# 2020–21 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team were led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 20th 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 14-10, 4-6 to finish in 7th place. They defeated Pepperdine in the quarterfinals in the WCC Tournament before losing in the semifinals to Gonzaga. They received an invitation to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Western Kentucky.

## Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2019–20 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tanner Krebs | 00 | G | 6'6" | 205 | RS Senior | Hobart, Australia | Graduated/Signed to play professionally with Brisbane Bullets |
| Jordan Ford | 3 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Senior | Folsom, CA | Graduated |
| Jock Perry | 5 | C | 7'1" | 250 | RS Junior | Melbourne, Australia | Graduate transferred to UC Riverside |
| Elijah Thomas | 10 | F | 6'5" | 220 | RS Junior | Peroia, AZ | Graduated transferred to Cal Baptist |
| Dan Sheets | 15 | F | 6'5" | 205 | RS Senior | San Ramon, CA | Walk-on; graduated |
| Kristers Zoriks | 23 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Sophomore | Dobele, Latvia | Signed to play professionally with BK VEF Rīga |
| Malik Fitts | 24 | F | 6'8" | 230 | RS Junior | Rancho Cucamoga, CA | Declare for 2020 NBA draft |
| Aaron Menzies | 41 | C | 7'3" | 265 | RS Senior | Manchester, England | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Matt Van Komen | 23 | C | 7'4" | 220 | Sophomore | Pleasant Grove, UT | Transferred from Utah. Van Komen is granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| 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 ||||||
| Leemet Bockler SG | Tallinn, Estonia | TalTech Basketball | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Mar 20, 2020 |
| 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. ||||||

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chris Howell #38 PF | San Marcos, CA | Torrey Pines High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 25, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| 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. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 11:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. Memphis Crossover Classic quarterfinals | L 56–73 | 0–1 | Sanford Pentagon Sioux Falls, SD |
| November 26, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Northern Iowa Crossover Classic consolation 2nd round | W 66–64 | 1–1 | Sanford Pentagon Sioux Falls, SD |
| November 27, 2020* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. South Dakota State Crossover Classic 5th place game | W 72–59 | 2–1 | Sanford Pentagon Sioux Falls, SD |
| December 1, 2020* 7:00 pm, WCC Network | | Nicholls | W 73–50 | 3–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| December 3, 2020* 7:00 pm, WCC Network | | Texas Southern | W 82–70 | 4–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| December 8, 2020* 7:00 pm, WCC Network | | UTEP | W 73–61 | 5–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| December 11, 2020* 7:00 pm, WCC Network | | San Jose State | W 96–61 | 6–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| December 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, WCC Network | | Eastern Washington | W 80–75 | 7–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| December 19, 2020* 5:00 pm, WCC Network | | Colorado State | W 53–33 | 8–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| December 22, 2020* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. San Diego State | L 49–74 | 8–2 | Robert A. Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA |
| December 30, 2020* 7:00 pm, WCC Network | | Sacramento State | W 63–45 | 9–2 | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| WCC regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2021 5:00 pm, WCC Network | | Pepperdine | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| January 7, 2021 4:00 pm, WCC Network | | at San Diego | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Jenny Craig Pavilion San Diego, CA |
| January 9, 2021 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | Santa Clara | L 64–66 | 9–3 (0–1) | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| January 14, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | BYU | L 52–62 | 9–4 (0–2) | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| January 16, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Gonzaga Rivalry | L 59–73 | 9–5 (0–3) | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| January 21, 2021 5:00 pm, WCC Network | | at Loyola Marymount | W 65–61 | 10–5 (1–3) | Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| January 23, 2021 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | at San Francisco | W 67–63 | 11–5 (2–3) | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, CA |
| January 28, 2021 8:00 pm, NBCSCA | | Portland | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 pm, WCC Network | | at Pacific | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA |
| February 4, 2021 4:00 pm, WCC Network | | at Santa Clara | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Kaiser Permanente Arena Santa Cruz, CA |
| February 6, 2021 3:00 pm, WCC Network | | Loyola Marymount | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| February 8, 2021 6:00 pm, WCC Network | | at San Diego rescheduled from January 7 | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Jenny Craig Pavilion San Diego, CA |
| February 11, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at BYU | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Pepperdine | L 58–60 | 11–6 (2–4) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA |
| February 18, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 1 Gonzaga Rivalry | L 65–87 | 11–7 (2–5) | McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA |
| February 22, 2021 4:00 pm, NBCSBA | | Pepperdine rescheduled from January 2 | W 66–61 | 12–7 (3–5) | University Credit Union Pavilion San Francisco, CA |
| February 25, 2021 | | San Francisco | Canceled due to scheduling changes | Canceled due to scheduling changes | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| February 25, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Pacific moved from February 27 | W 58–46 | 13–7 (4–5) | University Credit Union Pavilion Moraga, CA |
| February 27, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at BYU rescheduled from February 11 | L 51–65 | 13–8 (4–6) | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| WCC tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPNU | (4) | vs. (5) Loyola Marymount Quarterfinals | W 52–47 | 14–8 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 8, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (1) No. 1 Gonzaga Semifinals | L 55–78 | 14–9 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| NIT ||||||
| March 17, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) Western Kentucky First Round – Ole Miss bracket | L 67–69 | 14–10 | Comerica Center Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: — = 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* | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Coaches | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings