Saint Mary's Travels to Tucson to Tangle with Wildcats
11/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Saint Mary's Gaels Vs. Arizona Wildcats
December 2, 2000 - 5:05 PM
Lute Olson Court at McKale Memorial Center
Tucson, AZ
December 2, 2000 - 5:05 PM
Lute Olson Court at McKale Memorial Center
Tucson, AZ
Saint Mary's Record: 0-4 overall, 0-0 WCCProbable Starters Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG HometownG Jovan Harris 6-3 165 So. 9.3 2.3 2.0 Richmond, CAG Teohn Conner 6-3 190 Jr. 2.5 1.0 2.3 Ferriday, LAF Tyler Herr 6-5 190 So. 7.0 2.3 1.5 Gilbert, AZF Ross Benson 6-10 225 So. 11.3 7.0 1.0 Everett, WAC Chris Baert 6-9 235 Jr. 8.0 4.3 0.8 Bend, OR
Key ReservesPos. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. PPG RPG APG HometownG Frankie King 6-1 195 Sr. 8.3 3.5 2.5 Pieoria, CAF Chris Schlatter 6-6 200 Fr. 7.0 2.0 1.5 Concord, CAF Chase Poole 6-8 210 Fr. 3.5 5.0 0.3 Austin, TXG Paul Marigney 6-3 185 Fr. 4.5 1.5 1.0 Oakland, CA
A Look at What's Ahead:
Saint Mary's (0-4) will play just one game this week against the University of Arizona Wildcats (3-1). Saint Mary's comes into the week following two losses to Sacramento State (75-61) and San Jose State (82-68). Arizona, which was previously the top ranked team in the nation, suffered its first loss of the season to Purdue (72-69) on November 24. The Wildcats will host fellow West Coast Conference member Gonzaga on Wednesday, November 29, before welcoming the Gaels to the McKale Memorial Center.
Who's Hot:
Sophomore forward Ross Benson (Everett, WA) had one of his best weeks as a Gael. Coming off an ankle injury, Benson averaged an 18 points and 10 rebounds in the two games against Sacramento State and San Jose State last week. On Wednesday, against the Hornets, when he scored a career-high 20 points and added a game-high nine rebounds, while on Sunday he posted his first career-double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Spartans.
Radio Coverage:
The Saint Mary's game against Arizona can be heard on the Gaels' student radio station KSMC (89.5 FM) with sports director, Denny Bulcao and Sarah Ely calling the game action. You can also access the broadcast through the internet by accessing the Saint Mary's website at www.SMCGaels.com. Go to the men's basketball page, access the schedule page and click on the KSMC icon to link to the live broadcast. A real audio player is needed to listen to the broadcast.
Probable Starters for the 'CatsPos.# Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Pts. Reb. HometownF 2 Michael Wright 6-7 238 Jr. 16.8 12.5 Chicago, ILF 44 Richard Jefferson 6-7 222 Jr. 11.8 4.0 Pheonix, AZF 30 Justin Wessel 6-9 240 Sr. 3.5 3.8 Cedar Rapids, IAG 0 Gilbert Arenas 6-3 188 So. 15.0 4.5 N. Hollywood, CAG 22 Jason Gardner 5-10 181 So. 14.8 3.8 Indianapolis, ID
Words on the Wildcats:
Arizona, which was ranked number one in the nation before losing to Purdue last week, will be without the service of senior center Loren Woods who still serving a six game suspension. But the 'Cats will still have four returning starters ready to battle the Gaels. Arizona is led by Michael Wright, last weeks Pac-10 Player of the Week, who is averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He has led the team in scoring twice and led the team in rebounds on all four games, posting a career-high 19 rebounds against Chaminade to open the season.
Including Wright, the 'Cats have four players that are averaging double figures on the season. The sophomore guard tandem of Gilbert Arenas (15.0 ppg) and Jason Gardner (14.8 ppg) are averaging a combined 29.8 points from the backcourt and 6'7" forward Richard Jefferson is averaging 11.8 points per game in a starting role.
Lute Olson (Augsburg College, 1956) is in his 28th year, overall, as a head coach and his 18th season as the coach of the Wildcats. Olson is one of 33 coaches to have more that 600 wins. He had a career record of 617-220 and has is 425-128 in his time at Arizona. During his tenure at UA, Olson has led his teams to a national championship in 1997, three Final Four appearances, 16 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, nine Pac-10 Conference titles and has the best nation's best winning percentage over the past 13 seasons. His career winning percentage of .769 at Arizona has earned him six Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards, 13-consecutive 20-win seasons and is one of six coaches in NCAA history to record 22 or more 20-win seasons.
