New Mexico St. @ Saint Mary's preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 15, 2016 ) New Mexico St. 56, St. Mary's 58

A preseason favorite for West Coast Conference player of the year, Saint Mary’s center Jock Landale’s closest competition might come from his own teammates. Landale and the 22nd-ranked Gaels look to build on an impressive season opener Monday when they face visiting New Mexico State, which won a program-record 28 games last season.

Landale scored 13 points and grabbed eight boards in Saturday’s 85-68 win over St. Francis (Pa.), but was overshadowed by senior guard Calvin Hermanson, who scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range. Hermanson averaged 13.1 points last season and is poised to assume a greater scoring role for the ascendant Gaels, who shot 53.8 percent from the field against St. Francis. “When you have a team like that, one of the most efficient offenses in the country with a really, really good post player and really, really good shooters around him, you have to hope that they maybe miss a couple shots,” St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel told reporters. “And they weren’t missing any shots.” The Gaels continue their three-game homestand against New Mexico State, which was picked to finish second in the WAC preseason coaches poll.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Comcast Hometown Network

ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE (1-0): Guard Zach Lofton, last season’s Southwest Athletic Conference player of the year at Texas Southern, made an immediate impact in Friday’s 81-55 win over Division II East Central (Okla.) with a game-high 25 points, including three 3-pointers. Senior forward Jemerrio Jones picked up where he left off last season with 19 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, but 6-7 junior Eli Chuha battled foul trouble early and was held to four points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. Chuha averaged 12.4 points and 8.8 boards last season and will need a strong bounce-back effort against Saint Mary’s.

ABOUT SAINT MARY’S (1-0): Point guard Emmett Naar, who joined Landale and Hermanson on the 10-man preseason All-WCC team, opened on a strong note with a career-high 12 assists and eight points on 4-for-5 shooting against St. Francis. Guard Jordan Ford saw limited playing time as freshman last season but made his first career start in the opener and recorded six points and two assists in 25 minutes. Junior forward Kyle Clark, a 6-foot-7 Australian expected to be a key part of coach Randy Bennett’s rotation, missed the opener with a knee injury and is listed as day-to-day.

TIP-INS

1. Saint Mary’s is 4-1 all-time against New Mexico State, including a 58-56 win in the first round of the NIT two years ago.

2. New Mexico State is led by first-year head coach Chris Jans, who spent the previous two seasons as an assistant at Wichita State.

3. The Gaels are 125-18 at home against unranked opponents since 2001-02.

PREDICTION: Saint Mary’s 80, New Mexico State 67