Madness in short supply in Bay Area
No local teams will make the NCAA cut
March Madness will bypass the Bay Area again this season. When the 68 teams headed to Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament are announced on Sunday, none of them will come from our ZIP codes.
This happened in 2018 too. There was no tournament last year, so we are looking at the Bay Area being shut out of March Madness three times in four years, or twice the last three times the tournament has been played. Either way, it hasn’t happened since the mid-1980s.
Saint Mary’s in 2019 is the only one of six Bay Area programs to have earned a berth over that four-year stretch. No local team has won an NCAA tournament game since 2017 when Saint Mary’s beat Virginia Commonwealth.
Cal hasn’t gone to the tournament since coach Cuonzo Martin left after 2016. The South Bay will miss
the NCAAs for a seventh straight season, dating to Stanford’s unexpected run into the Sweet 16 in 2014.
The wait has much longer for Santa Clara, USF and San Jose State, none of which have played in the NCAAs since the 1990s.
Hoops fans desperate for a local team to follow can jump on the Stanford women’s bandwagon. The No. 2 ranked Cardinal (25-2) won the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles and is expected to be one of four No. 1 seeds when the women’s bracket is unveiled Monday.
Here’s a rundown on how the the six Bay Area men’s teams fared and where they go from here:
STANFORD (14-13, 10-10 PAC12) There were high expectations for the Cardinal, picked fourth in the preseason Pac-12 coaches poll and projected as an NCAA team. Stanford beat a very good Alabama team early, but faced strict health and safety restrictions in Santa Clara, dealt with injuries and never got the breakout season it hoped for from elite freshman Ziaire Williams, who missed eight games and averaged a modest 11.2 points.
WHAT’S NEXT >> The Cardinal skidded to the finish line with five straight losses, including to Cal in the opening-round of the Pac-12 tournament for the second year in a row. It’s unclear whether the Cardinal would accept a bid to the NIT, which will include 16 at-large selections in a bracket half the normal size. In any case, coach Jerod Haase remains without an NCAA bid in five seasons.
CAL (9-20, 3-17 PAC-12) >> The Bears were picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 and failed to meet even those low expectations. Cal managed to get through the entire season without a positive COVID test, but star junior Matt Bradley missed seven games with two separate ankle injuries and senior forward Grant Anticevich was sidelined for three weeks after an emergency appendectomy.
WHAT’S NEXT >> Secondyear coach Mark Fox, who coaxed 14 wins out of last year’s team, hopes a more normal offseason will allow his team to be better prepared for 2021-22. Anticevich and guard Makale Foreman already have said they will return for another season granted to seniors by the NCAA.
SAINT MARY’S (14-9, 4-6 IN WCC)>> Coach Randy Bennett’s impressive streak of 13 consecutive seasons of at least 20 wins is over. COVID complications shortened the Gaels’ schedule, but this also was Bennett’s worst shooting team in perhaps 15 years. Saint Mary’s couldn’t score enough to stay with best teams.
WHAT’S NEXT >> The Gaels are young and should be healthier and deeper a year from now. Don’t be surprised if they are back among the top-3 in the WCC next season. To get there, Bennett must find a 3-point marksman or two.
SANTA CLARA (12-8, 4-5 IN WCC) >> Coach Herb Sendek’s squad was relocated to Santa Cruz for a long stretch to elude county healthy restrictions. Despite those precautions the Broncos were forced to pause their season for three weeks through the middle of February because of positive cases within the program. The last time the Broncos reached the tournament, Steve Nash was playing for them.
WHAT’S NEXT >> Three seniors who played significant roles this season, including first-team All-WCC forward Josip Vrankic, have the option of returning next season under the NCAA ruling regarding seniors and the pandemic. What they decide will impact the program’s prospects in 2021-22. USF (11-14, 4-9) >> The Dons’ run of four straight 20-win seasons came to an end. Three cancellations and six straight defeats sent USF into the WCC tournament without a win since Jan. 21. The Dons won their first-round WCC game then were sent home.
WHAT’S NEXT >> The big question going forward is whether senior guard Jamaree Bouyea might opt to return. Either way, USF must improve its front-court play after relying heavily on productions from its guards this season.
SAN JOSE STATE (5-16, 3-13 IN MWC) >> The Spartans are 7-61 in Mountain West play the past four seasons under coach Jean Prioleau, who will not be returning next season. Athletic director Marie Tuite announced on Friday that there will be a coaching change. SJSU continues to face a steep climb.
WHAT’S NEXT >> Senior guard Richard Washington led the MWC in scoring at 19.5 points per game, but the Spartans have so many needs. Will Washington choose to play another senior season, and how much difference would it make?