MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (13-3, 3-0 WCC) has pulled to 10 games over 0.500 for the first time this season and will once again put their perfect record on the line, as they host LMU (9-7, 1-3 WCC) before hitting the road to San Diego (4-12, 1-2 WCC). The Gaels opened WCC play against San Diego and LMU last season, with both teams putting up good fights on their home courts. Ultimately the Gaels would prevail in both of those games as part of a 15 game WCC win streak.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. LMU Lions
Tuesday, January 7 at 8 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels at San Diego Toreros
Saturday, January 11 at 7 PM
Jenny Craig Pavilion – San Diego, Calif.
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THE NATION'S LEADER
Fifth year senior center Mitchell Saxen has been a force on the offensive glass. How much of a force, you may ask? To answer that question, you need look no further than the national offensive rebounding rankings, where Saxen sits alone at the top, ripping down 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. The big man has recorded at least five o-boards in nine of 16 contests this season, including a career-high 11 against Cal Poly. In fact, Saxen has 17 more offensive rebounds than defensive this season. Saxen, along with teammates Luke Barrett (2.8 ORPG) and Paulius Murauskas (2.6 ORPG) are a big reason as to why the Gaels rank fourth in the country as a team in offensive rebounds per game, and third in offensive rebounding percentage.
ABOUT THE LIONS
LMU comes into this one with a 9-7 record, but holds just a 1-3 record in WCC play. That said, the Lions have played the Gaels historically tough under the direction of fifth year Head Coach Stan Johnson, with five of the eight meetings with the Gaels under his tenure decided by single digit margins. LMU closed out non-conference play at 8-4, including the Cancun Challenge Title and nice victory over Nevada, but since then have gone just 1-3 to open conference play. The Lions return two starters from a year ago, point guard Will Johnston and wing Alex Merkviladze, and brought in two key transfers in the forms of Jevon Porter (Pepperdine) and Caleb Stone-Carrawell (Utah Valley). That quartet makes up 72% of their scoring, with each of them connecting on at least 26 made three pointers this season. Porter has made the biggest impact, averaging 14.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. As a team, LMU hoists the third most three point attempts of any team in WCC, attempting nearly 26 per game, but of late, those shots haven't been falling, as through their first four WCC contests, the Lions are shooting just 27.2% from beyond the arc. Saint Mary's leads the all-time series 102-55, as LMU has not beaten the Gaels in Moraga since 2015.
ABOUT THE TOREROS
San Diego has won just four games to open the year in 16 tries, including just three against DI opponents. While it has been tough sledding for the Toreros, they do have their first conference win of the year under their belts, defeating Pacific at home to open up WCC play back on December 30. They'll now have their toughest week of the WCC season thus far, getting Gonzaga in Spokane on Thursday, then hosting the Gaels on Saturday. Head Coach Steve Lavin has experienced just one other season with this slow of a start, but if anyone can right the ship, it's the 15th year coaching veteran, who has also helmed UCLA and St. John's in his time. San Diego returned just one starter from last year's 18-15 campaign, center and leading rebounder Steven Jamerson II, but unlike most programs, have retained many of their reserves from a year ago and have put them in starting roles. This said, the team has been led by one of the few key players not on last year's roster, Kjay Bradley Jr. A transfer from San Diego City College, Bradley has seen time both as a starter and off the bench for USD this season, and leads the team in scoring, assists and steals. The Toreros do have good size to their squad down low this season, and as such, are one of the top shot blocking teams in the WCC, with a trio of players with at least 11 rejections this season. Unfortunately, the aggressive nature of their shot blocking defense does lead to them getting into early foul trouble, forcing San Diego to have 12 players averaging at least 12 minutes played per game. The Gaels lead the all-time series against the Toreros 61-36, and have not lost to USD since 2014.
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