ALBANY, N.Y. — After beating VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Saint Mary's men's basketball advances to the second round for the second consecutive season. They will once again be playing a No. 5 vs. No. 4 game, this time taking on the UConn Huskies on Sunday night in New York. The game will tip-off at 6:10 pm ET on TNT.
 
THE DETAILS
No. 5 Saint Mary's Gaels (27-7) vs. No. 4 UConn Huskies (26-8)
Sunday, March 19 at 6:10 pm ET
MVP Arena – Albany, N.Y.
TV: TNT (Spero Dedes, Deb Antonelli, AJ Ross)
Radio: Westwood One (Scott Graham, PJ Carlesimo)
Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's overcame a slow start offensively to finish strong and beat VCU on Friday afternoon 63-51. Despite shooting at just 36% in the first half, the Gaels took a 29-28 lead at the intermission, but then their defense got even tighter. Saint Mary's limited the Rams to just six-made field goals in the second half, and three Gaels scored at least seven points to pull ahead. Turnovers are so often a key factor when playing VCU, but the Gaels coughed it up just 12 times and had 13 assists, versus 14 turnovers and just seven assists for VCU.
 
UP HIGH, DOWN LOW
The X-factor on Thursday afternoon was Mitchell Saxen, who played one of his best games of the season. He scored 17 points, including 10 in the first half, while shooting an impressive 8-11 from the floor. Over his prior five games, Saxen had averaged just 9.2 points per game. VCU had no answer for him in the paint, struggling to contain the Gaels big man as he had multiple wide-open dunks. The Gaels also got a performance they needed from Ducas, who tied Saxen for a Gaels-best 17 points. Ducas also was a force on the board, with eight rebounds. His threat from beyond the arc turned into several layup opportunities, and trips to the line, where he was 6-7.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT FACTS – ROUND ONE
The Gaels are now 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament when playing on St. Patrick's Day…with the win, it's the first time in Gaels history that they have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons…the 51 points allowed by SMC are the fewest scored by VCU in a game this year, and the fewest the Gaels have allowed in an NCAA Tournament game…Saint Mary's got to the line 27 times and made 20 shots, the second-most they've made in an NCAA Tournament game (29 vs. VCU, 2017).
 
SECOND ROUND HISTORY
This is the fourth time that the Gaels have reached the second round under the current format of the tournament. Last year, the Gaels were in the 5/4 matchup against UCLA and dropped it by a final of 72-56, running into a very talented Bruins squad. After beating VCU in the first round in 2017, the Gaels fell to Arizona 69-60 in the second round. The only win in the second round came in 2010, when SMC upset No. 2 seed Villanova 75-68 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first and only time in program history.
 
ABOUT UCONN
There is some belief that this Huskies team can win the national championship, and their metrics back it up. They've won 26 games this season, including big wins over Alabama, Marquette, Villanova, and Creighton. They are ranked top-20 according to KenPom in both offensive and defensive efficiency, which puts them as the fourth-best team overall. They play a deliberate pace like the Gaels, but they are the top offensive rebounding team in the NCAA, with 149 more offensive rebounds than their opponents. Adama Sanogo is one of the best players in the country, after being named All-District, First Team All-BIG EAST, and a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award. They beat Iona by 24 points on Friday night in the first round of the tournament.
 
IF THE GAELS WIN…
…they would move onto the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010. It would be just their second-ever appearance in the Sweet 16, though this one would have a different feeling. The Gaels are in the West Region, which means the Sweet 16 is at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, giving fans a quick trip to the desert to see SMC. Saint Mary's would be taking on either No. 8 Arkansas or No. 1 Kansas in that game.