MORAGA, Calif. — For the 17th consecutive season (not including the COVID shortened 24 game 2020-21 season) the Gaels have reached 20 wins, doing so in just 23 games. Saint Mary's has now won 10 straight for the eighth time in program history, and hold the nation's longest winning streak at 15 straight true road victories. The Gaels will now look to keep momentum rolling, as they will hit the road to take on San Francisco (18-6, 8-3 WCC) before heading north to Gill Coliseum and a date with Oregon State (16-7, 6-4 WCC)

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at San Francisco Dons
Thursday, February 6 at 6 PM
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center – San Francisco, Calif. 
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Saint Mary's Gaels at Oregon State Beavers
Saturday, February 8 at 7 PM
Gill Coliseum – Corvallis, Ore.
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SHARING THE WEALTH
In their pair of wins over Santa Clara and Gonzaga, the Gaels did not have a singular standout star. Instead, they had nine different players score in at least one of those games, and eight averaged between 4.5 and 10.5 points per game (Mikey Lewis, Harry Wessels, Jordan Ross, Augustas Marciulionis, Ashton Hardaway, Mitchell Saxen, Paulius Murauskas, Luke Barrett). This has been indicative of how the entire season has gone for the Gaels, with six players averaging between 9.0 and 13.4 points per game. As junior Ashton Hardaway put it following last week's victory over Santa Clara, "It's special to have a team where everybody is scoring and playing well within our system. We all care about winning and not about our own individual stats, so it's all about getting whoever has the hot hand the ball, and working on getting the best shot possible on every possession."

ABOUT THE DONS
Sitting in second place in the WCC, 2.5 games behind the Gaels is not Gonzaga, but rather the San Francisco Dons, who enter at 18-6 and 8-3 in conference play. Since the Gaels and Dons last squared off in Moraga on 1/23, the Dons have won two straight, and have won four of their five, with the lone loss coming at the hands of the Gaels. Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen is now just two wins away from his third consecutive 20 win season at the helm of the Dons, which would be the Dons fourth straight 20 win season (Todd Golden led the Gaels to 24 wins in 2021-22). Malik Thomas continues to lead the conference in scoring, but missed the Dons last game, a 75-51 thrashing of Washington State. That win was the Dons 14th straight at home, as they remain unbeaten at home this season, putting that to the test against the Gaels 15 consecutive road winning streak. In their first meeting this year, the Gaels defended their home court vs the Dons to the tune of a 71-51 victory. The Gaels shot an incredible 61.5% from the field, while holding USF to season low 28.8%, resulting in their season low 51 points. Saint Mary's scored 52 of their 71 points in the paint. The Dons were led by Marcus Williams and Carlton Linguard Jr, while Paulius Murauskas scored 24 points on 10-14 shooting for the Gaels, leading them to their 11th straight victory over the Dons. San Francisco leads the all-time series 101-91. 

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
The final WCC foe that the Gaels have yet to face this season, the Oregon State Beavers sit at 16-7 overall, with a 6-4 conference record tied for fifth in the WCC. In his 11th season at the helm, Head Coach Wayne Tinkle has the Beavers well on their way to their best season since their Elite Eight run in the shortened 2020-21 season. A well balanced team, Oregon State ranks second the WCC in field goal percentage (49.3%, 14th in the NCAA), leads the WCC in three point percentage (37.5%, 39th in the NCAA) and ranks second in the conference in scoring defense (66.9 PPG, second to the Gaels in the WCC). Leading the way for Coach Tinkle's squad in Michael Rataj, who has put himself in the talks for WCC Player of the Year by ranking in the top three in the conference in scoring, field goal percentage, defensive rebounding and steals. Like San Francisco, Oregon State is very good on their home floor, with just one loss at Gill Coliseum, coming at the hands of in-state rival Oregon, 78-75. This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Gaels and Beavers, with the last taking place in 1968. All-time, Oregon State leads the series, 3-1. 

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