Saint Mary’s leading scorer ‘under the weather’ for Texas A&M game
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Saint Mary’s is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, with 2026 marking its 15th appearance in the Big Dance and its fifth consecutive showing. The seventh-seeded Gaels are matched up with 10th-seeded Texas A&M in Oklahoma City on Thursday evening.
The Gaels, though, will face a bit of a dilemma. According to Steve Kroner, leading scorer Paulius Murauskas didn’t start because he is “under the weather.” Instead, freshman Mantas Juzenas got the nod. Murauskas did eventually sub in with just under three minutes played in the first half.
Murauskas, a junior from Lithuania, is in his second season at Saint Mary’s after playing for Arizona as a freshman. The All-WCC first-team selection entered Thursday’s game with 18.8 points per game. His career high is 32 points, set at Pacific on Feb. 14 in a 72-61 win.
The Gaels started the day with a 27-5 record. Their WCC regular-season championship was their fourth straight.
This is actually Saint Mary’s third consecutive NCAA Tournament game against an SEC team. In 2025, the Gaels beat 10th-seeded Vanderbilt, 59-56, in the first round. They then fell 80-66 to second-seeded Alabama in the second round.
The winner of Saint Mary’s vs. Texas A&M faces either second-seeded Houston or 15th-seeded Idaho on Saturday.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
