NCAA Basketball: Duke, Michigan State fall in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
20. Saint Mary’s (2-0)
Predicted by some to have an even better season than Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s has won opening round games in the last two NCAA Tournaments and returned significant talent ahead of this season. Sophomore Aidan Mahaney looks like a future star in the sport while he’s surrounded by veteran talent on a well-built roster from Randy Bennett.
We weren’t going to learn a lot about the Gaels on opening night, but they did coast to a 107-28 win against Stanislaus State, a non-D1 program. Six Gaels were in double figures led by Mason Forbes with 19 points off the bench. The challenge was significantly tougher on Thursday, though Saint Mary’s got a nice early season win over New Mexico, prevailing 72-58. They built a strong lead in the first half and got an excellent 25-point performance out of Mahaney, who already looks like a star.
While that opening night performance wasn’t any indication about these Gaels, taking care of business against a really solid Lobos team certainly did the trick. If Mahaney has truly taken another step forward as a sophomore then he can lead Saint Mary’s to some incredible results this season. Weber State will be this Sunday’s next test before a highly-anticipated showdown with fellow West Coast mid-major San Diego State this upcoming Friday.
*Ranking was before Sunday’s loss to Weber State