The Division II Saint Martin's Saints are no pushovers.

They return seven of their top eight scorers from a team that posted a 14-13 record last season.

SMU is led by 6-foot-5 center Blake Poole, who averaged 21.0 points and 12.2 rebounds last season. Jeremy Green, a 6-7 forward from Kentwood High, averaged 13.5 points and Redmond HIgh product Galen Squiers, a 6-2 guard, averaged 11.7 points.

Sophomore guard Brady Bomber from Lynden High averaged 4.0 assists per game.

Saints coach Keith Cooper started in 2003 after several coaching stints in around the state.

Four years ago, Washington beat the Saints 108-74 in an exhibition game, however, SMU kept it close in the early minutes and trailed by seven (46-39) at halftime. Adrian Oliver (remember him?) and Ryan Appleby led UW with 20 points, Quincy Pondexter had 18 and Phil Nelson (remember him?) 13.

In their last meeting, Washington had a team filled with underclassmen and it played without their best player Spencer Hawes. This time, the Huskies are much more experienced and even though the SMU has depth and experience, Washington should take control early and overwhelm the Saints especially on the defensive end.

Still no one is forgetting how tiny Division II Le Moyne College stunned Syracuse 82-79 last year inside the Carrier Dome. Or UCLA nearly losing last year to Concordia, a NAIA school.

So give St. Martin's a puncher's chance to pull off an upset or keep it close until the final minutes, but expect Washington to land a knockout punch before halftime.

SATURDAY MORNING LINKS:

--- Our story today took a look at Abdul Gaddy who wants to use today's game to begin to erase what he described as a "frustrating" freshman season.

--- Nice story by Scott Johnson at the Everett Herald about today's scrimmage and the O'Neill family who sent two kids to play for the UW women's team, however, Roger O'Neill plays for St. Martin's.

--- Nice write-up on the Huskies by The SportsBank.net, which is taking a look at the top 99 schools and puts UW at No. 14.

--- Newcomer Faisal Aden (22 points), Klay Thompson (21 points and seven rebounds) and DeAngelo Casto (18 points) led the way in Washington State's 89-49 victory over Lewis-Clark State before 3,682 at Friel Court last night.

--- Oregon made new coach Dana Altman a winner in his first game, but the Ducks led by just two points early in the second half before closing out Northwest Christian University for an 80-53 win last night. Joevan Catron and E.J. Singler each scored 16 points.

--- UCLA center Josh Smith is listed as day-to-day after suffering a sprained right thumb in the Bruins' 95-59 exhibition win over Westmont on Thursday night.

--- Sports Illustrated lists the top 10 players in the Pac-10 in a spectacular photo shoot. It's an interesting list. You might be surprised at the No. 1 player. Isaiah Thomas checks in at No. 2. There's another Husky on the list and that might surprise you as well.

--- If you're hankering for USC basketball, the Trojans will televise today's 2 p.m. exhibition against the Point Loma Sea Lions on its website. And in case you're wondering, the Huskies game is not being streamed, televised or broadcast on the radio by Washington.

--- Oregon State received some bad news yesterday when four-star shooting guard Dai-Jon Parker picked Vanderbilt. He was considering Georgia, Oklahoma State Rhode Island and the Beavers. ESPN.com ranked Parker the No. 14 shooting guard in the country.

--- And finally, you just knew Oregon and Uncle Phil would do something a little different with the new Matthew Knight Arena that's scheduled to open in a couple of months. Well check out the photo (below). The floor was designed by Nike and it's supposed to evoke the image of a forest. Hmmm. Don't know if I'm thinking about a forest when I look at that picture, but whatever.

Photo credit: The Register-Guard - Kevin Clark