Games #18
Saint Mary's Gaels (WCC 4-2, 9-8) vs. San Diego Toreros (WCC 2-3, 8-8)
Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 6:30 pm PST
Moraga, Calif. – University Credit Union Pavilion
Live Stats | Watch

Games #19
Saint Mary's Gaels (WCC 4-2, 9-8) vs. BYU Cougars (WCC 3-2, 8-7)
Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 2:00 pm PST
Moraga, Calif. – University Credit Union Pavilion
Live Stats | Watch 
 
MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels will return home this week to host Southern rivals San Diego and out-of-state opponents BYU.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's had a tough outing last week as they dropped road games to both Gonzaga and Portland. The Gaels had their five-game win streak snapped by the No.16 Bulldogs last Thursday as they fell 74-49 for their first conference loss of the season. Despite holding Gonzaga to just 10 points in the final quarter, it was the Bulldogs who prevailed and took over first place in the WCC as the only undefeated team. From there the team traveled to Portland to take on the Pilots, but were also unable to take the win in that matchup and lost 78-65. Even though SMC lost their first two conference contests last week, the team's strong start to WCC play has them tied for second place in the conference with Pacific. Saint Mary's looks to turn it around this week as they face off against San Diego and BYU for the first time this season.
  
GAELS IN THE RANKINGS 
SMC has been in the rankings on a number of occasions this season and the trend continues into the new week. The Gaels are ranked first in the conference and 36th in the nation for their free-throw percentage (75.1%) while five members of the team have percentages over 80. Saint Mary's is also ranked first in the WCC and 46th in the country with a scoring offense of 74.1 points per matchup. The place where SMC has really been shining this season is in the three-point department. The Gaels are first in the conference in three-point field goals attempted (448, 8th nationally), made (167, 4th nationally), and per game (9.8, 6th nationally). They also hold the second-highest three-point field goal percentage in the conference (37.3%) which is good for 19th in the country.
 
SAN DIEGO
The Toreros are 8-8 at this point in the season with two conference wins and three conference losses. Last time out, San Diego scored their lowest amount of points in a WCC match and their second lowest of the season when BYU beat them 52-36 on the road. Prior to the match against the Cougars, the Toreros also dropped a match at home to Gonzaga (57-42), but had racked up two consecutive wins before that. The Toreros began their season with four-straight wins before their first loss of the year against San Jose State. San Diego is currently tied with Portland and Santa Clara for fifth in the conference with a 2-3 record. The Toreros are an even 3-3 on the road this season with their last road win taking place on December 30, 2019 against Loyola Marymount. The Gaels hold the 22-10 all time record against USD with SMC taking the last five contests dating back to February 4, 2017.

BYU
The Cougars are 8-7 this year with a 3-2 West Coast conference record. Most recently, BYU took a win at home against the Toreros 52-36, which is the lowest amount of points the Cougars have allowed their opponent to score all season. Prior to the win, the team took two straight losses at home to the Gonzaga Bulldogs (55-43) followed by the Portland Pilots (57-48). To begin the season, the Cougars went 5-1 through the first six matchups. BYU is currently in third place in the WCC behind SMC and ahead of Pepperdine. The Cougars are 3-3 on the road so far with their last road win taking place on December 30, 2019 against Pepperdine. Saint Mary's holds the all-time advantage against BYU (10-9) as SMC won the last contest between the teams 78-75 on February 7, 2019.
 
#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home basketball games, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or click the ticket link here to purchase your seats now.