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

2020–21 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball
NIT, first round
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Record14–10 (4–6 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaUniversity Credit Union Pavilion
Seasons
2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Gonzaga 15 0   1.000 31 1   .969
No. 23 BYU 10 3   .769 20 7   .741
Loyola Marymount 7 5   .583 13 9   .591
Pepperdine 7 6   .538 15 12   .556
Pacific 6 7   .462 9 9   .500
Santa Clara 4 5   .444 12 8   .600
Saint Mary's 4 6   .400 14 10   .583
San Francisco 4 9   .308 11 14   .440
San Diego 2 7   .222 3 11   .214
Portland 0 11   .000 6 15   .286
2021 WCC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Mitchell Saxen
SG
Seattle, WA Ingraham High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sep 18, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Leemet Bockler
SG
Tallinn, Estonia TalTech Basketball 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Mar 20, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
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 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/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:

Roster

2020–21 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Logan Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Saint Francis HS
Cincinnati
Mountain View, California
G 2 Quinn Clinton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Christchurch Boys HS Christchurch, New Zealand
G 5 Jabe Mullins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Mount Si HS Snoqualmie, Washington
C 10 Mitchell Saxen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Ingraham HS Seattle, Washington
F/C 11 Matthias Tass 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Tallinna Reaalkool Tallinn, Estonia
G 12 Tommy Kuhse 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Mountain View HS Mesa, Arizona
F 14 Kyle Bowen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Centre of Excellence Perth, WA, Australia
C 22 Matt Van Komen 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Pleasant Grove HS
Utah
Pleasant Grove, Utah
G 23 Leemet Böckler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Tallinn Tech Tallinn, Estonia
F 25 Judah Brown 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Pacifica Christian HS Bermuda Dunes, California
G/F 33 Luke Barrett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Piedmont HS Piedmont, California
F 42 Dan Fotu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Rangitoto College Auckland, New Zealand
G/F 44 Alex Ducas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Centre of Excellence Geraldton, WA, Australia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 19, 2020

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 University Credit Union Pavilion 
Moraga, CA
January 7, 2021
4:00 pm, WCC Network
at San Diego 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 University Credit Union Pavilion 
Moraga, CA
January 30, 2021
4:00 pm, WCC Network
at Pacific 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 Kaiser Permanente Arena 
Santa Cruz, CA
February 6, 2021
3:00 pm, WCC Network
Loyola Marymount 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 Jenny Craig Pavilion 
San Diego, CA
February 11, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at BYU 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 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[1]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP*
CoachesRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References