NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest storylines from 2022 “Feast Week” matchups

5. Saint Mary’s becomes the clear favorite to win Wooden Legacy Classic

The Wooden Legacy recently has gone from an 8-team field to just four, with Fresno State, Washington, and Vanderbilt joining the Gaels in this event. But based on the first couple of weeks of the season, Saint Mary’s starts out as the heavy favorite to beat the Commodores in the semifinals, then against either the Bulldogs or Huskies at the end.

The Gaels are already 5-0 on the season, coming off a 28-point destruction over Hofstra, who has looked like the team to beat in the Colonial Athletic Association. They also have beaten other mid-major heavyweights such as North Texas, Oral Roberts, and Vermont as well. Since all of them were at home and against non-power conference teams, the Gaels aren’t likely to be ranked on Monday’s next AP poll.

However, if they can beat Vanderbilt and Washington, that could change things in the next week. It also could set up a ranked matchup with the Houston Cougars on December 3rd that will be highly entertaining.

At this point, any Randy Bennett-coach squad should be expected to be good but after losing Tommy Kuhse and Matthias Tass, there could’ve been a little letdown for the team. Instead, the Gaels are just as, if not better, than the teams that made the NCAA Tournament.