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Saint Mary’s Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Gaels

By Brayley Crowe

FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Randy Bennett of the St. Mary's Gaels talks to his team during a time out in the game against the Harvard Crimson at the Titan Gym on November 23, 2017 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
FULLERTON, CA - NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Randy Bennett of the St. Mary's Gaels talks to his team during a time out in the game against the Harvard Crimson at the Titan Gym on November 23, 2017 in Fullerton, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels drives against Jahshire Hardnett #0 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Jordan Ford #30 of the Saint Mary’s Gaels drives against Jahshire Hardnett #0 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Saint Mary’s Basketball lost some of their top talent and may find themselves in a rebuilding year for 2018-19. Can Randy Bennett’s squad return to the NCAA Tournament this year?

Saint Mary’s earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT in 2017-18 after finding themselves on the wrong side of the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. The Gaels finished the season 30-6 overall and 16-2 in conference, but failed to mirror their 2017 season where they earned a No. 7 seed and advanced to the Round of 32. While some of Bennett’s go-to players from last season have graduated, Saint Mary’s still has a solid group to build off, and perhaps push fellow West Coast Conference rivals BYU and Gonzaga into a tight battle for first.

With the loss of double-double phenom Jock Landale, who averaged 21.1 ppg and 10.2 rpg, sharp-shooter Calvin Hermanson, who made 44.3% of his 3-point attempts, and elite passer Emmett Naar, who dished out 7.9 apg, a team high, the Gaels have big shoes to fill in multiple positions. However, Jordan Ford, a junior guard, redshirt junior guard Tanner Krebs and Seattle University transfer Aaron Menzies, a redshirt senior, will look to lead Saint Mary’s.

While the Gaels were one of just ten teams to win 30 or more games last season, they were the only team of these ten to not play in the NCAA Tournament. This was largely due to the weak schedule Saint Mary’s played, as they went 4-3 against teams in the top-100 in RPI, and 17 of their wins were against teams ranked 150 or worse in the RPI. Bennett has seen his team sweat Selection Sunday quite often in the past few years due to weak schedules, but the Gaels have several matchups that could help boost their resume this season.

With a road game at New Mexico St., home matches with Harvard and New Mexico, a neutral site game with an improved LSU and a meeting with either Mississippi St. or Arizona St. in Las Vegas, Saint Mary’s can certainly notch some eye-raising wins this season.

With his 18th season about to begin, Bennett will look to continue his successful career at the helm of Saint Mary’s. Despite loosing some of the Gaels’ best players in program history, the seasoned head coach will certainly look to motivate his team to rattle conference contenders Gonzaga and BYU and return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. While some familiar names are on the Gaels’ roster, integrating the several new-comers will be the key to a successful season in Moraga, California.