MORAGA, Calif. — Currently ranked 17th in the AP and Coaches polls, Saint Mary's has one week left in the 2023-24 regular season, and will have plenty of opportunities this week to cement themselves into the Gaels history books. The foes this week will be Pepperdine on the road and Gonzaga at home. Pepperdine should provide a good test for the Gaels on their senior night, while Gonzaga finds itself back in the top 25, which sets up a battle of ranked squads in the regular season finale.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Pepperdine Waves
Thursday, February 29 at 8 PM
Firestone Fieldhouse – Malibu, Calif.
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*Game will be on CBS Sports Network and can only be watched with a cable subscription
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Saturday, March 2 at 7 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
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WHAT'S AT STAKE
A single Gaels victory over Pepperdine or Gonzaga would secure SMC its first outright WCC Regular Season title since 2012. The win would also guarantee Saint Mary's its highest ever conference win percentage. A win over Pepperdine would also guarantee the Gaels their first ever perfect road season, going 8-0 in hostile territory coming into their matchup with the Wavs. The best road record prior to this season was 10-1, which the Gaels accomplished in 2017-18, 2016-17 and 1988-89. Already having broken the program record for consecutive conference victories, a pair of wins here would reset that record at 15 and 16 WCC wins in a row, and would run the Gaels overall win streak to 16 and 17 straight, which would stand as the second longest in program history, shy of the 19 consecutive wins back in the Gaels 30 win 2017-18 campaign. A clean sweep this week would also guarantee the Gaels their first ever undefeated WCC season.
SENIOR SALUTE
Against Gonzaga, the Gaels will honor their three senior student-athletes prior to tip off: Mitchell Saxen, Mason Forbes and Alex Ducas. Saxen has been part of the program for four years, taking on the starting center duties over the last two seasons and tallying 13 career double-doubles. His 110 career blocked shots ranks sixth in program history. Mason Forbes joined the Gaels last season after a four year stretch at Harvard. After sitting out last season, Forbes has played a vital role in the 2023-24 team's success, appearing in 28 of 29 games this year and shooting an incredible 71.1% from the field. Last, but certainly not least, fifth year senior Alex Ducas has been a Saint Mary's staple in his time. He is on pace to at least tie Tommy Kuhse's games played record (149 games), and ranks second in three pointers made and attempted, trailing only fellow Aussy Gael Legend Matthew Dellavedova. Ducas has currently scored 1302 points (and counting) and ranks 16th in program history. Senior team manager Taj Shokar will also be honored as part of the Senior Night festivities.
ABOUT THE WAVES
The Gaels took care of the Waves two weeks ago in Moraga, 103-59, but since, the Waves have heated up, taking two of their last three. After back-to-back last place finishes in the WCC, Head Coach Lorenzo Romar has guaranteed that his team will not be on the bottom this season, as they have secured at least seventh place in the conference. Michael Ajayi continues to lead the WCC in scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game, while Jevon Porter and Houston Mallette each also are averaging 15+ points per contest. Against the Gaels two weeks ago, Ajayi, Mallette and Porter were all held below their scoring averages, but still managed to combine to score more than half of the Waves' points. While the Pepperdine offense continues to impress, especially from beyond the arc, the defense continues to struggle, allowing opponents to shoot 49% from the field (349th out of 351 teams nationally), and 38.4% from three (347th out of 351). The Gaels lead the all-time series 78-74 and have won each of their last five meetings.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The top dogs in the conference will duke it out on the final day of the WCC regular season, as Gonzaga will attempt to exact revenge on the Gaels after Saint Mary's defeated the Zags at the Kennel earlier this year. Gonzaga has not lost since their loss to Saint Mary's, including a signature win at Kentucky that helped them climb back into the top-25. Mark Few continues to rack up the wins at the helm of the Zags, as he is the only coach with more WCC wins than Gaels Head Coach Randy Bennett in the history of the conference (345). The Zags will first have to square off with a strong San Francisco at the Chase Center on Thursday night. A loss to San Francisco would make the matchup between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's a lot more interesting, as the Zags would need a win to lock up a bye to the WCC semifinals. The Zags continue to have one of the most effective offenses in college basketball, with all five starters averaging in double figure scoring. Everything runs through point guard Ryan Nembhard, who ranks in the top-15 in the NCAA in assists and assists per game. The Gaels handed Gonzaga their third home loss over the last six years earlier this season, defeating the Zags 64-62. Nembhard and Anton Watson both played the entire 40 minutes, combining for 34 points, while Watson and Graham Ike both logged double-doubles. That said, the Gaels limited the Zags to just five assists and 21.4% shooting from beyond the arc in the victory. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 79-33, but the Gaels have taken at least one victory against the Zags in each of the last three seasons, and in five of the last seven.
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