St. Mary’s faces Washington and its zone in NIT matchup
Randy Bennett could find some humor in it.
One reason the NCAA selection committee cited for not giving his Gaels an at-large bid: They played only three teams — Washington State, Georgia and Cal — from Power 5 conferences.
So, when it was mentioned in a phone interview Saturday night that not only does St. Mary’s host Washington from the Pac-12 in an NIT second-round game Monday night, but also that if the Gaels prevail, either LSU (SEC) or Utah (Pac-12) will come to McKeon Pavilion on Wednesday, Bennett broke out laughing.
“I noticed the same thing,” the St. Mary’s head coach said. “It’s like, that’s all that’s left now in the NIT — so we’ll see a bunch of” Power 5 teams.