On the list of problems teams would like to have, getting extended time off before a conference tournament and then having another lengthy stretch without a game before the NCAA Tournament would rank near or at the top.
 
Nevertheless, playing only once or twice over an almost three-week span after spending the previous four months playing typically twice per week can be an issue. Saint Mary's finished the regular season at 27-4 (17-1 WCC) with a 74-64 win over Oregon State in Moraga on Saturday night.
 
Because the WCC rewards its top two teams with byes into the semifinals of its conference tournament, the regular-season-champion Gaels will have had eight days off before they next play in Las Vegas on Monday night, March 10. Then win or lose, the Gaels will have another 8-10 days without a game before their NCAA Tournament opener.
 
Head coach Randy Bennett has plenty of experience dealing with down time before go time. He knows it can be tricky.
 
"You've got to kind of stay in idle right now. You can't check out. It's not spring break. It's not vacation," Bennett said after the victory over the Beavers. "You can't shut it down and then two days before the tournament, (say), 'Hey, you've got to get ready to play.' You've got to try to keep getting better without wearing 'em out."
 
On Tuesday, Bennett was named the WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season and center Mitchell Saxen was named WCC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. Saxen and fellow seniors Luke Barrett and Augustas Marciulionis will be preparing for the NCAAs for the fourth year in a row.
 
"As leaders and guys that have been through it before – between Luke, Augustas and me – I feel like we've just got to make sure we've got really good practices this next week coming up and fire our best shot," Saxen said. "And then have really good practices after the WCC Tournament and be ready to go."
 
Bennett said he didn't plan to hold practices more than two days in a row in this stretch.
 
 "It'll be really tough to have long, highly competitive practices," he said. "We've got to be creative about how we're going to get better without draining the tank. It's different."
 
Senior Night review: Almost as if it were scripted, Marciulionis, Barrett and Saxen all thrived in their final appearances at UCU Pavilion. Marciulionis had game highs of 25 points and seven assists against Oregon State. Barrett (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Saxen (12 points, 11 boards) each put together a double-double.
 
"It just felt right. It felt like that's how you're supposed to go out," Saxen said. "I'm just so, so proud of our group and I feel like we've got a lot left in the tank."
 
Bennett clearly has plenty of respect and affection for those three seniors, but OSU was a formidable opponent. That meant Bennett couldn't quite wear his heart on his sleeve during the pregame ceremony.
 
"I didn't want to talk to 'em about how special they've been because it would be too emotional for me and them," Bennett said. "So, we really had to be careful."
 
Saxen said Bennett might have let down his guard just a bit.
 
"Man, I saw him shedding a couple of tears out there," Saxen said, smiling. "It's hard for all of us. You want to take that moment and really soak it up, but as a player – and as a coach – you've got a big game in front of you and we're not trying to leave anything on the table."
 
That proverbial table has little to nothing left on it, for this season or the previous three. Marciulionis, Saxen and Barrett have helped the Gaels go 106-28 (58-7 WCC) since the start of the 2021-22 season. Along the way, they've knocked off the No. 1 team in the country (a 67-57 stunner over Gonzaga on Feb. 26, 2022), won at least a share of the regular-season conference title for the past three seasons and picked up two NCAA Tournament victories.
 
Saxen is a three-time first-team All-WCC selection. On Tuesday, Marciulionis, the point guard from Lithuania, was named the WCC Player of the Year for the second straight season. And Barrett, the forward from Piedmont, received honorable-mention recognition for the All-WCC team. That's quite an accomplishment for someone who came to Moraga as a walk-on in 2020.
 
Bennett said Barrett, Marciulionis and Saxen "are really good players, but (their success) is not because they're really good players. They're such solid people. I've never had an issue with one of 'em."   
 
Probably the most significant, relevant fact for those three seniors: They will become the first Saint Mary's players to be part of teams that made the NCAA Tournament in four straight seasons.
 
"What they have done has never been done," Bennett said. "That says it all right there."

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+.