24. Saint Mary’s (27-5)
Randy Bennett really has built one of the best mid-major programs in the nation and this version of the Gaels continues to prove that. During WCC play, Saint Mary’s lost a pair of road games against the two strongest teams in the league, but in the final week of the regular season managed to avenge both of them with wins over Santa Clara and Gonzaga. The WCC Tournament in Las Vegas then presented a chance for even more success against those two squads.
Receiving that bye to the semifinals, Saint Mary’s wasn’t in action until Monday but they were humbled by the Broncos for the second time this season. While it wasn’t quite the offensive disappointment as in their January loss, the Gaels did fall 76-71 to Santa Clara after leading at the half. Paulius Murauskas had 26 points and 8 rebounds while Mikey Lewis put up 23 points but it just wasn’t enough against this hungry Santa Clara team.
There really isn’t good news about losing and not getting that third shot at Gonzaga, especially with the Bulldogs about to leave for the Pac-12. What’s actually good is that Saint Mary’s has been on a roll before that Monday loss and have the potential to do damage in the Big Dance again. A lot will depend on their offense but they managed to shine against Gonzaga despite a weak game from their frontcourt and can challenge teams in a number of ways.