They might have some fight on the bench, but apparantly that fighting spirit doesn't translate to the court.
St. Mary's took advantage of a sloppy and listless Bulldog squad from the opening tap, sending Mississippi State to their fourth loss in five games. At 8-6 with losses to East Tennessee State and FAU on the resume, nothing short of a miracle is getting the Bulldogs to post-season play. Last year they were one of the only teams with a legitimate complaint being left out of the field of 65. This year? Even the NIT is feeling a little ambitious.
St. Mary's stellar backcourt led the way as Matthew Dellavedova and Mickey McConnell combined to make eleven three point buckets, tallying 24 and 28 points respectively. The Gaels, which have featured eleven players from Australia in the past five seasons, play with an international style that makes them difficult to defend. They run a ton of pick and pops with nearly every player they suit up capable of hurting teams from behind the arc. They used that deadly marksman ship to jump out to a 51-34 halftime lead and comfortably cruised to the 94-72 win.
Up next for the Gaels is a New Year's Eve should-win against Hartford before entering WCC play as no worse than co-favorite with perennial champ Gonzaga.
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