Conference West Coast Conference AP No. 20 Assistant coach Marty Clarke | Coaches No. 18 2016–17 record 25–3 (15–2 WCC) | |
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Head coach Randy Bennett (16th year) | ||
The 2016–17 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College of California during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This is head coach Randy Bennett's sixteenth season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels compete in the West Coast Conference and play their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California.
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Previous season
The Gaels finished the 2015–16 season 29–6, 15–3 in WCC play to win a share of the WCC regular season conference championship. They defeated Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine to advance to the championship game of the WCC Tournament where they lost to Gonzaga. As a regular season conference champion and No. 1 seed in their conference tournament who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As a No. 2 seed in the NIT, they defeated New Mexico State and Georgia to advance to the quarterfinals before losing to Valparaiso.
Preseason
The Gaels were picked to finish second in the WCC preseason poll. Emmett Naar, Dane Pineau, and Joe Rahon were selected to the All-WCC preaseason team.
The Gaels were ranked No. 17 in the preaseason AP poll and No. 19 in the preseason Coaches Poll.
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings