2015–16 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Randy Bennett's fifteenth season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels competed in the West Coast Conference and played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion. They finished the season 29–6, 15–3 in WCC play to win a share of the WCC regular season conference championship. They defeated Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine to advance to the championship game of the WCC tournament where they lost to Gonzaga. As a regular season conference champion, and #1 seed in their conference tournament, who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As a #2 seed, they defeated New Mexico State and Georgia to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Valparaiso.

2015–16 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball
WCC regular season co-champion
NIT, Quarterfinals
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Record29–6 (15–3 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcKeon Pavilion
Seasons
2015–16 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Saint Mary's153 .833296 .829
Gonzaga153 .833288 .778
BYU135 .7222611 .703
Pepperdine108 .5561814 .563
San Francisco810 .4441515 .500
Santa Clara711 .3891120 .355
Portland612 .3331220 .375
Loyola Marymount612 .3331417 .452
Pacific*612 .333820 .286
San Diego414 .222921 .300
*ineligible for postseason due to self probation
Conference tournament winner

Previous season

The Gaels finished the 2014–15 season 21–10, 13–5 in WCC play to finish in a tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament to Portland. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Vanderbilt.[1]

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Brad Waldow00F6'9"260RS SeniorShingle Springs, CAGraduated
Kerry Carter3G6'2"205SeniorWest Covina, CAGraduated / Playing for Iberostar Tenerife (Spain)
Joe Coleman10G6'4"210RS JuniorMinneapolis, MNLeft the team due to personal reasons
Tyler Harville12G5'11"170FreshmanLexington, KYTransferred to Berry College
Aaron Bright20G5'11"175SeniorBellevue, WAGraduated
Garrett Jackson22F6'6"225RS SeniorPortland, ORGraduated
Treaven Duffy25G6'2"190RS SophomoreWalnut Creek, CATransferred to San Francisco State
Desmond Simmons30F6'7"225RS SeniorVallejo, CAGraduated

Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Stefan Gonzalez
PG
Pocatello, IDHighland High School6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)Sep 24, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 60
Franklin Porter
SG
Portland, ORTiton School6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg)Apr 15, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
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.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2015–16 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G00Tanner Krebs6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg)FrLake Ginninderra CollegeHobart, Australia
F1Jordan Hunter6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)215 lb (98 kg)FrSt. Ignatius CollegeVaucluse, Australia
G2Stefan Gonzalez6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)FrHighlandPocatello, ID
G3Emmett Naar6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)195 lb (88 kg)RS SoSydney BoysSydney, Australia
G11Jack Biebel (W)5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)185 lb (84 kg)JrArchbishop Mitty
Foothill College
San Jose, CA
C21Evan Fitzner6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)215 lb (98 kg)RS FrFrancis Parker SchoolSan Diego, CA
F22Dane Pineau6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg)JrMelbourne GrammarMelbourne, Australia
F24Calvin Hermanson6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg)RS SoLake OswegoLake Oswego, OR
G25Joe Rahon6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)RS JrTorrey PinesSan Diego, CA
F33Kyle Clark6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)FrHellyer CollegeWynyard, Australia
C34Jock Landale6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)255 lb (116 kg)SoGeelong GrammarMalvern East, Victoria, Australia
G43Franklin Porter6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg)FrTilton SchoolPortland, OR
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
11/13/2015*
8:00 pm, TheW.tv
San Francisco StateW 80–56 1–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,589)
Moraga, CA
11/16/2015*
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
ManhattanW 89–63 2–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,242)
Moraga, CA
11/22/2015*
8:00 pm, ESPNU
StanfordW 78–61 3–0
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
11/29/2015*
5:00 pm, CHN
Cal State BakersfieldW 94–59 4–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,340)
Moraga, CA
12/04/2015*
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
UC DavisW 81–67 5–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,506)
Moraga, CA
12/06/2015*
5:00 pm, CHN
UC IrvineW 70–60 6–0
McKeon Pavilion (2,333)
Moraga, CA
12/12/2015*
12:30 pm, P12N
at CaliforniaL 59–63 6–1
Haas Pavilion (10,074)
Berkeley, CA
12/14/2015*
7:00 pm, CHN
Cal PolyW 93–63 7–1
McKeon Pavilion (2,183)
Moraga, CA
12/16/2015*
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
Southern UtahW 92–36 8–1
McKeon Pavilion (1,836)
Moraga, CA
12/21/2015
8:00 pm, CSNCA
at San FranciscoW 74–52 9–1
(1–0)
McKeon Pavilion (2,408)
Moraga, CA
12/23/2015
8:00 pm, CSNCA
at Santa ClaraW 81–59 10–1
(2–0)
Leavey Center (1,950)
Moraga, CA
12/28/2015*
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
Utah ValleyW 65–50 11–1
McKeon Pavilion (2,113)
Moraga, CA
12/31/2015
8:00 pm, ESPNU
BYUW 85–74 12–1
(3–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,183)
Moraga, CA
01/02/2016
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
San DiegoW 79–46 13–1
(4–0)
McKeon Pavilion (2,185)
Moraga, CA
01/07/2016
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
at Loyola MarymountW 73–48 14–1
(5–0)
Gersten Pavilion (1,791)
Los Angeles, CA
01/09/2016
1:00 pm, CSNCA
at PepperdineL 64–67 14–2
(5–1)
Firestone Fieldhouse (1,423)
Malibu, CA
01/14/2016
8:00 pm, ESPNU
PacificW 78–62 15–2
(6–1)
McKeon Pavilion (2,983)
Moraga, CA
01/21/2016
8:00 pm, ESPNU
GonzagaW 70–67 16–2
(7–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
01/23/2016
8:00 pm, CSNBA
PortlandW 89–74 17–2
(8–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,338)
Moraga, CA
01/30/2016
8:00 pm, CSNCA
at PacificW 68–65 18–2
(9–1)
Alex G. Spanos Center (3,010)
Stockton, CA
02/04/2016
6:00 pm, BYUtv
at BYUL 59–70 18–3
(9–2)
Marriott Center (14,897)
Provo, UT
02/06/2016
6:00 pm, CSNCA
at San DiegoW 60–43 19–3
(10–2)
Jenny Craig Pavilion (2,292)
San Diego, CA
02/11/2016
8:00 pm, CSNBA
PepperdineL 63–69 19–4
(10–3)
McKeon Pavilion (3,340)
Moraga, CA
02/13/2016
8:00 pm, CSNBA
Loyola MarymountW 68–62 20–4
(11–3)
McKeon Pavilion (3,165)
Moraga, CA
02/18/2016
7:00 pm, TheW.tv
at PortlandW 74–72 21–4
(12–3)
Chiles Center (2,868)
Portland, OR
02/20/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN2
at GonzagaW 63–58 22–4
(13–3)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/25/2016
8:00 pm, CSNCA
Santa ClaraW 75–50 23–4
(14–3)
McKeon Pavilion (3,165)
Moraga, CA
02/27/2016
8:00 pm, CSNCA
at San FranciscoW 84–72 24–4
(15–3)
War Memorial Gymnasium (2,769)
San Francisco, CA
03/01/2016*
8:00 pm, TheW.tv
Grand CanyonW 73–64 25–4
McKeon Pavilion (2,735)
Moraga, CA
WCC tournament
03/05/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN2
(1) vs. (8) Loyola Marymount
Quarterfinals
W 60–48 26–4
Orleans Arena (7,209)
Paradise, NV
03/07/2016
6:00 pm, ESPN
(1) vs. (4) Pepperdine
Semifinals
W 81–66 27–4
Orleans Arena (8,362)
Paradise, NV
03/08/2016
6:00 pm, ESPN
(1) vs. (2) Gonzaga
Championship
L 75–85 27–5
Orleans Arena (7,418)
Paradise, NV
NIT
03/15/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN2
(2) (7) New Mexico State
First Round – Valparaiso Bracket
W 58–56 28–5
McKeon Pavilion (1,154)
Moraga, CA
03/20/2016*
4:30 pm, ESPNU
(2) (3) Georgia
Second Round – Valparaiso Bracket
W 77–65 29–5
McKeon Pavilion (2,050)
Moraga, CA
03/22/2016*
4:00 pm, ESPN
(2) at (1) Valparaiso
Quarterfinals – Valparaiso Bracket
L 44–60 29–6
Athletics–Recreation Center (5,444)
Valparaiso, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Rankings

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked.
PollPreWk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18Wk 19Final
APRVRVRVRVRVRVRVNRRV*N/A
CoachesRVRVRVRVRV25RVRVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References