The Series:
Saint Mary's leads the overall series 2-1. The Gaels took the advantage with a 71-64 victory over the Wildcats during the 1951-52 season in Tuscon. The first two games of the series were played at the Cow Palace, in San Francisco, during the 1948-49 and 1949-50 seasons. Saint Mary's won the first game 58-50 and Arizona won the second game, 67-57.
Head Coach Dave Bollwinkel:
Dave Bollwinkel (California, 1972) is 33-56 in his fourth season at Saint Mary's, 90-135 overall. Hired on May 2, 1997, Bollwinkel served as an assistant under Ernie Kent in 1996-97 before taking over his current position. He was the head coach at Cal Poly Pomona from 1987-92 and was an assistant at Dayton, Wisconsin, Oregon, San Jose State and Colorado State. A native of the Bay Area, Bollwinkel grew up in Lafayette and graduated from Campolindo High School - just a few miles from Saint Mary's. A 1972 graduate of Cal, Bollwinkel attended Princeton for one year before transferring to Cal to play football for the Bears.
Game #3 Recap: Sacramento State 75 - Saint Mary's 61
The Saint Mary's College men's basketball team (0-3) suffered its third loss of the season to Sacramento State (2-0), 75-61 at Hornet Gym on Wednesday night. Rickie Glenn paced the Hornets with a game-high 23 points.
The Gaels were led by sophomore forward Ross Benson, who posted 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Benson was 7-for-17 from the floor and converted 6-of-9 shots from the charity stripe. Freshman forward Chris Schlatter was the only other Gael to reach double figures with 10 points.
Joining Glenn in double figures for the Hornets were Arinze Anoruo and Pablo Gonzales with 12 points each. All three players had six rebounds apiece to lead the team.
Game #4 Recap: San Jose State 82 - Saint Mary's 68
The Saint Mary's men's basketball team lost to San Jose State, 82-68, as five Spartans scored in double figures in front of 712 fans at McKeon Pavilion on Sunday, November 26. Gael center Chris Baert led all scores with a career-high 17 points.
With Baert's game-high 17 points, three Gaels reached double figures. Ross Benson notched his first career double-double with a career-high 14 points and 11 rebounds and King tied his career-high with 12 points, all coming in the first half. King also had a game-high six assists in the contest.
Garrett led five Spartans in double-figures with 16 points while Billy Landram and Cory Powell scored 15 point apiece. Marion Thurmond and Chris Funderburk chipped in with 12 and 11 points each, respectively.
Follow Saint Mary's on the Web:
Fans can access all the latest news and notes about Gael Athletics by accessing the Saint Mary's website at www.SMCGaels.com. The only official website offers the most up to date information, results, statistics and feature stories of the Gaels' 15 intercollegiate sports.
Totalcasts for selected games throughout the year will be also be available. The game Totalcast provides a full play-by-play with up to the minute game statistics. You can access the Totalcast by going to the website home page and clicking on the Totalcast logo. The game against Arizona will be broadcast by Total Sports.
King Making his Mark in the Scoring Column:
Senior guard Frankie King (Pieoria, IL) is averaging a career-best 8.3 points per game to open the season. King entered the season with a career average of 2.4 points per game. He matched his career-high, 12 points, against San Jose State on Sunday, scoring all his points in the first half. King is best shooter from the floor at 44.8 percent and is also knocking down 46.2 percent (6-13) from three-point range.
Baert Starting to Warm Up:
Junior College transfer Chris Baert (Bend, OR) is making the adjustment to Division I basketball quickly. After three games, Baert notched a game-high 17 points against San Jose State for is first double digit game of the season. He was 6-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the free throw line in that game. He is averaging 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Inside the Numbers:
- Saint Mary's is currently averaging 64.8 points per game, up from last season's 60.4 points per game.
- The Gaels are shooting 38 percent from the floor, 33 percent from three point range and 66 percent from the free throw line.
- The Gaels are averaging 37.5 rebounds as a team and have more offensive rebounds, 61 to 57, than their opponents.
- Saint Mary's is off to its worst start (0-4) since the 1989-90 season when the team opened 0-5.
- Saint Mary's is 2-18 in their last 20 road games, including the last seven in a row dating back to last season.
What's Up Next for the Gaels:
Following the game against Arizona, Saint Mary's will return home to host the University of Colorado on Wednesday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m. in McKeon Pavilion. Colorado is currently 2-2 on the season and will host Loyola Marymount and Texas-Arlington before making the trip to the Moraga campus. The Buffalo's hold a slight 2-1 advantage in the series, following a 67-56 victory in Boulder last season.
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