Looking at Saint Mary’s Conference Schedule

Now that the West Coast Conference has announced its conference schedule for the 2015-16 season, let’s take a look at the order of WCC foes for Saint Mary’s.

Conference play begins on Monday, December 21 with eight teams squaring up to kick off the action. The Gaels will welcome San Francisco to McKeon Pavilion to start things off, and won’t be traveling too far afterward when they head to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos two days later.

Actually, for the first four games of the conference schedule, Saint Mary’s won’t need to leave the Bay Area at all. After taking the short trip to the Leavey Center, the Gaels will host BYU on December 31 and San Diego on January 2, respectively. That’s a very convenient advantage for the Gaels as conference play commences.

It isn’t until Thursday, January 7 that Randy Bennett’s team will travel out of Northern California as they head down south to Los Angeles to battle Loyola Marymount.

But, let’s get to the juicy stuff here. The West Coast Conference gods have truly blessed us with a gift of some pretty epic proportions. Saint Mary’s is set to battle Gonzaga in Spokane on the Bulldogs’ senior night on Saturday, February 20. … I’ll reiterate: On the Bulldogs’ senior night!

The Kennel is already at its finest (i.e. craziest) whenever the Gaels come into town, but to have such a bitter rivalry take place on a night that is so heavily filled with emotion and energy is going to make for one of the most exciting games of the college basketball season. The McCarthey Athletic Center is going to be filled to the brim, the students will be hungry for a victory and a statement to be made, and the Gaels will be ready to handle on of the toughest contests of the year. There’s no doubt that this battle is a must-see between two of the WCC’s top programs.

The Gaels’ senior night, on the other hand, comes later in the week on the 25th, when Saint Mary’s hosts Santa Clara for their final home game of the season. Conference play then wraps up for SMC with the same matchup that it all began with. The Gaels are set to play San Francisco at the War Memorial Gymnasium for their final conference foe of the regular season.