Friday, December 19
Moraga, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
Florida Atlantic
Dillan Shaw is coming off a career-high 12 points vs. Boise State
Photo by: Ryan Barnett / SMC Athletics
MBB | Gaels Close Out Non-Conference Play with Florida Atlantic and Northern Iowa at Home
12/16/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — With West Coast Conference play just around the corner, the Saint Mary's Gaels (9-2) look to head into their conference slate on a high note, as they close out their non-con schedule with Florida Atlantic (8-3) and Northern Iowa (8-2). With a pair of wins, the Gaels would boast 11 wins in their regular season non-conference schedule for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign when they went 11-4.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Florida Atlantic Owls
Friday, December 19 at 7 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Northern Iowa Panthers
Monday, December 22 at 7 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
LEADING THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Saint Mary's is one of just five teams in the country (Binghamton, Fairfield, Howard and Southern) to boast having both their conference's leading scorer and rebounder on the roster. For the Gaels, Paulius Murauskas leads the WCC averaging 18.3 PPG, while Andrew McKeever is ripping down 10.2 RPG. Murauskas also leads the WCC with 68 free throws made and 85 free throws attempted, McKeever leads averaging 4.55 rebounds per game and Josh Dent leads the conference and ranks second in the nation shooting 97.8% from the stripe. As a team, the Gaels lead the conference in free throw percentage and free throws made per game. This is even more impressive when figuring that the Gaels ranked 9th in free throws made per game, and 11th in free throw percentage last year.
WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
This year's Gaels squad has put up some of the best offensive numbers in recent history, drawing comparisons to Randy Bennett's 2017-18 Saint Mary's squad that won a program record 30 games. That year's squad opened their season with 11 straight contests scoring 70 or more points, while this year's squad did so 10 straight times to open the year. The 2025-26 Gaels have averaged 79.7 points per game this season, the most through 11 games by an SMC team since the 17-18 squad averaged 81.4 through their first 11. Personnel wise, the similarities are also a bit resounding, with both teams boasting a playmaking Aussie at the point (Emmett Naar, Joshua Dent), an explosive scoring sophomore guard (Jordan Ford, Mikey Lewis) and a high volume scoring big man (Jock Landale, Paulius Murauskas). Like this year's squad, the 2017-18 team also opened the year at 9-2, actually rattling off 19 consecutive victories after picking up their second loss. The 2025-26 Gaels will look to mimic that impressive mark as well this year.
ABOUT THE OWLS
After just a 5-3 start to the campaign, the Florida Atlantic Owls have rattled off three straight victories to pull to 8-3. Over their last three, the Owls have averaged nearly 100 points per contest, as FAU's offense is riding high coming into this one. In his second year at the helm, Head Coach John Jakus looks to guide the Owls to their sixth postseason (NCAA Tournament or NIT) in program history. The exciting backcourt duo of Devin Vanterpool and Kanaan Carlyle have led the Owls, averaging a combined 32.8 points per contest, while defensively, big man Devin Williams ranks fifth in the country with 34 blocks. This marks the first all-time meeting between the Gaels and Owls, however, it will not be Coach Jakus' first time in Moraga, as he spent three seasons on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga as the Zags Director of Basketball Operations.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
The 8-2 Northern Iowa Panthers will open conference play on the road on Wednesday, December 17 at University of Illinois - Chicago before making the trek to Moraga on Monday evening. 20th year Head Coach Ben Jacobson is looking for his 11th 20+ win season, and will need to get 26 wins this season to reach 400 at the helm. In their first 10 games this year, the Panthers have seen one like opponent with the Gaels, falling to Wichita State in overtime (the Gaels defeated Wichita State in the opener of the Battle 4 Atlantis). The key to the Panther's success this year has been winning the turnover battle, and that's helped them to being ranked fourth in the country in turnovers per game (8.9), fifth in assist to turnover ratio (1.96), and seventh in turnover margin (5.9). Trey Campbell and Ben Schwieger have led that charge with a combined 1.93 assist to turnover ratio and 36 combined steals through the first 10 games. The Gaels are 2-1 all-time vs Northern Iowa, with wins in 2020 on a neutral floor and 2011 in Moraga, sandwiching a loss in 2012 in Cedar Falls.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Florida Atlantic Owls
Friday, December 19 at 7 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Northern Iowa Panthers
Monday, December 22 at 7 PM
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
LEADING THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Saint Mary's is one of just five teams in the country (Binghamton, Fairfield, Howard and Southern) to boast having both their conference's leading scorer and rebounder on the roster. For the Gaels, Paulius Murauskas leads the WCC averaging 18.3 PPG, while Andrew McKeever is ripping down 10.2 RPG. Murauskas also leads the WCC with 68 free throws made and 85 free throws attempted, McKeever leads averaging 4.55 rebounds per game and Josh Dent leads the conference and ranks second in the nation shooting 97.8% from the stripe. As a team, the Gaels lead the conference in free throw percentage and free throws made per game. This is even more impressive when figuring that the Gaels ranked 9th in free throws made per game, and 11th in free throw percentage last year.
WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
This year's Gaels squad has put up some of the best offensive numbers in recent history, drawing comparisons to Randy Bennett's 2017-18 Saint Mary's squad that won a program record 30 games. That year's squad opened their season with 11 straight contests scoring 70 or more points, while this year's squad did so 10 straight times to open the year. The 2025-26 Gaels have averaged 79.7 points per game this season, the most through 11 games by an SMC team since the 17-18 squad averaged 81.4 through their first 11. Personnel wise, the similarities are also a bit resounding, with both teams boasting a playmaking Aussie at the point (Emmett Naar, Joshua Dent), an explosive scoring sophomore guard (Jordan Ford, Mikey Lewis) and a high volume scoring big man (Jock Landale, Paulius Murauskas). Like this year's squad, the 2017-18 team also opened the year at 9-2, actually rattling off 19 consecutive victories after picking up their second loss. The 2025-26 Gaels will look to mimic that impressive mark as well this year.
ABOUT THE OWLS
After just a 5-3 start to the campaign, the Florida Atlantic Owls have rattled off three straight victories to pull to 8-3. Over their last three, the Owls have averaged nearly 100 points per contest, as FAU's offense is riding high coming into this one. In his second year at the helm, Head Coach John Jakus looks to guide the Owls to their sixth postseason (NCAA Tournament or NIT) in program history. The exciting backcourt duo of Devin Vanterpool and Kanaan Carlyle have led the Owls, averaging a combined 32.8 points per contest, while defensively, big man Devin Williams ranks fifth in the country with 34 blocks. This marks the first all-time meeting between the Gaels and Owls, however, it will not be Coach Jakus' first time in Moraga, as he spent three seasons on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga as the Zags Director of Basketball Operations.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
The 8-2 Northern Iowa Panthers will open conference play on the road on Wednesday, December 17 at University of Illinois - Chicago before making the trek to Moraga on Monday evening. 20th year Head Coach Ben Jacobson is looking for his 11th 20+ win season, and will need to get 26 wins this season to reach 400 at the helm. In their first 10 games this year, the Panthers have seen one like opponent with the Gaels, falling to Wichita State in overtime (the Gaels defeated Wichita State in the opener of the Battle 4 Atlantis). The key to the Panther's success this year has been winning the turnover battle, and that's helped them to being ranked fourth in the country in turnovers per game (8.9), fifth in assist to turnover ratio (1.96), and seventh in turnover margin (5.9). Trey Campbell and Ben Schwieger have led that charge with a combined 1.93 assist to turnover ratio and 36 combined steals through the first 10 games. The Gaels are 2-1 all-time vs Northern Iowa, with wins in 2020 on a neutral floor and 2011 in Moraga, sandwiching a loss in 2012 in Cedar Falls.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
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