Saint Mary's men's basketball team competes in 1st round of NCAA Tourney

MORAGA, Calif. (KTVU) - The Gaels are going to the big dance.

On Thursday the Saint Mary's men's basketball team will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

There is a sense of excitement on campus as the team heads to the tournament. The Gaels will take on Virginia Commonwealth University in Salt Lake City. Tipoff is at 4:20 p.m. 

Saint Mary's is coming off a great season. They finished with a 28-4 record. 

This is the team's first trip to the big dance since 2013, which means none of the current players have experienced this before. 

Saint Mary's will look to shut down Virginia Commonwealth. The Gaels have the nation's number two scoring defense which should give them a pretty good shot in the tournament.