Loss in semis likely ends Dons’ year
LAS VEGAS — As USF left the court at Orleans Arena on Monday night, the same result from a year ago in the same place, it felt as achingly familiar as distant. The Dons had lost to Gonzaga in a West Coast Conference semifinal last year, too, but a successful season was rewarded with an NCAA Tournament bid.
The fire went out of that hope this season after USF (20-14) fell 84-73 to secondseeded Gonzaga (27-5). The Dons trailed by 2 points midway through the second half but couldn't withstand a Gonzaga run and did not hold a lead.
A year after making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998, USF's late-season push wasn't enough to inspire postseason hopes beyond Las Vegas. The Dons aren't expected to get an invite to the NIT as head coach Chris Gerlufsen's first season hasn't matched last season's success.
The loss might also mark the end of the college career of their best player.
Departing grad student Khalil Shabazz, after career performances during the last two games, bent over next to the handshake line, slow to move away from the court — and possibly his time at USF.
“It's been a long five years,” Shabazz said. “Gave my heart and soul to this school, a lot of countless hours. It's the only school that wanted to give me a chance. I hope it's not the last game. I wanted to win so bad, for this team and school.”
Gonzaga, projected to be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, downed USF in all three matchups this season. The Zags have a 27game winning streak against USF, a run narrowly kept intact by a 77-75 victory in their first meeting this year in San Francisco.
The Dons upset No. 3 seed and NIT-hopeful Santa Clara 93-87 in double overtime in the early hours of Sunday morning, powered by a career-high 38point performance from Shabazz. He scored 23 points in the final 13½ minutes of regulation alone in that matchup before a 26point effort in Monday's loss.
USF was picked to finish tied for third in the preseason WCC poll along with BYU — which finished tied for fifth in its final WCC season — but was 1-6 in the regular season against the four WCC teams that had winning conference records.
The Dons finished tied for fifth in the WCC in the regular season despite starting conference play 1-5. USF began its nonconference season 6-0 before losing four of its next seven, including to Texas-Arlington (now 11-20) on the Hilltop. It then lost five of eight, struggling mightily with conference foes.
Despite that, the Dons fell two wins shy of returning to the NCAA Tournament after winning three of their last four conference games to earn the conference tournament's sixth seed.
“It would have been easy to give up after starting the year 1-5 in the conference,” Gerlufsen said. “These guys stuck with me.”
Shabazz's tournament effort was on par with a year ago — he averaged 24.5 points in the 2022 WCC tourney — when the Dons ultimately fell to Gonzaga. He made six 3pointers in Monday's loss, which kept the Dons afloat.
USF is slated to lose its starting backcourt of Tyrell Roberts and Shabazz, who produced the bulk of their offense. Shabazz, a first-team All-WCC selection this season, averaged 17.8 points and hit a teamhigh 95 3-pointers. Roberts, a transfer from Washington State who also was a first-team All-WCC selection, finished at 16.2 points per game with 88 3-pointers.
“If I could coach the two of them for the rest of my career, I would do it in a heartbeat,” Gerlufsen said. “They embody everything of what I want the program to be.”
The Dons have lived and died by the 3-pointer all season. They led the WCC in 3-point makes and attempts but shot 35.6% from deep, the third worst mark in the WCC.
USF was 14-for-37 from distance against Gonzaga, but aside from Shabazz's hot hand, the Dons' shooting went cold in the second half at 33.3%.
USF junior Zane Meeks, who averaged 10.9 points, missed the WCC tourney with a sore knee. That left the Dons without a big who could compete with Gonzaga's Drew Timme (17 points, eight rebounds, five assists), one of the top forwards in the nation. Gonzaga outscored USF in the paint 28-20 and got to the free-throw line 20 more times.
Gonzaga had four days off before Monday night. The Dons had played their most grueling game of the season less than 48 hours prior. The Zags' presence loomed with more than half the crowd in their favor; the Dons silenced it more than once Monday night, but not enough to advance.
“I wanted to get this program back to the way it should be, it used to be,” Shabazz said. “It hurts.”