MBB | Gaels to Face UCLA on Thanksgiving in San Diego
6/24/2026 10:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN DIEGO — The Saint Mary's men's basketball team will face the UCLA Bruins on Thanksgiving Day to open the 2026 Rady Children's Invitational, Sports San Diego announced on Wednesday morning.
The contest between Gaels and Bruins will be broadcast on national television and tips off at 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, Nov. 26 on FS1.
Tickets for the 2026 Rady Children's Invitational can be purchased through the Saint Mary's Ticket Office from June 1 through July 31 here. Packages include two games per day and priority will be determined by donor level and season ticket status.
The Gaels and Bruins will meet up for the first time since the 2022 NCAA Tournament Round of 32, and the 15th time overall in program history. The 2025-26 Bruins went 24-12 and finished tied for sixth place in the Big 10. Like the Gaels, UCLA entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament as a seven-seed. The Bruins defeated UCF in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament this past March before falling to eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up UConn in the Round of 32.
The other side of the Rady Children's Invitational bracket will feature a matchup between the SEC's Texas and Big East's Georgetown. The Longhorns went 21-15 last year, their first under Sean Miller, making it into the NCAA Tournament by way of the First Four with a win over NC State, before beating BYU and Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA West Regional, where they were edged 79-77 in the final second by Purdue. Georgetown went 16-18 last year, but have made 31 NCAA Tournaments in program history, with their last coming in 2021.
The two winners on Thanksgiving will meet in the championship game on Friday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. PT, while the losers will meet in the tournament's third place game at 2 p.m. PT earlier in the day. The winners will play in the championship game at 2 p.m. PST. Both of those contests will be on FOX.
Starting in 2023, the Rady Children's Hospital has been hosted in San Diego, and has been played at the Jenny Craig Pavilion since 2025. The event has featured at least one ranked team in every year of its existence, while the event's winner has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years.
2026 Rady Children's Invitational Schedule
Thursday, November 26
11:30 a.m. PT on FS1: Georgetown vs. Texas
2 p.m. PT on FS1: Saint Mary's vs. UCLA
Friday, November 27
11:30 a.m. PT on FOX: Third Place Game
2 p.m. PT on FOX: Championship Game
A New, Exciting Era for Saint Mary's Men's Basketball
A new era of Saint Mary's Men's Basketball officially tips off this fall with former standout Gael Mickey McConnell now serving as the Gaels' head coach after having been an instrumental piece of the program for decades, first as a student-athlete and then as associate head coach.
Saint Mary's is building a competitive non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, which includes already officially announced games against Saint Louis (Nov. 20), UCLA (Nov. 26), Texas or Georgetown (Nov. 27), Oklahoma State (Dec. 5) and New Mexico (Dec. 12). Additional nonconference contests will be released throughout the summer.
The Gaels will also play a designated 16-game West Coast Conference slate with home and road games against LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Seattle U, along with one home-only opponent (San Diego) and one away-only opponent (Denver), as the conference officially announced on June 2.
Season tickets are currently on sale at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
The contest between Gaels and Bruins will be broadcast on national television and tips off at 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, Nov. 26 on FS1.
Tickets for the 2026 Rady Children's Invitational can be purchased through the Saint Mary's Ticket Office from June 1 through July 31 here. Packages include two games per day and priority will be determined by donor level and season ticket status.
The Gaels and Bruins will meet up for the first time since the 2022 NCAA Tournament Round of 32, and the 15th time overall in program history. The 2025-26 Bruins went 24-12 and finished tied for sixth place in the Big 10. Like the Gaels, UCLA entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament as a seven-seed. The Bruins defeated UCF in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament this past March before falling to eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up UConn in the Round of 32.
The other side of the Rady Children's Invitational bracket will feature a matchup between the SEC's Texas and Big East's Georgetown. The Longhorns went 21-15 last year, their first under Sean Miller, making it into the NCAA Tournament by way of the First Four with a win over NC State, before beating BYU and Gonzaga to reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA West Regional, where they were edged 79-77 in the final second by Purdue. Georgetown went 16-18 last year, but have made 31 NCAA Tournaments in program history, with their last coming in 2021.
The two winners on Thanksgiving will meet in the championship game on Friday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. PT, while the losers will meet in the tournament's third place game at 2 p.m. PT earlier in the day. The winners will play in the championship game at 2 p.m. PST. Both of those contests will be on FOX.
Starting in 2023, the Rady Children's Hospital has been hosted in San Diego, and has been played at the Jenny Craig Pavilion since 2025. The event has featured at least one ranked team in every year of its existence, while the event's winner has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years.
2026 Rady Children's Invitational Schedule
Thursday, November 26
11:30 a.m. PT on FS1: Georgetown vs. Texas
2 p.m. PT on FS1: Saint Mary's vs. UCLA
Friday, November 27
11:30 a.m. PT on FOX: Third Place Game
2 p.m. PT on FOX: Championship Game
A New, Exciting Era for Saint Mary's Men's Basketball
A new era of Saint Mary's Men's Basketball officially tips off this fall with former standout Gael Mickey McConnell now serving as the Gaels' head coach after having been an instrumental piece of the program for decades, first as a student-athlete and then as associate head coach.
Saint Mary's is building a competitive non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, which includes already officially announced games against Saint Louis (Nov. 20), UCLA (Nov. 26), Texas or Georgetown (Nov. 27), Oklahoma State (Dec. 5) and New Mexico (Dec. 12). Additional nonconference contests will be released throughout the summer.
The Gaels will also play a designated 16-game West Coast Conference slate with home and road games against LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Seattle U, along with one home-only opponent (San Diego) and one away-only opponent (Denver), as the conference officially announced on June 2.
Season tickets are currently on sale at smcgaels.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
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