Thoughts before tonight's Vandy/Saint Mary's Game

Before I get started, for a really good basketball breakdown of tonight's matchup, please visit Vanderbilt Sports Line or the Official Vandy Athletic Site.

Tonight will be the first meeting between the two schools. The Gaels seem to have rebounded well from the loss of premier guard Patrick Mills. SMC opened with two blowout wins over questionable opponents New Mexico State and San Diego State. In his first time in the starting five, redshirt Aussie senior Ben Allen finished with a near triple double. He went for 17/10/9 against NMSU and was named WCC player of the week. The Gaels received a couple votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. Vandy is sitting 28th/29th in the two respective polls.

If you are trying to watch the game, good luck. You can click here and watch if for about $8. Not a bad price, but I'll just listen for free on 104.5 the Zone.

Vandy scheduled this game to play a quality opponent on their way to Maui. I linked to a blog post by ESPN's Andy Katz that spelled out the importance of this game for Saint Mary's. Vandy can lose this game and still have ample opportunity to impress the NCAA tournament committee. The Gales have much more urgency tonight. After the Vandy game, the only other chance at a signature non-conference win for the Gales is at Oregon or making a run at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. They'll play Gonzaga twice (maybe 3 if they meet in the WCC tournament), but that's about it. SMC finished last season at 27-6, but that was only good for a NIT bid. Vandy should be good enough this year, that a win tonight might make the difference for them in March. I know its super early to be thinking of March, but mid-majors have to make the most out of every chance they have. Don't be surprised if a motivated team/crowd is too much for the 'Dores to handle.

If Vandy easily handles the Gaels tonight, we know we're on the verge of something special this season. If we fly to Maui with a loss, we have a quick chance to rebound against Cincinnati. Surprisingly to me, Vegas has the Gaels as 5-point favorite! To be realistic, this is a win-win game for Vanderbilt. Even with a loss, you can blame it on a great team and a 10:30 Central start time.

My non-expert pick: Gaels win a close one: 83-80-
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