CLEVELAND -- Vanderbilt and Saint Mary's are separated by about 2,300 miles. Their playing styles are quite separate as well, which makes their meeting Friday in the NCAA Tournament particularly intriguing.
 
As most SMC fans know, Randy Bennett's team is patient offensively. Led by point guard Augustas Marciulionis, the two-time WCC Player of the Year, the Gaels (28-5) occasionally push the pace but more often are content to run 20-23 seconds off the shot clock before finding a good shot or taking a contested one, knowing they have a decent chance to grab an offensive rebound.
 
Through Wednesday, SMC ranked ninth in the nation in offensive boards per game at 14.1, with center Mitchell Saxen third in the country at 4.1.
 
On defense, the Gaels rarely allow their opponents to get easy buckets, either in transition or in the half court. Saint Mary's ranks fifth in the country in fewest points allowed per game at 60.7.
 
Not only do most SMC fans know the Gaels' M.O., but so does Vandy head coach Mark Byington.
 
The Gaels, the 7-seed in the East Region, are "deliberate on offense," Byington said in a news conference at Rocket Arena on Thursday. "They get to what they want to. They take good shots. They rebound if they miss it. …
"And on defense, they're so good that you're not going to break them down in five, six, seven seconds like you can some teams. So, they're going to make you kind of grind the possession."
 
The Commodores (20-12), the 10-seed, employ a pressure defense that tries to pick up the pace. They force 14.1 turnovers – including nine steals – per game. They have five players with at least 30 steals, led by guards Chris Mañon and Tyler Tanner with 54 apiece.
 
"They try to force turnovers, try to run, play fast, transition offense," Marciulionis said about the Dores. "I think it's really important that we take care of the ball and don't give them those opportunities."
 
Bennett compared Vanderbilt offensively to Santa Clara, a team that averages 11 3-pointers and 28.7 3-point attempts per game. Defensively, Bennett likened Vandy to Loyola Marymount, which gave the Gaels some problems before SMC pulled out a 58-55 win in L.A. on Feb. 27.  
 
The Gaels lead the nation in rebounding margin at plus-10.7 per game. Their numbers on the glass the past six games are remarkable: plus-14 vs. Portland, plus-13 at Gonzaga, plus-17 at LMU, plus-17 vs. Oregon State, plus-23 vs. Pepperdine in Las Vegas and plus-15 vs. Gonzaga in Las Vegas.
 
"You almost think that's a misprint," Byington said of SMC's recent dominance on the boards.
 
Byington is finishing his first season in Nashville after going 82-36 in the previous four seasons at James Madison. He rebuilt basically the entire Vandy roster. Byington uses a nine-man rotation with eight transfers and Tanner, who's a freshman.
 
The Commodores won 13 of their first 14 games but have dropped 11 of the 18 games since then. One caveat: Their past 15 games have come against NCAA Tournament teams, as the SEC set a record with 14 of its teams making the field of 68.
 
Jason Edwards, Vandy's leading scorer at 17 points per game, said the Gaels "are a very physical team, run some bigger lineups. … We've been fighting all year long in the SEC, so a physical game isn't something that's outside of our norm."
 
What is outside of Vanderbilt's recent norm is making it to the NCAA Tournament. This is the Commodores' first appearance in the NCAAs since 2017. Saint Mary's, by contrast, is playing in the NCAAs for the fourth consecutive season.
 
Bennett said experience is the best teacher for players trying to get acclimated to the magnitude and atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament.  "You're speaking a foreign language to them if you're trying to explain how this tournament is different than the regular season," Bennett said. "I just tell them it's going to be a tough game.
 
"The biggest thing I tell them is you'd better be ready to play because you're playing somebody good. There are no bad teams in this tournament, which is great, and you want to have a seat at the table. So, we have a seat at the table, and let's see if we can keep it."
 
Notes: The first game in Cleveland on Friday matches 15-seed Robert Morris against 2-seed Alabama. The winner of that game faces the winner of the Vandy-SMC game Sunday. … If the Gaels beat the Commodores, Marciulionis, Saxen and forward Luke Barrett will have been on the roster for three SMC wins in the NCAA Tournament; the previous victories came over Indiana (82-53) in 2022 and VCU (63-51) in 2023. Research shows only five other SMC players have been on the roster for three NCAA Tourney wins: Matthew Dellavedova, Beau Levesque, Jorden Page, Tim Williams and Mitchell Young were on teams that won two games in 2010 and another in 2013.   

Note: Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly for KPIX-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has begun working alongside Brian Brownfield on the Gaels' men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.