St. Mary's opens Tourney in Anaheim

THIS WEEK IN SAINT MARY’S BASKETBALL
The Gaels will look to remain unbeaten when they travel to Anaheim, CA to compete in the 2008 76 Classic, hosted by the Big West Conference and ESPN. The Gaels will open the tournament against the UTEP Miners on Thursday, Nov. 27. The game on Thanksgiving Day will tip-off at 11 a.m. from the Anaheim Convention Center. All three games of the tournament will be televised on the ESPN family of networks, with games on ESPNU and ESPN2. The first and second round games for SMC will be televised on ESPNU, while the third round game will be televised on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. Saint Mary’s will play three games in the tournament, which begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday. The Gaels will play either No. 19/24 Wake Forest or Cal State Fullerton on Friday. After a day off on Saturday, SMC will close the tournament against either No. 14/14 Arizona State, Baylor, Providence, or Charlotte on Sunday. Saint Mary’s enters the eight-team 76 Classic tournament with a 3-0 record following an 86-54 win over Vanguard University on Sunday night. The Gaels opened the year with an 86-55 win over Division II Seattle Pacific, then improved to 2-0 with a 99-85 win over Fresno State. SMC’s first round opponent, UTEP, enters the game with a 2-1 record following a 67-80 loss at home to UNLV on Monday night.

RADIO AND TELEVISION
The Saint Mary’s versus UTEP game will be televised on ESPNU. The Saint Mary’s radio broadcast will be available on the internet through www.SMCGaels.com with Mike Bouve calling the action courtside. The game will not have a commercial radio broadcast on KDIA AM 1640. Gael fans can access the audio broadcast by logging onto the Gael Vision service for a subscription fee of $6.95 per month or 49.95 for the full 2008-09 athletic season.

PATRICK MILLS NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Patrick Mills was named the WCC Player of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday, Nov. 24, for the fourth time in his career. Mills averaged 21.5 points in wins over Fresno State (99-85) and Vanguard (86-54). He was 16-of-31 from the floor, including 5-of-12 from 3-point land, and averaged 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals. The sophomore scored a game-high 27 points against Fresno State, while dishing out five assists and making six steals. Against Vanguard, he scored a game-high 16 points while leading SMC to a 32-point win over the Lions.

SMC IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT RECORD
Saint Mary’s has a 67-73 (.496) overall record in 64 in-season tournaments. The Gaels have won 12 tournament titles, including three during the 2007-08 season. Last season, SMC went 2-0 in the Shamrock Invitational, 3-0 in the Rainbow Classic, and 2-0 in the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic. In its last eight in-season tournaments, Saint Mary’s has a 17-1 record and seven tournament titles.

SCOUTING THE UTEP MINERS
The UTEP Miners enter the 76 Classic with a 2-1 record following a 67-80 loss to the UNLV Rebels on Monday night. The Miners opened the season with a 69-63 win over Texas Southern on Nov. 14, then posted a 96-79 win over Georgia Southern on Nov. 18. As a team, the Miners are averaging 77.3 points per game, are shooting 45.9 percent from the floor, 34.9 percent from 3-point land, and 64.2 percent from the free throw line. UTEP opponents are averaging 74.0 points per game, while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from 3-point land, and 67.3 percent from the foul line. The Miners hold a 39.0 to 37.7 advantage on the glass. The Miners have two players that average over 20 points per game in Randy Culpepper and Stefon Jackson. Culpepper leads the team with 20.7 points per game, which includes a 35-point game against Georgia Southern. Culpepper leads the team with seven made 3-pointers this season. Jackson, who was a First Team Conference USA selection last year, averages 20.3 points per outing. He led the Miners with 20 points in the loss to UNLV on Monday. Also averaging in double figures is Julyan Stone with 10.7 points per game. Stone also leads the team in assists (20) and steals (8). The team’s leading rebounder is Arnett Moultrie as the 6-11 forward averages 7.7 rebounds per game. Tony Barbee is in his third year as the head coach at UTEP. Barbee guided the Miners to 14 and 19 wins in his first two seasons, and currently has a 35-32 overall record in El Paso. Barbee took the reins of the UTEP program on Aug. 14, 2006 as the 17th head coach in school history. Barbee took over the job at UTEP after spending six seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis.

SMC VERSUS UTEP: THE SERIES
Thursday’s game between SMC and UTEP will mark the first ever meeting between the two teams in men’s basketball.MILLS RECORDS 10TH CAREER 20-POINT GAMEIn the win over Fresno State, Patrick Mills scored 27 points to lead all players. The 20-point performance marked the 10th in the career for the sophomore guard. Mills first 20-point game ended with a career-high 37 points against Oregon, setting a SMC freshman record.

BENNETT SMC WINS LEADER
With a 3-0 record this season, head coach Randy Bennett has 130 career victories and is the winningest coach at Saint Mary’s. He became the all-time winningest coach at SMC following an 89-65 win over East Tennessee State on Dec. 21, 2007 in the Rainbow Classic. James Weaver (1955-62) held the record for 45 years with 110 wins in seven seasons. Bennett and Weaver are the only two coaches in school history to record 100 or more victories.

GAELS HAVE NATION’S ONLY OLYMPIAN
Saint Mary’s point guard Patrick Mills was the only collegiate basketball player to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mills played for his home country of Australia, and helped the Boomers post a 3-3 record in the tournament. While playing as a reserve in all six games, he averaged a team-leading 14.2 points per game. He scored a team-high 22 points against Argentina and 20 against the United States in the quarterfinals. Additionally, he averaged 23 minutes, 2.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

SMC IN AP AND COACHES POLLS
Saint Mary’s received 43 votes and is currently ranked 27th in the country in this week’s ESPN/USA Today’s Coaches Poll. In the Associated Press Poll, Saint Mary’s received 111 votes and is ranked 28th overall. SMC has received votes in all three weeks this season. Last season the Gaels were ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll eight weeks, and were ranked in the top-25 five consecutive weeks. SMC was ranked a school record six weeks in AP poll, and the five consecutive weeks in the poll from Jan. 28 to Feb. 25 is also a school record. Last season Saint Mary’s received votes in both polls for 17 straight weeks.2007-08

RECORD WHEN RANKED
Last season SMC spent eight weeks as a top-25 team in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. In those eight weeks, SMC played a total of 14 games and posted a 9-5 record. In the six weeks when ranked in the Associated Press Poll, Saint Mary’s played 11 games and posted a 7-4 record.

LAST NATIONAL RANKING PRIOR TO 07-08 SEASON
Prior to the 2007-08 season, SMC was last ranked in the top-25 in the 1988-89 campaign. SMC was ranked for three straight weeks and entered the poll with a No. 19 ranking the last week of February. After jumping up to No. 17 in the poll the next week, SMC dropped to No. 20 overall in the final poll of the year.

GAELS 3RD IN MID-MAJOR POLL
Saint Mary’s opened the season ranked third in the 2008-09 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll. The Gaels received 697 total votes. Ahead of the Gaels are No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Davidson. Saint Mary’s closed the 2007-08 season ranked seventh in the mid-major poll.

GAELS AMONG NATION’S BEST IN BLOCKS
For the third straight year, Saint Mary’s is ranked in the top-25 in blocks per game. The Gaels have blocked 25 shots in three games and average 8.3 blocks per outing. The 8.3 blocks per game currently ranks ninth in the country. Mississippi State averages 13.8 blocks per game to lead the nation. In 2007-08, SMC averaged 5.3 blocks per game to leads the WCC and rank 21st overall in the country.

SAMHAN IN TOP-25 IN THE COUNTRY IN BLOCKS
Through three games, Omar Samhan has a team-high nine blocks to average 3.0 rejections per game. His 3.0 blocks per game leads the West Coast Conference and ranks 18th overall nationally.SAMHAN CLOSING IN ON 500 REBOUNDSIn 67 career games, Omar Samhan had collected 433 rebounds. He is 67 boards shy of becoming the school’s 26th player to eclipse the 500-rebound mark. For his career, Samhan is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.

HUGHES AMONG NATION’S BEST IN STEALS
Following a seven steal effort against Vanguard, senior guard Carlin Hughes leads the team and the WCC with 12 steals to average 4.0 per game. His 12 total steals ranks 12th in the country while his 4.0 steals per game currently ranks fifth in the country.

THE AUSSIE FIVE
This season Saint Mary’s has five Australian players available to play, the most in any year for Saint Mary’s. Currently, the Aussie contingent as averaging a combined 45.5 points per game, with Patrick Mills scoring a team-leading 21.0 points per outing. The 43.7 points per game is 48.4 percent of the scoring for the team this season.

GAELS 12TH IN COUNTRY IN SCORING
Through three games, Saint Mary’s is averaging 90.3 points per game, and nearly broke the 100-point mark with 99 points against Fresno State. After finishing 50th in the country last season (75.7 ppg), the Gaels are currently ranked 12th in the country in scoring this season. SMC has a scoring margin of +25.7

SMC’S 70-POINT SHOW
Last season Saint Mary’s scored more than 70 points 20 times, over 80 points 12 times, hit the 90-point mark four times, and reached 100 points once. When the Gaels scored 70 or more points, SMC was 19-1 last season. SMC has scored over 70 in all three games this season, and has a 3-0 record. SMC as posted a 33-6 record in the last 39 games when scoring 70 or more points.

GAELS DIG THE LONG BALL
Last season SMC made 254 3-pointers and averaged 7.9 made threes per game to lead the West Coast Conference. This season the Gaels have hit 24 3-pointers in through the first three games, to average 8.0 3-pointers made per game. The Gaels have taken 68 threes and the average of 22.6 3-point attempts per outing.

SAMHAN THIRD IN CAREER BLOCKS
Entering the season Omar Samhan had 90 career blocks. He set a SMC freshman record with 47 blocks in 2006-07 and added 43 in the sophomore season. He has a team-high nine blocks this season and now has 99 rejections for his career. He passed both Peter Thibeaux and Chase Poole to move into sole possession of third place behind Brad Millard (153) and Diamon Simpson (183).

GAELS MAKE ONE THREE IN 477 STRAIGHT GAMES
After making six 3-pointers against Vanguard on Sunday night, the Gaels have hit at least one 3-pointer in 477 straight games. Saint Mary’s kept a 16-year streak alive of making at least one 3-pointer. The last time SMC failed to make a three in a game was on Feb. 6, 1992 when the Gaels were 0-for-5 against Gonzaga.

GAELS TO APPEAR ON TV 20 TIMES
The Gaels will appear on television at least 20 times in 29 scheduled games this season. Included in the 20 television games are nine appearances on the ESPN family of networks, nine games are on Comcast Sports Net, and two games on Fox Sports Net. All 14 West Coast Conference games for SMC will be on television. In addition to the regular season games, SMC could appear on television two more times in the WCC Tournament, as the semifinals and final games will be on ESPN.

SMC SIGNS FOUR PLAYERS IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
With the early signing period past, Saint Mary’s inked four players for the 2009-10 season. The new class will include three players from Australia and one player from San Jose. The three Aussies coming from the Australian Institute of Sport are Jorden Page, Matt Dellavedova, and Mitchell Young. Guards Page and Dellavedova averaged 14.4 points and 3.7 assists and 15.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, respectively, for AIS in 2008 and forward Young added 9.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 24 games. The fourth player in the class is Tim Harris from Valley Christian High School. Harris averaged 16.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game and was an Honorable Mention West Valley League selection as a junior.

NEXT WEEK IN GAELS HOOPS
Following the 2008 76 Classic, Saint Mary’s will travel to Kent, Ohio to compete in its first true road game of the season. The Gaels will take on the Kent State Golden Flashes on Thursday, Dec. 4. The game against Kent State is the return game from last season’s ESPNU BracketBusters game, in which KSU defeated the Gaels 65-57 in Moraga. The game will tip off at 4 p.m. Pacific Time from the MAC Center.