# 2022–23 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 22nd 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 (WCC). They finished the season 27–8, 14–2 in WCC Play to finish a tie for 1st place. They defeated BYU in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament before losing to Gonzaga in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated VCU in the First Round before losing to UConn in the Second Round.

## Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2021–22 season 26–8, 12–3 in WCC play to finish in second place. In the WCC tournament, they defeated Santa Clara in the semifinals before losing to Gonzaga in the championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the East region. There they defeated Indiana in the first round before losing to UCLA in the second round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Yigit Arcan | 1 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Freshman | Istanbul, Turkey | Walk-on; transferred |
| Quinn Clinton | 2 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Junior | Christchurch, New Zealand | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Jabe Mullins | 5 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Sophomore | Snoqualmie, WA | Transferred to Washington State |
| Matthias Tass | 11 | F/C | 6'10" | 245 | Senior | Tallinn, Estonia | Graduated |
| Tommy Kuhse | 12 | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Senior | Mesa, AZ | Graduated |
| Judah Brown | 25 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Sophomore | Bermuda Dunes, CA | Transferred to South Alabama |
| Dan Fotu | 42 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Auckland, New Zealand | Graduated/Signed to play professionally with Auckland Tuatara |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Mason Forbes | 25 | F | 6'9" | 230 | GS Senior | Folsom, CA | Harvard |

### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Aidan Mahaney SG | Moraga, CA | Campolindo High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 18, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Joshua Jefferson PF | Henderson, NV | Liberty High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 15, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Harry Wessels C | Boddington, Australia | Australian Institute of Sport | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Aug 14, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| 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. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Oral Roberts | W 78–70 | 1–0 | 25 – Mahaney | 11 – Bowen | 5 – Saxen | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,219) Moraga, CA |
| November 10, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Vermont | W 79–53 | 2–0 | 15 – Johnson | 8 – Saxen | 5 – Ducas | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,027) Moraga, CA |
| November 13, 2022* 5:00 p.m., WCC Network | | North Texas | W 63–33 | 3–0 | 11 – Ducas | 12 – Saxen | 4 – Marčiulionis | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,878) Moraga, CA |
| November 16, 2022* 5:30 p.m., WCC Network | | Southern | W 72–54 | 4–0 | 17 – Saxen | 9 – Saxen | 6 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,643) Moraga, CA |
| November 19, 2022* 5:30 p.m., WCC Network | | Hofstra | W 76–48 | 5–0 | 20 – Ducas | 12 – Saxen | 4 – Tied | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,274) Moraga, CA |
| November 23, 2022* 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Vanderbilt Wooden Legacy semifinals | W 75–65 | 6–0 | 20 – Mahaney | 7 – Johnson | 8 – Johnson | Anaheim Convention Center (2,483) Anaheim, CA |
| November 24, 2022* 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Washington Wooden Legacy championship | L 64–68 $^{OT}$ | 6–1 | 19 – Saxen | 8 – Saxen | 4 – Bowen | Anaheim Convention Center (637) Anaheim, CA |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | New Mexico | L 65–69 | 6–2 | 25 – Ducas | 9 – Saxen | 3 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,088) Moraga, CA |
| December 3, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 1 Houston The Battleground 2K22 | L 48–53 | 6–3 | 17 – Johnson | 12 – Bowen | 5 – Johnson | Dickies Arena (2,812) Fort Worth, TX |
| December 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Missouri State | W 66–46 | 7–3 | 19 – Saxen | 8 – Bowen | 3 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,863) Moraga, CA |
| December 10, 2022* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. No. 22 San Diego State Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 68–61 | 8–3 | 20 – Mahaney | 9 – Saxen | 3 – Saxen | Footprint Center Phoenix, AZ |
| December 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | New Mexico State | W 81–68 | 9–3 | 16 – Bowen | 11 – Saxen | 4 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,844) Moraga, CA |
