Cowboy Hoops: Oklahoma State to Host Saint Mary’s This Season

Steve Lutz and his newly constructed Cowboys will welcome an NCAA Tournament regular to Gallagher-Iba Arena in early December.

Oklahoma State announced Thursday that it will host Saint Mary’s on Dec. 5. Out of the West Coast Conference, the Gaels have played in the past five NCAA Tournaments, making it to the second round in three of those instances. They’ve also been in the AP Top 25 in each of the last five seasons and finished the year ranked in four of those instances.

These two programs have met twice on the hardwood. The first meeting came in December of 1946, when the Cowboys pulled out a tight 34-33 win in Stillwater. The Gaels returned to Stillwater in 1996, where OSU again won by a lone point — 71-70.

Randy Bennett had led the Saint Mary’s program for going on three decades before he took the Arizona State job this offseason. He coached at Saint Mary’s from 2001 through this past season.

Mickey McConnell took over the program. He was the associate head coach and played under Bennett from 2007 to 2011, averaging double-digit points in his final two seasons.

McConnell has been on staff since the 2019-20 season, and the Gaels have gone a combined 175-54 since.

Australian guard Joshua Dent is the Gaels’ leading returning scorer. He averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 assists a game last season while shooting 40% from 3.