MORAGA, Calif. — After a 6-0 start in conference play, the Saint Mary's Gaels (16-3, 6-0 WCC) enter the "meat and potatoes" of their WCC slate, opening up an eight game stretch that will feature matchups with each of the top six teams in the conference. That stretch begins this week, as the Gaels welcome San Francisco (16-5, 6-2 WCC) to town before making the trip north to Pullman for a date with Washington State (15-5, 5-2 WCC).

THE DETAILS 
Saint Mary's Gaels vs San Francisco Dons (Australian Heritage Night)
Thursday, January 23 at 6 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif. 
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Saint Mary's Gaels at Washington State Cougars
Saturday, January 25 at 5 PM
Beasley Coliseum – Pullman, Wash.
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A COUPLE OF THOUSAND POINT STAT SHEET STUFFERS
Mitchell Saxen and Augustas Marciulionis both reached the 1000 point mark this season, making them the first Gael duo to accomplish this feat in the same season since Logan Johnson and Alex Ducas both reached 1000 in 2022-23. That said, Saxen and Marciulionis have both been so much more than scorers for the Gaels throughout their careers. Saxen, who has played in the third most games ever as a Gael (140), ranks sixth all-time with 804 career boards and fourth all-time with 135 blocks. He is one of just four Gaels (Diamon Simpson, Omar Samhan, Brad Waldow) to record 1000 points, 800 rebounds and 100 blocks in his career. Marciulionis cracked the top-10 for assist, now with 403, good for eighth, and the top-10 in steals with 122,
good for 10th. Only Goose and Matthew Dellavedova are Gaels who can claim 1000 points, 400 assists and 120 steals for their SMC careers.

ATOP THE MIDMAJOR POLLS
For the first time this season, Saint Mary's finds itself atop the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25. The Gaels received 23 of a possible 31 first place votes, to find themselves ahead of the likes of UC Irvine (2nd) and Gonzaga (3rd). Saint Mary's, Gonzaga, San Francisco (11th) and Santa Clara (16th) find themselves ranked on this list out of the WCC (Washington State and Oregon State have been deemed not eligible for this ranking), while Gael foes from earlier this season Akron (23rd) and Chattanooga (RV) have also received attention from this list. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, Conference USA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.

ABOUT THE DONS
While the Gaels sit atop the WCC standings at 6-0, sitting one game behind them at 6-2 are the San Francisco Dons. The Dons continue to be a frequent challenger of Saint Mary's and Gonzaga for the top spot in the conference, and look to be well on their way to their eighth straight 20+ win season (2020-21 pandemic shortened season not included) at 16-5. Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen has been at the helm for the last three seasons, and at 59-30, has already surpassed the win total of his predecessor Todd Golden in his three years at the helm. No player has had a bigger impact on the Dons stellar start this season than senior guard Malik Thomas. The leading scorer in the WCC, Thomas has scored 429 points this season, trailing only Villanova's Eric Dixon for most points scored in the NCAA this season. Fellow returning backcourt mate Marcus Williams averages 14 points and 4.3 assists per contests, making this duo one of the most feared backcourt tandems in the WCC. The word perimeter best describes this San Francisco squad, both offensively and defensively. They shoot at 35.7% from beyond the arc, good for third in the WCC, while knocking down 9.3 three pointers per game, good for second. Defensively, San Francisco is also able to run their opponents off the line, limiting them to just 30.5% shooting from three, good for second best in the conference. The Dons lead the WCC forcing 13.5 turnovers per contest, which should pose as an intriguing matchup with the Gaels, who turn the ball over less than any team in the WCC. San Francisco leads the all-time series against the Gaels 101-90, but the Gaels have won the last 10 meetings, and have lost to the Dons in Moraga since 2003. 

ABOUT THE COUGARS
Saint Mary's will get their first look at one of the two new WCC affiliate members, the Washington State Cougars, in Pullman this upcoming Saturday. The Cougars sit in a three way tie for third in the conference with Gonzaga and Santa Clara at 5-2, a tie that will be broken when they meet Santa Clara in the South Bay on Thursday. In his first season at the helm, Head Coach David Riley has impressed, as he has coached his team to be one with true perseverance, gritting out a couple of costly injuries to continue to be a competitive force in the WCC. Two of the Cougars stars in the early going, Cedric Coward and Isaiah Watts, have not seen the court since late November and mid December respectively, but Washington State has continued to win thanks to four other double-digit averaging scorers, led by point guard Nate Calmese (17.3 PPG 4.7 APG 2.1 SPG) and wing LeJuan Watts (13.8 PPG 7.9 RPG). With a lineup that features four players 6-6 or taller, Washington State does everything in their power to get looks in the paint on a consistent basis, and as such, leads the WCC with a 49.4% field goal percentage, scoring 81.6 points per game. Defensively, their length makes them the best shot blocking team in the conference, but that does lead to their side getting into foul trouble, which can be viewed as this team's achilles heel, only going three deep off their bench. Washington State also turns the ball over more than any team in the conference, coughing the ball up over 15 times on average per game. This will be the third all-time meeting between the Gaels and Cougars, and their first as conference foes. The all-time series is split at one game apiece, with the Gaels winning their first meeting in 2009 in Moraga and the Cougs returning the favor in a neutral site tilt in 2017. This will be Saint Mary's first ever trip to Pullman. 

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