The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 126 is Saint Mary’s basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Saint Mary’s basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 1
- Sweet 16s: 2
- NCAA wins: 8
- Bids: 15
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.0
- Bids per season: 0.13
- AP Polls: 82
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 1
- NBA players drafted & played: 4
- Conference Players of the Year: 10
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 11
- Conference tournament titles: 5
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Saint Mary’s basketball
For every Tiger Woods, there is a Phil Mickelson. In the WCC, Gonzaga has been Tiger Woods, while Saint Mary’s has been lefty.
The Gaels have been dominant, with the exception of the Bulldogs being even more dominant over the past quarter-century. Randy Bennett took over a struggling program in 2001 and proceeded to take them to 12 NCAA Tournaments over the last 25 seasons. Seven of their eight wins in March Madness came in this time frame, which included a Sweet 16 in 2010.
Bennett also produced so many great players – Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, and Consensus All-American Jock Landale, to name a few. And he often did it without the four and five-star players. Incredibly, after a 9-20 inaugural season, Saint Mary’s never had a losing record again under Bennett. Unfortunately, Gonzaga was in the way, which only led to seven regular season championships in the WCC. And in 2011, 2016, 2023, and 2026, they shared the title with the Zags. Still, they have won four in a row, as Bennett continued to get them better and better.
Obviously, it is now the end of an era. Bennett is off to Arizona State, and Gonzaga is off to the re-envisioned Pac-12. One of the best rivalries in college basketball won’t be the same, and Mickey McConnell takes over as their new head coach.
While the Gaels are mostly known for their accomplishments under Bennett, they did also make the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 1989, and way back in 1959. The 1958-59 squad took down Idaho State, making an Elite 8 appearance in the smaller bracket. They were led by Tom Meschery, who had a successful 10-year career in the NBA.
If it weren’t for Randy Bennett, we might be talking about Saint Mary’s as a sub-250 team in these rankings. But luckily, they found an outstanding coach, and the program has forever changed in a great way because of it.