PHOENIX — For the second time in less than two weeks, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball heads to the Footprint Center for the Jerry Colangelo Classic. After beating No. 22 San Diego State in the first portion of the event on December 10, the Gaels will meet up with the Wyoming Cowboys on December 21, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 pm PT on ESPN+.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (9-4) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (5-6)
Wednesday, December 21 at 5:30 pm PT
Footprint Center – Phoenix, Ariz.
Stream: ESPN+ (Chuckie Kempf, Dan Muller)
Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen, Joe Lunardi)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's spent the past week at home for two matchups, winning the first against New Mexico State before falling to Colorado State on Sunday evening. The Gaels offense scored a season-best 81 points against the Aggies on Wednesday before sputtering to just 60 against the Rams two nights ago. Both games featured drastically different paths to the final score: SMC led by as many as 24 against New Mexico State, but neither the Gaels nor the Rams held leads larger than five points on Sunday. Saint Mary's is now 9-0 in all games decided by at least six points, but 0-4 in games determined by five points or fewer.
 
BOWEN BRINGING IT
What a week it was for Kyle Bowen, who traditionally is one of the better defenders on the Gaels, but not a prolific scorer. During the two games played last week, Bowen scored 27 total points and brought in 19 rebounds while shooting an incredible 81.8% from the field (9-11, 6-8 from 3FG). Bowen had 16 points against New Mexico State, a career-best for the senior forward, and then followed that up with an 11-point, 11-rebound performance that represents his first collegiate double-double. Bowen actively ranks second on the team with 7.2 rebounds per game while leading the team with a 53.6% shot from beyond the arc.
 
ABOUT WYOMING
The Cowboys have not gotten off to the start they had last year, which saw them eventually finish the season in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. Wyoming was 8-0 last year, but they currently sit at just 5-6 after falling to Dayton on Saturday. Defense has been a major issue for the Cowboys, who are allowing opponents to shoot at a 45.5% clip from the flied and 35.6% from distance. What's also strange is the 78.1% success rate at the free throw line for the opposition, one of the worst marks in the country. They like to shoot a lot of threes (50% of their attempts), and Noah Reynolds has been helping there lately. He leads the team with 14.1 points per game, and has scored at least 20 points in four-straight games.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM
All Saint Mary's Men's Basketball gameday programs will be virtual during the 2022-23 season, and the third edition can be found HERE. In it, fans will find information about the first NET Rankings of the season, updated awards information, and details about the next five games for SMC.
 
2022-23 YEARBOOK
The 2022-23 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.