LAS VEGAS — It's officially March, and that means the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament is off and running. No. 17 Saint Mary's men's basketball is the top seed in this year's tournament, and the Gaels will see action for the first time on Monday night in the semifinals, with the championship game scheduled for Tuesday night. Monday's game is on EPSN at 6:00 pm, and the championship game is also slated for 6:00 pm on Tuesday, televised on EPSN.
 
THE DETAILS
No. 17 Saint Mary's Gaels (25-6, 14-2) vs. Loyola Marymount/BYU
Monday, March 6 at 6:00 pm
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham)
Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen, Dave Lewis)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
2023 WCC Championship Game (if Gaels win Monday)
Tuesday, March 7 at 6:00 pm
Orleans Arena – Las Vegas
TV: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham)
Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen, Dave Lewis)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
The regular season came to a close last weekend as the Gaels hosted Senior Night on Thursday night in Moraga, beating Pacific 83-52 in front of another sellout crowd inside University Credit Union Pavilion. Saint Mary's got great performances from all three seniors on the active roster, with Logan Johnson, Alex Ducas, and Kyle Bowen saying goodbye to the home fans. The regular season ended on Saturday night as the Gaels lost at No. 12 Gonzaga 77-68, which created a tie atop the WCC standings with both teams at 14-2. The teams share the regular season title, but the Gaels are the top seed in the conference tournament by virtue of the NCAA NET Rankings.
 
ALL-WCC AWARDS
The Gaels scored some big awards on Wednesday morning as the West Coast Conference announced its annual All-WCC teams. For the second year in a row, the Gaels land four players on the All-WCC team, with Logan Johnson being named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Randy Bennett has also been named the WCC's Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his historic career.
 
As a guard, Johnson doesn't put up block totals or rebounding numbers like some of the best big men in the country, but he locks down defenders as well as any player in the WCC. His overall defensive game has taken a huge step forward this season, which has helped lead the Gaels to the fourth-best scoring defense in the NCAA. Johnson has 48 steals on the year, which ranks sixth in the conference, but his 144 as a Gael are the fifth most in program history. He also has set a career-best in rebounding average at 4.9 per game.
 
Aidan Mahaney was named First Team All-WCC as a freshman, which also puts him on the All-Freshman team in the conference. This puts Mahaney in rare air, joining Patty Mills as the only other Gael to be named to the All-WCC team as a freshman. He is the leading scorer for a freshman in the conference (14.6 points per game), a rank that is top-15 in the entire NCAA. He owns the second-most 20-point games by a Saint Mary's freshman, again behind Mills, and ends the regular season shooting 40.9% from beyond the arc.
 
Mitchell Saxen has seen a meteoric rise in his stock this season after joining the Gaels starting lineup, and he's made the most of it. After making every start during the regular season, Saxen ranks amongst some of the best big men in the conference in points per game (11.8), rebounds per game (8.0, second-best in the conference), and blocks (37, leads in the conference). His first eight collegiate double-doubles came this year, and he's shooting 55% from the floor. Prior to this season, Saxen had never averaged more than 3.3 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game.
 
Alex Ducas lands on the honorable mention list after another great season of sharp-shooting from beyond the arc. Ducas is averaging a career-best 12.3 points per game while also setting a new career-best with a 41.6% three-point percentage. His 79 made three-pointers are the seventh-most in a single season in Saint Mary's history, and are third most in the conference. He will finish his senior season as one of the best shooters in Saint Mary's history, ranking seventh actively in three-pointers made as a Gael, with a real chance to move into the top-five after postseason play.
 
For the second year in a row, Randy Bennett has been named the conference's Coach of the Year. He is the first coach not named Mark Few to win the award in consecutive seasons since Brad Holland of San Diego from 1999-2000. This is the fifth time that Bennett has won the award since his first win in 2008, as he continues to lead the Gaels to new heights. Their share of the WCC regular season title is the first for SMC since 2016, and their fourth overall WCC regular season title under his watch. He became the 25^th coach all-time to win 500 games at one institution when he earned his 500^th victory over USF on February 2.
 
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 22-10 when playing in the WCC Tournament inside Orleans Arena, including three WCC Championships (2010, 2012, 2019). As the top seed, Saint Mary's is 6-3 all-time in the tournament, with their most recent trip as the top seed coming in 2016, the last time they won the regular season title. SMC is 15-13 in the semifinals, and should they advance to the championship game, they are 4-10 when playing for the trophy. Based on seeding, their most likely opponent is Loyola Marymount, who the Gaels are 3-1 against all-time in the WCC Tournament.
 
RECENT TOURNAMENT RUNS
By virtue of being the top seed and advancing straight to the semifinals, Saint Mary's will be playing in the semifinals for the eighth-consecutive season (they last failed to reach this point in 2015). Last year, Saint Mary's snuck past Santa Clara in a thrilling, one-possession victory in the semifinals before falling to Gonzaga in the championship game. 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.