# 2019–20 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 19th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 26–8, 11–5 in WCC play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Pepperdine and BYU to advance to the championship game of the WCC tournament where they lost to Gonzaga. Despite being a virtual lock to receive an at-large bid to NCAA tournament, all postseason play was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2018–19 season 22–12, 11–5 in West Coast Conference play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament, they defeated Pepperdine in the semifinals and upset No. 1 seed Gonzaga to become champions of the WCC Tournament. As a result, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 where they lost to Villanova in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jordan Hunter | 1 | C | 6'10" | 230 | Senior | Vaucluse, Australia | Graduated |
| Kyle Clark | 33 | F | 6'7" | 220 | RS Junior | Wynyard, Australia | Injured. Recovering from right knee surgery. 5th year senior. Studying MBA. |
| Alex Mudronja | 35 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Freshman | Adelaide, Australia | Play professionally |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Logan Johnson | 1 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Sophomore | Mountain View, CA | Transferred from Cincinnati. Johnson was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Alex Ducas SF | Geraldton, AUS | Centre of Excellence | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kyle Bowen PF | Perth, AUS | Centre of Excellence | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr Rivals: nr ESPN: nr ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Judah Brown SF | Santa Monica, CA | Pacifica Christian High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jan 7, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Jabe Mullins SG | Snoqualmie, WA | Mount Si High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 25, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Mitchell Saxen SG | Seattle, WA | Ingraham High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 18, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr Rivals: nr ESPN: nr |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN". ESPN.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | vs. Wisconsin Sioux Falls Showcase | W 65–63 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Sanford Pentagon (3,301) Sioux Falls, SD |
| November 11, 2019* 6:00 pm | No. 18 | Winthrop Sacramento Classic | L 59–61 | 1–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,895) Moraga, CA |
| November 14, 2019* 7:00 pm | No. 18 | Long Beach State | W 81–63 | 2–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,715) Moraga, CA |
| November 17, 2019* 5:00 pm | No. 18 | Cal Poly | W 79–48 | 3–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,306) Moraga, CA |
| November 20, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Fresno State Sacramento Classic | W 68–58 | 4–1 | Golden 1 Center (4,774) Sacramento, CA |
| November 23, 2019* 5:00 pm | | Lehigh Sacramento Classic | W 77–66 | 5–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,059) Moraga, CA |
| November 24, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Sonoma State | W 107–56 | 6–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,742) Moraga, CA |
| November 29, 2019* 8:30 pm, ESPNU | | No. 15 Utah State | W 81–73 | 7–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| December 1, 2019* 5:00 pm | | Omaha | W 75–66 | 8–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,766) Moraga, CA |
| December 5, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Northern Illinois | W 61–49 | 9–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,816) Moraga, CA |
| December 8, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 19 Dayton Jerry Colangelo Classic | L 68–78 | 9–2 | Talking Stick Resort Arena (3,563) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 14, 2019* 7:30 pm, P12N | | at California | W 89–77 | 10–2 | Haas Pavilion (5,734) Berkeley, CA |
| December 18, 2019* 6:00 pm, P12N | | vs. Arizona State Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase | W 96–56 | 11–2 | Talking Stick Resort Arena (6,892) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 21, 2019* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Nevada Al Attles Classic | W 68–63 | 12–2 | Chase Center (6,728) San Francisco, CA |
| December 28, 2019* 5:00 pm | | Seattle | W 84–58 | 13–2 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| WCC regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at San Francisco | W 69–58 | 14–2 (1–0) | War Memorial Gymnasium (3,006) San Francisco, CA |
| January 4, 2020 7:00 pm, Stadium | | at Pacific | L 99–107 $^{4OT}$ | 14–3 (1–1) | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,577) Stockton, CA |
| January 9, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | BYU | W 87–84 $^{OT}$ | 15–3 (2–1) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| January 11, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Santa Clara | L 66–67 | 15–4 (2–2) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| January 18, 2020 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Pepperdine | W 78–69 | 16–4 (3–2) | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,219) Malibu, CA |
| January 23, 2020 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | San Francisco | W 58–48 | 17–4 (4–2) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,422) Moraga, CA |
| January 25, 2020 6:00 pm, Stadium | | at Loyola Marymount | W 73–62 | 18–4 (5–2) | Gersten Pavilion (1,437) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 30, 2020 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Portland | W 86–64 | 19–4 (6–2) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,009) Moraga, CA |
| February 1, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at BYU | L 79–81 | 19–5 (6–3) | Marriott Center (15,212) Provo, UT |
| February 6, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at San Diego | W 66–60 | 20–5 (7–3) | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,713) San Diego, CA |
| February 8, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 2 Gonzaga Rivalry | L 60–90 | 20–6 (7–4) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 15, 2020 5:00 pm, Stadium | | Pacific | W 71–63 | 21–6 (8–4) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 20, 2020 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Loyola Marymount | W 57–51 | 22–6 (9–4) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 22, 2020 5:00 pm, Stadium | | San Diego | W 92–63 | 23–6 (10–4) | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Santa Clara | W 78–72 | 24–6 (11–4) | Leavey Center (2,512) Santa Clara, CA |
| February 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 3 Gonzaga Rivalry | L 76–86 | 24–7 (11–5) | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| WCC tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (6) Pepperdine Third round | W 89–82 | 25–7 | Orleans Arena (4,350) Paradise, NV |
| March 9, 2020 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (2) No. 14 BYU Semifinals | W 51–50 | 26–7 | Orleans Arena (7,471) Paradise, NV |
| March 9, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN | (3) | vs. (1) No. 2 Gonzaga Championship | L 66–84 | 26–8 | Orleans Arena (7,471) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP* | 20 | 18 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | 20 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings