NCAA Tournament preview: No. 7 St. Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt

Here is a preview of Friday’s NCAA Tournament first-round game in Cleveland pitting No. 7 St. Mary’s (28-5) vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt  (20-12):

STAR PLAYER

Saint Mary’s: Point guard Augustas Marciulionis repeated as the WCC Player of the Year and is averaging 14.3 points per game. Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington points more to 6-foot-10 center Mitchell Saxen’s interior presence and smarts as the reason Saint Mary’s is so challenging.

Vanderbilt: Junior point guard Jason Edwards averages 17 points per game and made third-team All-SEC upon transferring from North Texas. He is among 11 transfers under first-year coach Mark Byington after Jerry Stackhouse’s firing.

STORYLINES

Saint Mary’s is making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and coach Randy Bennett is banking on those past experiences to fuel leaders Marciulionis, Saxen and Luke Barrett, all due respect to Paulius Murauskas, a sophomore transfer from Arizona who is averaging 12.4 points and eight rebounds per game.

Vanderbilt’s coach claims there’s not a more physical team in the country than Saint Mary’s, and that’s reflected in their rebounding dominance, with a NCAA-best margin of plus-10.7 per game. The Commodores’ leading rebounder is Boston College transfer Devin McGlockton (7.9 per game).

The Gaels compare Vanderbilt’s up-tempo and penetration style to those of WCC rivals Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount, who Saint Mary’s went 4-0 against this year.

The Commodores are riding a three-game losing streak. They finished in a four-way tie for ninth place in the SEC, which sent 14 of 16 teams into the NCAA Tournament.

STAT TO KNOW

Saint Mary’s is 24-0 when scoring at least 70 points, a threshold they’ve defensively kept 28 of 33 opponents from reaching (60.7 points per game; fifth in nation).

TOURNEY HISTORY

Saint Mary’s is making a school-record fourth straight NCAA Tournament, each time as a single-digit seed. The Gaels own a 6-8 first-round record, including a first-round upset last year to No. 12-seed Grand Canyon. The furthest they’ve advanced was the 2010 Sweet 16.

Vanderbilt is making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2017. The Commodores’ last win came in 2012 (first round, Harvard) and they’ve reached the Sweet 16 five times and the Elite Eight once. Ten years ago, they ended St. Mary’s season in the first round of the NIT Tournament in Moraga, 75-64.

QUOTES

“The game’s not going to be in the 90s. It’s just not going to be the case. They’re deliberate on offense. They get to what they want to, they take good shots, they rebound if they miss it. It is longer possessions. On defense they’re so good you’re not going to break them down in 5, 6, 7 seconds. They’ll make you grind the possession out. It’s a challenge there.” – Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington.

“The biggest thing is you better be ready to play because you’re going to play somebody good. There’s no bad teams in the tournament, which is great. You want a seat at the table. We have a seat at the table and let’s see if we can keep it.” – Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, whose 24th season makes him the NCAA’s fifth-longest tenured coach.

“We have a pretty good feel on them. They have good guards. They like to play fast. They like to … just drive and kick, drive, penetrate, kick out. They don’t have that many sets, as in we like to play a little more organized. They try to force turnovers, try to run, play fast, transition offense.” — Marciulionis.