniorManchester, EnglandTransferred from Seattle. Will eligible to play since Menzies graduated from Seattle.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Matthias Tass
C
Tallinn, EstoniaTallinna Reaalkool6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg)Sep 26, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A
Quinn Clinton
PG
Christchurch, New ZealandChristchurch Boys' High School6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Alex Mudronja
PG
Adelaide, AustraliaAustralia Institute of Sport6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)175 lb (79 kg) 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Daniel Fotu
SF
New ZealandNew Zealand Breakers6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)N/A 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
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.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2018–19 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G00Tanner Krebs6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg)RS JrLake Ginninderra CollegeHobart, Australia
C1Jordan Hunter6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)230 lb (104 kg)SrSt. Ignatius CollegeVaucluse, NSW, Australia
G2Quinn Clinton6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg)FrChristchurch BoysChristchurch, New Zealand
G3Jordan Ford6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg)JrFolsomFolsom, CA
C5Jock Perry7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)250 lb (113 kg)RS SoLake Ginninderra CollegeMelbourne, Australia
F10Elijah Thomas6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)220 lb (100 kg)RS SoSunrise MountainPeoria, AZ
F/C11Matthias Tass6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)240 lb (109 kg)FrTallinna ReaalkoolTallinn, Estonia
G12Tommy Kuhse (W)6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg)RS SoMountain ViewMesa, AZ
F15Dan Sheets (W)6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg)RS JrDougherty ValleySan Ramon, CA
G23Kristers Zoriks6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg)RS FrNew Hampton SchoolDobele, Latvia
F24Malik Fitts6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg)RS SoBrewster Academy
South Florida
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
F33Kyle Clark6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg)RS JrHellyer CollegeWynyard, TAS, Australia
G35Alex Mudronja6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg)FrUC Senior Secondary CollegeAdelaide, Australia
C41Aaron Menzies7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)265 lb (120 kg)RS SrLoreto AcademyManchester, England
F42Dan Fotu6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrNew ZealandAuckland, New Zealand
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#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2018*
7:00 pm
McNeese State
MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game
W 87–65 1–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,673)
Moraga, CA
November 11, 2018*
5:00 pm
Utah Valley
MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game
W 92–63 2–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,751)
Moraga, CA
November 14, 2018*
6:00 pm, FCS/Eleven
at New Mexico StateW 73–58 3–0
Pan American Center (6,660)
Las Cruces, NM
November 19, 2018*
5:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. Utah State
MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight semifinals
L 63–80 3–1
T-Mobile Arena 
Paradise, NV
November 21, 2018*
5:30 pm, BD Global
vs. No. 15 Mississippi State
MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight 3rd place game
L 57–61 3–2
T-Mobile Arena 
Paradise, NV
November 24, 2018*
6:00 pm
HarvardL 68–74 3–3
McKeon Pavilion (3,247)
Moraga, CA
November 28, 2018*
7:00 pm
UC IrvineL 75–80 3–4
McKeon Pavilion (2,511)
Moraga, CA
December 1, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPNU
CaliforniaW 84–71 4–4
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
December 4, 2018*
7:00 pm
Bethune–CookmanW 93–61 5–4
McKeon Pavilion (2,307)
Moraga, CA
December 7, 2018*
4:00 pm, Flo Sports
vs. New Mexico
Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
W 85–60 6–4
Staples Center (7,235)
Los Angeles, CA
December 10, 2018*
7:00 pm
Cal State FullertonW 81–66 7–4
McKeon Pavilion (2,429)
Moraga, CA
December 15, 2018*
7:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. LSU
Neon Hoops Showcase
L 74–78 7–5
T-Mobile Arena (5,107)
Paradise, NV
December 19, 2018*
7:00 pm
BucknellW 85–56 8–5
McKeon Pavilion (2,622)
Moraga, CA
December 22, 2018*
12:00 pm
at Western KentuckyL 68–71 8–6
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,026)
Bowling Green, KY
December 29, 2018*
5:00 pm
San Jose StateW 75–45 9–6
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
WCC regular season
January 3, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at San FranciscoL 72–76 9–7
(0–1)
War Memorial Gymnasium (3,005)
San Francisco, CA
January 5, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2
BYUW 88–66 10–7
(1–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
January 12, 2019
7:00 pm, NBCSBA
at Loyola MarymountW 71–60 11–7
(2–1)
Gersten Pavilion (1,703)
Los Angeles, CA
January 17, 2019
8:00 pm, NBCSBA
Santa ClaraW 75–55 12–7
(3–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,261)
Moraga, CA
January 19, 2019
6:00 pm, NBCSBA
San DiegoW 76–59 13–7
(4–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,389)
Moraga, CA
January 24, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at BYUL 66–71 13–8
(4–2)
Marriott Center (11,427)
Provo, UT
January 26, 2019
5:00 pm, NBCSCA
PepperdineL 77–84 OT13–9
(4–3)
McKeon Pavilion (1,815)
Moraga, CA
February 2, 2019
1:00 pm, NBCSCA
San FranciscoW 86–80 14–9
(5–3)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
February 7, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPNU
PacificW 78–66 15–9
(6–3)
McKeon Pavilion (2,764)
Moraga, CA
February 9, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 4 Gonzaga
Rivalry
L 46–94 15–10
(6–4)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
February 14, 2019
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Santa ClaraW 66–55 16–10
(7–4)
Leavey Center (2,176)
Santa Clara, CA
February 16, 2019
8:00 pm, NBCSBA
PepperdineW 72–65 17–10
(8–4)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
February 21, 2019
7:00 pm
at PacificW 58–32 18–10
(9–4)
Alex G. Spanos Center (2,343)
Stockton, CA
February 23, 2019
6:00 pm
at San DiegoW 66–46 19–10
(10–4)
Jenny Craig Pavilion (3,189)
San Diego, CA
February 28, 2019
8:00 pm, NBCSCA
PortlandW 65–48 20–10
(11–4)
McKeon Pavilion (3,254)
Moraga, CA
March 2, 2019
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 1 Gonzaga
Rivalry
L 55–69 20–11
(11–5)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
WCC tournament
March 11, 2019
8:30 pm, ESPN2
(2) vs. (7) San Diego
Semifinals
W 69–62 21–11
Orleans Arena (7,642)
Paradise, NV
March 12, 2019
6:00 pm, ESPN
(2) vs. (1) No. 1 Gonzaga
Championship/Rivalry
W 60–47 22–11
Orleans Arena (7,771)
Paradise, NV
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2019*
4:20 pm, TBS
(11 S) vs. (6 S) No. 23 Villanova
First Round
L 57–61 22–12
XL Center (14,695)
Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source[1]

References