Saint Mary’s vs NDSU Preview

The Saint Mary’s Gaels will look to start off the early season 3-0 when they face a very good North Dakota State team at home.

The Bison come to Moraga 1-0 on the season, but Saint Mary’s will be their first division one test. Senior guard Mike Felt led the scoring in their opener with 23 points while shooting 7-11 from three-point range in just 26 minutes of play. Their leading scorer from last season, Taylor Braun, chipped in with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Saint Mary’s comes off a big 85-63 win at home against Akron in the ESPN 24 hour tip-off marathon. Through two games, Brad Waldow has dominated down low for the Gaels. The 6’9’’ center has averaged 22 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. An area where Waldow had dramatically improved is his free throw shooting, as he is currently 77% from the stripe in comparison to 54% last season.

Senior guard Stephen Holt has had a solid start with 16 points, 5.5 boards and 6.5 assists. There were many questions whether or not Holt would be able to replace Matthew Dellavedova at point guard and be able to distribute the ball, and so far though two games he has not disappointed.

It is the Gael’s defense that is note-worthy, as they have only allowed their two opponents to shoot 18% from three-point range. Saint Mary’s will need to bring that defense against NDSU as they shot 10-19 from downtown in their first game. James Walker and Jordan Guisti also combined for 10 steals against Akron