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Saint Mary’s Basketball: 2019-20 keys to victory for home matchup against BYU

By J.D. Caldwell

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Head coach Randy Bennett of the Saint Mary's Gaels jokes with Jordan Ford #3 as they celebrate their 60-47 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs to win the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 12, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Head coach Randy Bennett of the Saint Mary's Gaels jokes with Jordan Ford #3 as they celebrate their 60-47 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs to win the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 12, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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MORAGA, CA – MARCH 02: Saint Mary’s Gaels players on the bench (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
MORAGA, CA – MARCH 02: Saint Mary’s Gaels players on the bench (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

3. McKeon Pavilion will be rocking

Saint Mary’s needs to take advantage of their home floor at McKeon Pavilion, er… University Credit Union Pavilion.  The newly renamed “UCUP” is a gym with a capacity of only 3,500.  As WCC opponents know, that makes for a raucous atmosphere.

However, the Gaels have not played their best ball at home, e.g. the horrible Winthrop loss.  On the other hand, the Cougars are ranked by Haslametrics at #30 in their away-from-home metric.

The Cougars have defeated Houston, UCLA (#136 NET), Virginia Tech (#54 NET), and Utah State (#73 NET) all away from home.  Yes, three of their losses occurred on the road.  However, those were overtime losses at Boise State and Utah (#48 NET) and on a neutral floor to AP#3 ranked Kansas (#2 NET).

Both BYU and Saint Mary’s have very experienced squads.  They should not be rattled by the environment and the Gaels should be able to bounce back at home after the disappointing loss at the Pacific Tigers.

Next. Top 25 national power rankings. dark

This West Coast Conference battle will be a good one.  Not only are they battling in the WCC standings, but the Gaels and the Cougars are also battling for at-large berths to the national tournament.  If Saint Mary’s can stay out of foul trouble, get their shooting touch back, and take advantage of their home crowd, the Gaels will be in good shape to defeat the BYU Cougars.