MORAGA, Calif. — After a quick trip out to the desert, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball will close out the 2021 portion of their schedule inside University Credit Union Pavilion. First up for SMC is a matchup against Missouri State, as the Gaels welcome the Bears for the first time ever to Moraga and for their first matchup against one another since 2011.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (10-3) vs. Missouri State Bears (8-4)
Wednesday, December 22 at 7:00 pm
University Credit Union Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Live Stream: WCC Network (Alex Jensen, Dave Lewis)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Get Tickets
All-Time Head-to-Head Record: 1-1, last meeting on 12/23/11, Gaels 77, MSU 61
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's played San Diego State in the opening of the Jerry Colangelo Classic on Friday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. A one-point deficit at halftime and with 7:30 remaining in the game ultimately turned into a 63-53 defeat for the Gaels. For the sixth-game in a row, the Gaels got a 10+ point performance from Matthias Tass, who had 12 in the loss, while Tommy Kuhse led the team with 13 points in his best scoring performance since the Maui Invitational.
 
DEFENSE ON DISPLAY
Both teams entered Friday's contest ranked inside the top-11 in defensive efficiency, and both teams got off to great starts on defense in the first half. With neither team scoring more than 26 points in the opening 20 minutes, both the Gaels and Aztecs shot below 40%. There were a combined 15 turnovers in the opening half, and only five made three-pointers. Perhaps Kyle Bowen's first half numbers best embodied the opening stanza: no points, two steals, and seven rebounds.
 
ABOUT MISSOURI STATE
The Bears are another solid team the Gaels play during the non-conference portion of their schedule, ranked inside the top-65 according to KenPom. The Gaels and Bears have not yet played a common opponent, but the Bears did lose 74-68 while hosting BYU on December 4. Their most notable wins have come in two of their last three games, beating Oral Roberts 69-60 and South Dakota State 75-63. They are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country (80.4% is 10^th-best) and three players on offense are averaging at least 13 points per game.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM
All Saint Mary's Men's Basketball gameday programs will be virtual during the 2021-22 season, and the first edition can be found HERE. In it, fans will find a recap of the the Maui Invitational, the Gaels true road trip, and a preview of their final non-conference games AND the conference opener against San Francisco.
 
2021-22 YEARBOOK
The 2021-22 Saint Mary's Basketball Yearbook is available HERE. This contains all of your information on both Saint Mary's basketball programs, coach and player profiles, as well as Saint Mary's, administration, and fan information.
 
#GaelsRise — 2021-22 tickets and ticket packages are on sale now! To purchase tickets, click HERE. If you have questions, contact the ticket office by email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or call 925-631-4689…Saint Mary's Basketball…#TogetherAgain