Cleveland, Ohio: The Saint Mary’s Gaels secured a victory against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the round of 64, moving on to the round of 32. Earlier on Friday, the Alabama Crimson Tide also advanced, narrowly beating the Robert Morris Colonials.
The upcoming matchup in the round of 32 will feature the Crimson Tide against the Gaels, with the winner set to travel to Newark, New Jersey, for the Sweet 16. Here’s what you need to know about Alabama’s next opponent.
Saint Mary’s competes in the West Coast Conference, finishing the regular season with an impressive record of 29 wins and 5 losses, including 17 wins and just 1 loss in conference play. They captured the WCC regular season title.
In the WCC men’s conference tournament, the Gaels made it to the championship game but were defeated by the Gonzaga Bulldogs, losing 58-51 in the finals.
The leading scorer for Saint Mary’s is Augustas Marciulionis, a 6-foot-4 senior guard from Lithuania, who averages 14.3 points per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. He also tops the team with 6.1 assists and contributes three rebounds each game.
Two other players from the Gaels are averaging over ten points per game: Paulius Murauskas, a 6-foot-8 forward, who scores 12.5 points and grabs eight rebounds, and Mitchell Saxen, a 6-foot-10 center, who averages 10.6 points and 7.9 rebounds. Murauskas shoots 46 percent from the field, while Saxen has a shooting percentage of 54.2 percent.
As a collective unit, Saint Mary’s scores 73.5 points per game with an average of 61.6 possessions, ranking them 360th in the nation. Their shooting percentages are 45.5 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three-point range. According to Kenpom statistics, their offense is ranked 59th nationally, while their defense stands at an impressive 7th place, having faced the 65th toughest offensive schedule and the 116th toughest defensive schedule this season.
