Monday, March 7
Las Vegas, NV
8:30 pm
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
Santa Clara
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | West Coast Conference Tournament Begins Monday for Gaels
3/3/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS — No. 19 Saint Mary's Men's Basketball begins its quest for the West Coast Conference Championship on Monday night in the semifinals of the 2022 West Coast Conference Tournament, sponsored by University Credit Union. By virtue of being the second-seed in the tournament, Saint Mary's will automatically advance to the semifinals, needing just two wins to claim the championship. The Gaels open up play on Monday, March 7 at 8:30 pm on ESPN2 against one of the winners from the quarterfinals.
THE DETAILS
No. 19 Saint Mary's Gaels (24-6, 12-3) vs. Santa Clara/Portland/San Diego/Pepperdine
Monday, March 7 at 8:30 pm PT
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
TV: ESPN2 (Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham, Molly McGrath)
Live Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
2022 WCC Championship Game (if Gaels win Monday)
Tuesday, March 8 at 6:00 pm PT
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
TV: ESPN ((Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham, Molly McGrath)
Live Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's cemented themselves as legitimate threats to not only win the WCC Championship, but also make a run in the NCAA Tournament, by beating No. 1 Gonzaga to close out the regular season. The upset win inside University Credit Union Pavilion capped off a perfect 16-0 home season for the Gaels, the first they've ever recorded inside their current home gym. By beating the Zags 67-57, the Gaels end the regular season on a four-game winning streak, including three of those wins against the top five teams in the conference (Gonzaga, San Francisco, BYU).
ALL-WCC HARDWARE
Just before the West Coast Conference Tournament, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball scored some big awards from the conference with their annual postseason awards. Randy Bennett was named the WCC's Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, while Tommy Kuhse was named the WCC's Sixth Man of the Year. Saint Mary's also landed four total All-WCC players, their most since the 2016-17 season.
Bennett collects his fourth WCC Coach of the Year honors after what might be one of the best coaching jobs he has done in his Saint Mary's career. The Gaels were 14-10 and 4-6 in WCC play last year, with multiple COVID-19 pauses disrupting their season. With the entire roster back and three additional freshmen on the roster, he helped turn this Gaels team into an AP Top-25 program. The Gaels are 24-6 and finish WCC play with a 12-3 record, good for second place in the conference standings, and a No. 19 ranking in the latest AP Top-25 Poll.
Tommy Kuhse is just second player to win the new Sixth Man of the Year award in the WCC, after it was created last season. Despite returning to the starting lineup late in conference play, few players had the impact that Kuhse has had in the Gaels success during WCC play, especially down the stretch. Over his last seven conference games, Kuhse scored at least 10 points in all of them, averaging 16.6 points per game. During that stretch, he was named the WCC's Player of the Week in the penultimate week fo the regular season after scoring 47 total points in Gaels wins over San Francisco and BYU.
Matthias Tass (First Team), Logan Johnson (Second Team), and Alex Ducas (Second Team) round out the list of All-WCC winners for Saint Mary's. For Tass and Ducas, it is their first time taking home postseason accolades from the conference, while Johnson returns for the second-consecutive season.
WCC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gaels have enjoyed a lot of success in Las Vegas since the tournament moved to the desert in 2009. SMC is 21-9 when playing in the WCC Tournament inside Orleans Arena, including three WCC Championships (2010, 2012, 2019). As the second seed, Saint Mary's is 15-9 all-time in the tournament, with their most recent trip as the two seed coming in 2019, when they most recently won the conference championship. SMC is 14-13 in the semifinals, and should they advance to the championship game, they are 4-9 when playing for the trophy. Based on seeding, their most likely opponent is Santa Clara, who the Gaels are 6-6 against all-time in the WCC Tournament, but 5-1 against in the Randy Bennett era.
RECENT TOURNAMENT RUNS
By virtue of being the two seed and advancing straight to the semifinals, Saint Mary's will be playing in the semifinals for the seventh-consecutive season (they last failed to reach this point in 2015). Last season, Saint Mary's was the four seed and beat Loyola Marymount before falling to the eventual-champion Zags in the semis. In 2020, Saint Mary's pulled off two thrilling wins as the three seed, beating Pepperdine in double-overtime and then BYU on a game-winning shot by Jordan Ford in the semis to advance to the title game. In 2019, the Gaels beat San Diego for a chance to play for the championship, which they made good on by beating Gonzaga 60-47.
THE DETAILS
No. 19 Saint Mary's Gaels (24-6, 12-3) vs. Santa Clara/Portland/San Diego/Pepperdine
Monday, March 7 at 8:30 pm PT
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
TV: ESPN2 (Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham, Molly McGrath)
Live Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
2022 WCC Championship Game (if Gaels win Monday)
Tuesday, March 8 at 6:00 pm PT
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
TV: ESPN ((Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham, Molly McGrath)
Live Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's cemented themselves as legitimate threats to not only win the WCC Championship, but also make a run in the NCAA Tournament, by beating No. 1 Gonzaga to close out the regular season. The upset win inside University Credit Union Pavilion capped off a perfect 16-0 home season for the Gaels, the first they've ever recorded inside their current home gym. By beating the Zags 67-57, the Gaels end the regular season on a four-game winning streak, including three of those wins against the top five teams in the conference (Gonzaga, San Francisco, BYU).
ALL-WCC HARDWARE
Just before the West Coast Conference Tournament, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball scored some big awards from the conference with their annual postseason awards. Randy Bennett was named the WCC's Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career, while Tommy Kuhse was named the WCC's Sixth Man of the Year. Saint Mary's also landed four total All-WCC players, their most since the 2016-17 season.
Bennett collects his fourth WCC Coach of the Year honors after what might be one of the best coaching jobs he has done in his Saint Mary's career. The Gaels were 14-10 and 4-6 in WCC play last year, with multiple COVID-19 pauses disrupting their season. With the entire roster back and three additional freshmen on the roster, he helped turn this Gaels team into an AP Top-25 program. The Gaels are 24-6 and finish WCC play with a 12-3 record, good for second place in the conference standings, and a No. 19 ranking in the latest AP Top-25 Poll.
Tommy Kuhse is just second player to win the new Sixth Man of the Year award in the WCC, after it was created last season. Despite returning to the starting lineup late in conference play, few players had the impact that Kuhse has had in the Gaels success during WCC play, especially down the stretch. Over his last seven conference games, Kuhse scored at least 10 points in all of them, averaging 16.6 points per game. During that stretch, he was named the WCC's Player of the Week in the penultimate week fo the regular season after scoring 47 total points in Gaels wins over San Francisco and BYU.
Matthias Tass (First Team), Logan Johnson (Second Team), and Alex Ducas (Second Team) round out the list of All-WCC winners for Saint Mary's. For Tass and Ducas, it is their first time taking home postseason accolades from the conference, while Johnson returns for the second-consecutive season.
WCC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Gaels have enjoyed a lot of success in Las Vegas since the tournament moved to the desert in 2009. SMC is 21-9 when playing in the WCC Tournament inside Orleans Arena, including three WCC Championships (2010, 2012, 2019). As the second seed, Saint Mary's is 15-9 all-time in the tournament, with their most recent trip as the two seed coming in 2019, when they most recently won the conference championship. SMC is 14-13 in the semifinals, and should they advance to the championship game, they are 4-9 when playing for the trophy. Based on seeding, their most likely opponent is Santa Clara, who the Gaels are 6-6 against all-time in the WCC Tournament, but 5-1 against in the Randy Bennett era.
RECENT TOURNAMENT RUNS
By virtue of being the two seed and advancing straight to the semifinals, Saint Mary's will be playing in the semifinals for the seventh-consecutive season (they last failed to reach this point in 2015). Last season, Saint Mary's was the four seed and beat Loyola Marymount before falling to the eventual-champion Zags in the semis. In 2020, Saint Mary's pulled off two thrilling wins as the three seed, beating Pepperdine in double-overtime and then BYU on a game-winning shot by Jordan Ford in the semis to advance to the title game. In 2019, the Gaels beat San Diego for a chance to play for the championship, which they made good on by beating Gonzaga 60-47.
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Players Mentioned
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