MORAGA, Calif. — For the first time since the second week of the season, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball is above 0.500. Coming off of three straight wins away from their home floor, the Gaels have seemingly put their early season woes behind them, and look to close out non-conference play on a long winning streak. This week, the Gaels will welcome Middle Tennessee, Northern Kentucky and Missouri State to UCU Pavilion, as they look to keep momentum rolling, and to move their win streak from three to six games in a row. 

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Tuesday, December 19 at 7:00 PM 
UCU Pavilion - Moraga, Calif
Watch | Listen | Live Stats

Saint Mary's Gaels vs Northern Kentucky
Thursday, December 21 at 7:00 PM
UCU Pavilion - Moraga, Calif
Watch | Listen | Live Stats

Saint Mary's Gaels vs Missouri State
Saturday, December 23 at 5:00 PM
UCU Pavilion - Moraga, Calif
Watch | Listen | Live Stats

AN INSTANT CLASSIC
In the Gaels last matchup, they defeated the UNLV Rebels 69-67 in double overtime fashion as part of the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix. Mitchell Saxen near single handedly willed the Gaels to victory, scoring a career-high 23 points and 16 rebounds in 43 minutes of action, earning him WCC Player of the Week honors. The Gaels led by as many as 11 in the second half, but had three starters foul out, allowing UNLV to claw back into the game. In the first overtime frame, Saint Mary's fell behind by five points early, but Alex Ducas went on to score the Gaels next six points as they eventually would force a second OT period. The second overtime belonged to Saxen, who scored all 10 Gaels points, including a layup off a feed from Jordan Ross as the final horn sounded to secure the Gaels 69-67 victory. 

ABOUT THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee makes the trek to Moraga for their first true road game of the season, currently sitting at 5-6 for the year. Sixth year Head Coach Nick McDevitt looks to earn his third consecutive winning season at the helm of MTSU, looking to take them to their first NCAA tournament since 2017. Picked to finish atop the conference in the preseason Conference USA polls, the Blue Raiders may very well find themselves dancing in March for the first time in seven years. That said, the team took a major blow in the second game of the year, when senior point guard Camryn Weston suffered a season ending injury. With Weston out, the team returns just one starter, shooter Justin Bufford, from a season ago. Three of their regular starters at MTSU served as key role players off the bench a season ago, headlined by preseason all-conference pick Elias King, while Jacob Johnson, a transfer from LIU, has filled the role left vacant by Weston. So far this season, King has starred for the Blue Raiders, averaging 14 points and 5 rebounds per contest, while center Jared Coleman-Jones has averaged 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists per game. The team has struggled to move the ball this season, ranking in the bottom 10 in the country in assists per game and bottom 20 in assist to turnover ratio, due in big part to the loss of their star point guard. This will be just the second meeting between the Gaels and Blue Raiders, with the Gaels taking the only other meeting in the First Four round of the 2013 NCAA tournament 67-54. 

ABOUT THE NORSE
The defending Horizon League champs, the Northern Kentucky Norse, will enter UCU Pavilion with a 7-5 record. A tournament team from a year ago, the Norse are led by fifth year Head Coach Darrin Horn, who has never seen a losing season in his time at NKU, as the Norse have been named preseason favorites to win the Horizon League. The team's three leading scorers, Marques Warrick, Sam Vinson and Trey Robinson, all started for last year's squad, while Marquette transfer Keeyan Itejere and second year Norse player LJ Wells make up the front court. Preseason first team All-Horizon League selectee Marques Warrick has led the potent NKU offense this year, averaging nearly 19 points per game. NKU's signature full court press defense has created fits for opponents this year, as the team ranks 21st in the nation, averaging 9.6 steals per contest, led by Sam Vinson, who has 33 to his name on th year. If teams break the press, they still have to deal with the rim protecting ability of Keeyan Itejere, who ranks 15th in the NCAA with 25 blocks. The Norse do a majority of their scoring on the interior, as they're only averaging 5.7 made threes and 17.9 attempted threes per game. This matchup will be the first ever meeting between the Gaels and Norse. 

ABOUT THE BEARS
The Gaels will round out their busy week by hosting the Bears of Missouri State. The Bears currently hold a 7-4 record, and will take on Lindenwood tomorrow evening before heading to Moraga. Sixth year Head Coach Dana Ford hopes to take Missouri State to their first NCAA tournament since 1999. Returning starters Alston May and Donovan Clay have led the offensive charge for the Bears, averaging a combined 33 points per game, and knocking down 109 field goals on the young season. The Bears sixth man from a season ago, Chance Moore, has also made major scoring contributions, while point guard Matthew Lee has missed each of the last two contests with a wrist injury, but could be back to face the Gaels. This matchup could very well be decided on who wins the rebounding battle, as the Bears are a top five defensive rebounding team in the country, while the Gaels are a top ten offensive rebounding team in the NCAA. The Gaels are 3-1 all-time against the Bears, having won each of their last three meetings (2022, 2021, 2011). 

DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE. 

#GaelsRise