| December 18, 2022* 5:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Colorado State | L 60–62 | 9–4 | 15 – Mahaney | 11 – Bowen | 4 – Mahaney | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,188) Moraga, CA |
| December 21, 2022* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Wyoming Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 66–54 | 10–4 | 28 – Johnson | 9 – Saxen | 5 – Mahaney | Footprint Center Phoenix, AZ |
| December 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | San Diego | W 85–58 | 11–4 (1–0) | 20 – Saxen | 13 – Bowen | 4 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| December 31, 2022 4:00 p.m., NBCSBA | | at Santa Clara | W 67–64 | 12–4 (2–0) | 18 – Mahaney | 15 – Bowen | 5 – Johnson | Leavey Center (1,379) Santa Clara, CA |
| January 3, 2023* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Academy of Art | W 84–64 | 13–4 | 19 – Mahaney | 15 – Bowen | 6 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,702) Moraga, CA |
| January 7, 2023 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Portland | W 85–43 | 14–4 (3–0) | 15 – Tied | 14 – Saxen | 4 – Bowen | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| January 12, 2023 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Loyola Marymount | W 76–62 | 15–4 (4–0) | 25 – Mahaney | 7 – Bowen | 5 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,315) Moraga, CA |
| January 14, 2023 8:00 p.m., NBCSBA | | at San Francisco | W 78–61 | 16–4 (5–0) | 24 – Johnson | 7 – Johnson | 6 – Johnson | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, CA |
| January 19, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Pepperdine | W 73–44 | 17–4 (6–0) | 17 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 7 – Marčiulionis | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,050) Malibu, CA |
| January 21, 2023 5:00 p.m., NBCSBA | | Santa Clara | W 77–58 | 18–4 (7–0) | 20 – Mahaney | 6 – Tied | 4 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| January 28, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 22 | at BYU | W 57–56 | 19–4 (8–0) | 14 – Johnson | 10 – Saxen | 4 – Saxen | Marriott Center (15,843) Provo, UT |
| February 2, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 18 | San Francisco | W 68–59 | 20–4 (9–0) | 18 – Ducas | 10 – Saxen | 3 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 4, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN | No. 18 | No. 12 Gonzaga Rivalry | W 78–70 $^{OT}$ | 21–4 (10–0) | 18 – Mahaney | 11 – Saxen | 3 – Tied | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., NBCSBA | No. 15 | at Loyola Marymount | L 74–78 $^{OT}$ | 21–5 (10–1) | 31 – Johnson | 8 – Saxen | 4 – Mahaney | Gersten Pavilion (1,775) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 11, 2023 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 15 | at Portland | W 81–64 | 22–5 (11–1) | 34 – Johnson | 8 – Saxen | 6 – Johnson | Chiles Center (2,454) Portland, OR |
| February 16, 2023 6:00 p.m., NBCSBA | No. 17 | at San Diego | W 62–59 | 23–5 (12–1) | 17 – Saxen | 10 – Saxen | 4 – Saxen | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,951) San Diego, CA |
| February 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 17 | BYU | W 71–65 | 24–5 (13–1) | 27 – Johnson | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 23, 2023 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | No. 15 | Pacific | W 83–52 | 25–5 (14–1) | 29 – Johnson | 7 – Ducas | 7 – Johnson | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 25, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 15 | at No. 12 Gonzaga Rivalry/College Gameday | L 68–77 | 25–6 (14–2) | 27 – Johnson | 7 – Ducas | 3 – Tied | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| WCC tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (1) No. 16 | vs. (5) BYU Semifinals | W 75–69 | 26–6 | 23 – | 7 – Tied | 5 – Johnson | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 7, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (1) No. 16 | vs. (2) No. 9 Gonzaga Championship/Rivalry | L 51–77 | 26–7 | 20 – Johnson | 7 – Ducas | 3 – Ducas | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2023* 11:00 am, TBS | (5 W) No. 19 | vs. (12 W) VCU First Round | W 63–51 | 27–7 | 17 – Tied | 10 – Johnson | 4 – Tied | MVP Arena Albany, NY |
| March 19, 2023* 3:10 p.m., TNT | (5 W) No. 19 | vs. (4 W) No. 10 UConn Second Round | L 55–70 | 27–8 | 9 – Tied | 7 – Johnson | 4 – Johnson | MVP Arena (13,984) Albany, NY |
| *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 т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | 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 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 19 | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 19т | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.