Old rivals finding new energy
LAS VEGAS — The first-year coaches initiated two of the nation’s most noticeable turnarounds, and here they are, at the same place.
Fourth-seeded Santa Clara and fifth-seeded USF will meet at 3 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals of the WCC men’s tournament, with hopes of making postseason noise that few could have imagined a year ago.
“We’re not going to get anything easy, and neither will they,” said USF head coach Kyle Smith, who had a successful six-year run at Columbia before heading to the Hilltop. “I think these are two programs that are going to keep getting better and will make the league better.”
There’s a long history between the programs, but it’s been a while since the schools were creating this kind of buzz. The rivalry started in 1908-09, with USF holding a 113-107 edge in the team’s 220 meetings.
The teams haven’t met in a WCC tournament game since Santa Clara outlasted USF 51-50 in the 2008 quarterfinals, and the past several years haven’t provided much promise.
Under Herb Sendek, who won more than 400 games at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio), Santa Clara has made a fivegame jump from last season’s 11-win team. And the Dons, under Smith, secured just their third 20-win season since 1985-86.
Instead of ripping down old mottos from the walls of War Memorial, Smith embraced USF’s legacy and challenged his roster of 13 freshmen and sophomores to chase similar greatness. USF has won 15 WCC titles, two national championships (1955 and 1956), and it has had 36 draft picks who have gone on to win 31 NBA titles.
“We’ve kind of embraced the culture of the school and the institution, which I think is a good value-based education,” he said. “We’re not big on slogans or printing up things to put on the walls. We just talk every day about having a great attitude, great ethic and pride about being at USF.”
It’s worked. The Dons have held 12 of their past 13 opponents to fewer than 70 points and give up an average of 66.5 points per game after yielding 78.7 per game last season.
They’ve shot at least 50 percent 11 times, a bump from six such games a season ago. And they’re doing it with one of the country’s youngest teams, a roster that hasn’t started a junior or senior in the past 15 games.
“They’ve been awesome about embracing it,” Smith said. “We’ve surpassed our own expectations, and hopefully, we’ve got some more left in us.”
Sendek, who has won conference Coach of the Year honors at each of his first three stops, got buy-in immediately from his team by “being a good listener” and getting to know the players and the Santa Clara community.
The Broncos have been riddled with injuries, with seven players missing time. But Sendek has been able to recalibrate and continue to put a winning product on the floor.
Santa Clara has four players averaging double figures in points, led by Jared Brownridge, who is third in the league in scoring (17.3 points per game) and first in three-point makes (3.2 per game). K.J. Feagin has returned from missing 12 games to average 14.6 points on 49 percent threepoint shooting. Matt Hauser paces the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.4.
The Broncos finished above .500 in WCC play for only the third time in the past 10 seasons and for the first time since 2012-13.
“We have guys who have been consistently eager to learn and improve,” Sendek said. Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron