Nearly two decades after waltzing into the NCAA Tournament together, Randy Bennett and Todd Golden are once again preparing to slip on their dancing shoes.
This time around, the party looks a little different.
“We see (Todd) as a Gael,” Bennett said. “But right now, he’s coaching for USF. And we’ve got to match up against him.”
Golden, 36, was the captain and point guard for Saint Mary’s in 2005 when he led the Gaels to their fourth-ever NCAA Tournament berth and first of seven under Bennett’s watch.
On Thursday night, Golden’s Dons will cross the Bay Bridge and head to Moraga with a chance to follow in the footsteps of their head coach. Seventeen years after Golden made his March Madness debut as a player, the third-year coach has San Francisco within striking distance of snapping its 24-year NCAA Tournament drought.
“Simply put, this is the best team that USF has had in 40 years,” Golden said. “We’re on the precipice of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. We’re 21-6 with an opportunity to go, so it’s a pretty good time to get to know the Dons.”
Longtime college basketball fans know that even in the West Coast Conference’s best years, only one program typically has a chance of accompanying Gonzaga to the NCAA Tournament. Again the top-ranked team in the country, the Bulldogs have represented the WCC in 22 consecutive tournaments and are on the verge of earning a No. 1 seed for the fourth time in their last five trips.
Gonzaga’s overwhelming dominance in a conference filled with mid-majors often gives its WCC peers no margin for error, which is why a late-season showdown between a pair of 20-win teams carries so much weight.
“It’s a huge game nationally,” USF star guard Jamaree Bouyea said. “And the winner of this game might actually cement their way into the tournament.”
Bouyea isn’t wrong, but unlike most years, even the team that loses Thursday’s high-stakes affair still has a strong shot at securing a coveted bid to March Madness.
According to NCAA Net rankings, Saint Mary’s is the No. 22 team in the country while USF is No. 32. ESPN college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi currently projects the Gaels to make the field of 68 as a No. 8 seed with the Dons sliding in as a No. 11 seed.
Each Bay Area team has a home date next week with Gonzaga, offering another shot at a signature win, or at least a loss that doesn’t harm their tournament hopes too much.
In what’s considered the conference’s best year to date, Brigham Young is also a potential tournament team as the Cougars are No. 53 in the NET rankings and one of Lunardi’s “Last Four In.”
“There’s no doubt that top-to-bottom, this is the best the league has ever been and it’s not close,” Golden said.
Bennett echoed the sentiment, noting that the WCC is increasingly viewed as one of college basketball’s most competitive conferences.
“You know what’s cool is we’re in one of the best leagues in the country and it’s not just a one-year deal,” Bennett said. “All of a sudden, you are like the Big East or the American. I’m not making a sales pitch for our league, but you are a Pac-12 — your league is as good as the Pac-12. It’s fun to be part of that.”
Saint Mary’s rise under Bennett is well documented as the 21-year head coach has enjoyed impressive success establishing an international recruiting pipeline. Former Gaels-turned-NBA players Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Jock Landale all hail from Australia while three of the top five scorers on this year’s team come from overseas.
Starting guard Logan Johnson, a St. Francis (Mountain View) product, found his way back to the Bay Area after starting his college career at Cincinnati and takes pride in representing a local program.
“At St. Francis, I wasn’t able to make it to a state title game, which really irked me,” Johnson said. “It frustrated me for a little, but it feels like redemption being able to play for Saint Mary’s and be on a team this successful.”
The Gaels have won at least 20 games in each of their last 14 full seasons, whereas a once-proud Dons program that won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956 has struggled to keep pace. That began to change under current Washington State coach Kyle Smith, who replaced Rex Walters in 2016 before leaving for a Pac-12 job and creating a vacancy filled by one of his assistants in Golden.
The former Gaels star has maintained the momentum created under Smith thanks in large part to Bouyea, a fifth-year player and grad student with NBA potential who went from being an un-recruited local product to a First Team All-WCC guard.
“I’ve had a chip on my shoulder since I was in high school,” the Palma High (Salinas) grad said. “To be under-recruited is hard to deal with, but now that I’m here, I’ve worked so hard and it’s made me a better basketball player.”
With the help of an intraconference transfer from San Diego, forward Yauhen Massalski — who is averaging nearly 15 points and 10 rebounds per game — San Francisco is one of the most well-rounded teams on the West Coast and in a position Saint Mary’s fans know quite well.
The Dons are living life on the bubble, which is how Bennett and the Gaels have spent the better part of two decades.
“We have been there probably more than any team in the country,” Bennett said. “Right there. Sometimes we win the league tournament, sometimes we’re in, but a lot of times we’re in that range.”
As the Dons and Gaels prepare for Thursday’s showdown, players on both sides understand what a win will do for their chances of living out their college basketball dreams. Perhaps more importantly, they’re keenly aware of making too much of a loss, which won’t wipe out their tournament hopes this year.
“Why we’ve been so good is we haven’t got stuck on losses,” Johnson said. “We haven’t lost two in a row. We just continue to worry about what’s important and that’s the page all of us are on.”
History indicates a mid-major program in San Francisco or Saint Mary’s position won’t reach the NCAA Tournament without at least one more signature victory or securing the automatic berth awarded for winning the WCC Tournament title.
While this year’s NET rankings and the improved reputation of the WCC suggest otherwise, each team brings a similar mindset into one of college basketball’s most compelling February matchups.
“I don’t see it as pressure,” Bouyea said. “I see it as an opportunity.”
