SAN DIEGO — With just four games left in the regular season, a lot is on the line for No. 17 Saint Mary's Men's Basketball. The Gaels will head out on the road Thursday night for a game with the San Diego Toreros before returning home to University Credit Union Pavilion for a showdown with BYU. Saturday night's game against the Cougars is Paint Moraga Red Night, with 500 red t-shirts given out to students.
 
THE DETAILS
No. 17 Saint Mary's Gaels (22-5, 11-1) at San Diego Toreros (11-16, 4-9)
Thursday, February 16 at 6:00 pm
Jenny Craig Pavilion – San Diego
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area (Tammy Blackburn, Steve Quis) and other RSNs
Radio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
No. 17 Saint Mary's Gaels vs. BYU Cougars (16-12, 6-7)
Saturday, February 18 at 7:00 pm
University Credit Union Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
TV: ESPN2 (Dave Feldman, Dan Dickau)
Radio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen, Dave Lewis)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels were tested on the road at Loyola Marymount last Saturday, when they fell to the Lions 78-74 in overtime. That loss was the Gaels first defeat since before Christmas, snapping a 12-game winning streak, and it was also their first loss in conference play. They rebounded well on Saturday after a quick turnaround to Portland, where big second half propelled SMC past the Pilots 81-64. The week was owned by Logan Johnson, who put up 65 total points with games of 31 and 34 points. It was the first time a Gael has had consecutive 30-point games since Jordan Ford in December 2019.
 
THE FINAL PUSH
This week marks the penultimate week of the regular season, and there's a lot of moving and shaking that could happen over the final four games. SMC holds a one-game lead over No. 13 Gonzaga, but the final game of the regular season takes place in Spokane between the two teams. The rest of the standings are a jumbled mess of teams, with just 3.5 games separating third place from ninth place. That will leave open a lot of change for conference tournament seeding, with the WCC Tournament taking place from March 2-7. Should the Gaels and Bulldogs tie atop the conference standings, the NCAA NET Rankings would be used to determine the number one seed.
 
ABOUT SAN DIEGO
If there's one thing the Toreros have done well, it's been avoiding streakiness. They have not had a losing streak longer than two games (which they are currently on), and they haven't won consecutive games since they started the season with three-straight wins. Their defense has been a problem, ranking last in the WCC in field goal percentage defense (49.1%) and bottom-10 in the NCAA at 80.1 points per game allowed. They can score enough to keep games close, however, with four players averaging over 11 points per game, including Marcellus Earlington and his 17.6 points per game.
 
ABOUT BYU
This will be the final regular season matchup between the Gaels and Cougars as WCC opponents, and if it's anything like their previous matchup, it's going to be special. Aidan Mahaney hit a game-winning shot in Provo on January 28 with 0.3 seconds left to beat BYU 57-56. After that game, the Cougars have gone 2-2, but their defense has struggled in the two losses, allowing 90 ppg. Another significant note on BYU is their record away from home, where they are just 2-6 in road games, including 2-5 in WCC games. They are a great rebounding team like SMC, but they turn the ball over way too much (nearly 21% of their possessions).


VIEIRA FAMILY COURTYARD IS OPEN
The Vieira Family Courtyard is officially open, located adjacent to University Credit Union Pavilion. The courtyard will serve as an addition to the pavilion and offer an extended food, beverage and entertainment area for fans before and during basketball games.
 
Thanks to the generous support from Jim and Julie Vieira, the courtyard will now feature the Forge Pizza truck by Fourth Bore, food options from the Good Eating Company and beverages by Canyon Club Brewery and BLACKENED American Whiskey.
 
Fans can enter UCU Pavilion through the main entrance and enter the courtyard from the northeast and southeast side of the Pavilion. The courtyard will serve as an extended lobby for the pavilion. Pregame activities for all games start 90-minutes before tip-off.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM
All Saint Mary's Men's Basketball gameday programs will be virtual during the 2022-23 season, and the final edition can be found HERE. In it, fans will find information about various rankings and recent results, while looking ahead to the end of the regular season.
 
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.