BYU Basketball Seeking First Win At Saint Mary’s In Seven Years

PROVO, Utah – Saint Mary’s has proven to be the toughest road venue for BYU basketball in WCC play. BYU hasn’t defeated the Gaels in Moraga since 2014. It’s been seven long years.

Think about this, BYU has defeated Gonzaga three times in The Kennel during this long drought to Randy Bennett’s Gaels away from Provo.

IT'S GAMEDAY!! pic.twitter.com/ngdWy8gSde

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) January 14, 2021

The last time BYU won in Moraga in 2014, Mark Pope was an assistant coach on Dave Rose’s bench. Led by Tyler Haws, BYU won that game seven years ago, 60-57. Since that victory, the trips to SMC have typically been early in league play and have caused setbacks in the loss column in league play.

Last year, BYU was without Yoeli Childs and still took the Gaels to overtime.

If there’s ever a year to get it done at University Credit Union (ugh, it should always be McKeon) Pavilion, it has to be this year for BYU (Tonight, 9 p.m., ESPN2 & KSL NewsRadio).

Both teams come into tonight’s game with an 0-1 record in WCC play. BYU lost on the road at No. 1 Gonzaga last Thursday, while Saint Mary’s suffered a surprising setback at home against Santa Clara.

BYU 🆚 THE WORLD pic.twitter.com/wU5VwWMmSi

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) January 14, 2021

BYU put a lot of effort and thought into their last opponent, the Zags; this time around against SMC, it will be about focusing on themselves.

“We spent a lot of time talking about the Zags, and we spent a lot of time focused on what they do well and how to minimize it and what we do,” said BYU coach Mark Pope. “Upon reflection, I wonder if we just leaned that way a little bit too much, and I wonder if that was something that had some effect on my guys’ energy and aggressiveness. So we’re taking that into consideration as we begin this week on the road. So we’re trying to spend some large percentage of time focused on us and how we can function and what we do well and how we can do better.”

Saint Mary’s is the first of a big two-game weekend for BYU to shape the Cougars’ at-large NCAA Tournament resume.

“My guys are fully aware of how physical and how fundamentally sound these Saint Mary’s teams are. I think they’ll know more once they’ve been through it once, but you know, these games always turn into just a physical slugfest. I think Saint Mary’s is the most physical team in our league, at least they have been traditionally. I expect them to be this season also.”

Last year’s three games against Saint Mary’s were some of the most physical games BYU played last season. The three games were decided by three, two, and one point, respectively. Expect another tightly contested game.

BYU will be down another player due to injury going into this game. Forward Wyatt Lowell suffered a torn Achilles injury against Gonzaga; he’s out for the entire season. Leaving a bigger potential workload for Matt Haarms, Kolby Lee, and Richard Harward. Haarms had one of the best games of his BYU career this year at Gonzaga, while Harward has been relentless on the glass and is improving on the offensive end.

What you need to know about Saint Mary’s

Jordan Ford has moved on, which isn’t breaking the hearts of any BYU fan reading this. The Gaels have another talented guard who is leading the way for SMC in Tommy Kuhse. Kuhse leads the Gaels in scoring at 14.8 points per game and is dishing out more than five assists while pulling in four rebounds per game.

Gameday!

Saint Mary’s 🆚 BYU
📍UCU Pavilion
⏰ 8 pm PST
📻 https://t.co/t0zDJQvdIN
📺 ESPN2#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/Pf2F92HAYm

— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) January 14, 2021

The Gaels are in the bottom five for adjusted tempo according to Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. Compared to BYU, which is ranked 115th in that metric. With a slower adjusted tempo rate, the Gaels play a suffocating defense that is No. 15 nationally, allowing only 60.9 points per game.

Saint Mary’s has won at least 21 games every year dating back to 2008.

What’s at stake for BYU/Saint Mary’s

BYU is currently projected as an 11-seed in the Bracket Matrix. Squarely in the NCAA Tournament bubble. A win at Saint Mary’s would be a Quad One victory for the Cougars, which would be a significant boost to the resume for the NCAA Tournament.

The same goes for Saint Mary’s. SMC isn’t projected in many fields of 68 forecasts right now, but a win over BYU could put them on the path towards being in the at-large conversation.

Also, the second seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament could be at stake. These programs have always been in the top three of the league standings. The No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas gets a bye all the way to the Semifinals round.

Projected Starting Lineups

BYU (9-3)

G – Alex Barcello, Sr.; 6-2, 180

G – Brandon Averette, Sr.; 5-11, 185

F – Connor Harding, Fr.; 6-8, 185

F – Matt Haarms, Sr.; 7-3, 250

C – Kolby Lee, Jr.; 6-9, 240

Saint Mary’s (9-3)

G – Tommy Kuhse, Sr.; 6-2, 185

G – Logan Johnson, Jr.; 6-2, 170

F – Jabe Mullins, Fr.; 6-5, 190

F – Dan Fotu, Jr.; 6-7, 225

C – Matthias Tass, Jr.; 6-10, 245

BYU at Saint Mary’s

Tip: 9 p.m. (MT)

TV: ESPN2

Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.