MORAGA, Calif. — There was quite a bit of excitement around the Saint Mary's Men' Basketball team leading up to the 2023-24 campaign. Flash forward five months, and fans and critics alike have realized that that hype was well deserved. The Gaels will enter the NCAA Tournament ranked 15th in the country by both the AP and Coaches Polls, holding a 26-7 record, including wins in 23 of their final 25 matchups. They are a five seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, and will make one of the shorter treks for their opening matchup of the Big Dance, heading to Spokane, Washington to take on 12th seeded Grand Canyon (29-4).

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Grand Canyon Lopes
Friday, March 22 at 7:05 PM
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena – Spokane, Wash.
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THE GAELS AT THE DANCE
This is Saint Mary's 14th NCAA Tournament Bid in program history, and their 11th under Head Coach Randy Bennett. It is the first time in program history that the Gaels have earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive years. The Gaels are also the first non-Gonzaga mid-major to earn a five seed or better in the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive years since Memphis did it four times between 2006-2009. Saint Mary's is 7-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, and 6-6 in their opening round matchups in the tournament. As a five seed, the Gaels are 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament, and 2-0 in their opening matchups, defeating Indiana in 2022 and VCU in 2023. 

ABOUT THE LOPES
Grand Canyon University enters the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, after making the jump from NCAA DII in the 2013-14 season. They have won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in three of the past four seasons to earn those three bids. All-time, GCU is 0-2 in NCAA Tournament games, falling to second seeded Iowa in 2021 and to third seeded Gonzaga in 2023. The 12 seed is the highest that the Lopes have ever attained. Fourth year Head Coach Bryce Drew is the second GCU Head Coach in their Division I era, and is the only Lopes Head Coach to take his team to the NCAA Tournament. Over his 12 year Head Coaching Career, Drew has been to the NCAA Tournament six times, twice with Valparaiso, once with Vanderbilt and now three times with GCU, but has never made it past the first round. His team has shown great consistency this year, as he has walked out the same starting five in 32 of 33 games, with the only wrinkle coming in a matchup against NAIA foe Bethesda. The biggest impact player for the Lopes this season has been 6-7 wing Tyon Grant-Foster, averaging nearly 20 points and six rebounds per contest, while also leading his squad with 45 blocked shots, becoming the first ever GCU player to earn WAC Player of the Year honors. Even more notably, Grant-Foster missed all of last season while at DePaul after collapsing in the locker room during the season-opener. Point guard Ray Harrison (2nd Team All-WAC) and four man Gabe McGlothan (1st Team All-WAC) have also been terrific this season, averaging 14 and 13 points per game respectively. Defensively, the team leaned heavily on Georgia State transfer Collin Moore, who led the WAC in steals en route to being named to the All-WAC defensive team. Like the Gaels, GCU is a physical, defensive team, ranking 17th in the country in field goal percentage defense, 12th in the country in blocked shots per game and 11th in the country in scoring margin. They try to be just as physical offensively, as they get to the free throw line at a staggering rate, ranking seventh in the NCAA in free throw attempts per game and fourth in free throws made per game. This will be just the second ever meeting between the Gaels and Lopes. In 2016, these two squads met in the final week of the regular season, with the Gaels earning a 73-64 victory. Dane Pineau went for an 18 point, 10 rebound double-double, while GCU's Grandy Glaze led the Lopes with 15 points and nine boards. 

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