The first of four opponents who were picked preseason No. 1 in their conference arrives this weekend for Weber State men’s basketball.

The Wildcats travel to face No. 23 Saint Mary’s at 6 p.m. MST Sunday, their first road trip of the season and their first game against a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 since facing No. 17 Utah State on Nov. 8, 2019.

Saint Mary’s (2-0) currently has a 34-point exhibition win over Hawaii on its ledger, followed by a 107-28 hammering of D2 Stanislaus State. Thursday, the Gaels led by 15-20 throughout in a 72-58 win over New Mexico.

“We heard they beat a Mountain West school by 40 in a closed scrimmage, too,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “They’re obviously very good and they’re not going to beat themselves. We’re going to have to go over there and play really well.”

The Gaels may find themselves on the same track as West Coast Conference counterpart Gonzaga as mid-majors who are growing into something more nationally prominent.

One of the game’s other prominent analytics formulas, that from Evan Miyakawa, had Saint Mary’s as entering the 2023-24 season with the best starting five in the country.

That’s led by 6-foot-3 guard Aidan Mahaney, expected to be a breakout star after averaging 13.9 points per game as a true freshman last season. He scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting (4-of-7 from 3) against Hawaii. Thursday against New Mexico, he scored 21 points in the first half on the way to a 25-point night.

Hopes are high for 6-foot-4 junior guard Augustus Marciulionis to take a big jump; he scored 22 points and dished six assists on 7-of-13 shooting against Hawaii as well.

Senior leadership comes from 6-foot-7 wing Alex Ducas and 6-foot-10 center Mitchell Saxen, while 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Joshua Jefferson is in the same boat as Marciulionis in potentially taking a big step this season.

And 6-foot-9 graduate transfer Mason Forbes, from Harvard, is breaking into things after sitting out last season while 7-foot-1 center Harry Wessels is backing up Saxen.

Saint Mary’s entered Thursday at No. 37 in Pomeroy’s ratings and numbers favor the Gaels to top Weber State by 13 points at 87% probability.

“We can play free,” said WSU’s Dillon Jones, who opened his season with 26 points and 14 rebounds against Benedictine Mesa. “We’re not going to be projected to win, so what’s the need for us to be nervous? Just go play free and play our best … we’ve got some veteran guys and we can shoot the ball, so we’ll be ready to play.”

Weber State is 0-4 all-time against Saint Mary’s, including two road losses in 2011.

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