Selection Sunday could be thin for Bay Area teams
Stanford women and Saint Mary's men may be only locals going to NCAA tourney
There were smiles all around on the faces of Saint Mary's players in the locker room at Orleans Arena on Tuesday night. The 21stranked Gaels had just beaten No. 17 Gonzaga 6960 to pair their West Coast Conference tournament title with the regular-season crown.
Junior point guard Augustas Marciulionis recalled a less joyous postgame atmosphere back on Dec. 1, when Saint Mary's lost by 17 points to Boise State at Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Gaels were 3-5 at that point, and there was no clear view ahead to what they achieved in Las Vegas.
“It means a lot. To win with this group of guys when we had some struggles early in the season, it's an amazing thing,” Marciulionis said. “It makes it even sweeter, just the fact that we remember that locker room early in the year and how it is now.”
The win over Gonzaga clinched a 10th NCAA tournament bid in 20 years for the Gaels (26-7), who won 23 of their past 25 games. Coach Randy Bennett said the problem early was the Gaels' good players weren't good enough yet to handle the team's challenging schedule.
That included sophomore guard Aidan Mahaney, still adjusting to being No. 1 on the opponent's scouting report. And senior guard Alex Ducas, not yet fully back after a back injury late last season. And sophomore forward Joshua Jefferson, a first-year starter.
Topping the list of players growing into new roles was Marciulionis, the son of Hall of Famer Sarunas Marciulionis, the Lithuanian star who made his NBA bones with the Warriors.
After playing just 15 minutes per game last year, Augustas was producing 8.8 points, 2.6 assists and shooting 21 percent from the 3-point arc through eight games this season.
In the 25 games since, Marciulionis gave the Gaels 13.6 points and 6.1 assists while making 40 percent of his 3's.
Those numbers, coupled with his work on defense, made Marciulionis the WCC Player of the Year and the tournament's Most Outstanding Player — the first Saint Mary's player to sweep both awards since Matthew Dellavedova in 2012.
“The coaches trusted me, the players trusted me and I kind of grew into that role,” Marciulionis said. “But it wasn't only me. There were a lot of guys who made those jumps.”
Postseason watch
The Stanford women will join the Saint Mary's men as NCAA tournament participants, but other Bay Area team will have to settle for less. Here's what we expect when postseason bids go out Sunday:
Women
STANFORD (28-5) >> The Pac12 regular-season champion and ranked No. 4 by the NET computer, Stanford is projected by ESPN's Charlie Creme to join South Carolina Iowa and USC as No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. Expect the Cardinal to be an opening weekend host.
CAL (18-14) >> The Bears are listed by Creme as fifth among teams he expects to be left out of the NCAA field. As many as seven Pac12 teams could get the nod but the Bears, at No. 59 in the NET, figure to land in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), formerly known as the WNIT.
SANTA CLARA (24-8) >> Runner-up in the WCC and the winner of nine straight games before losing to Portland in the semifinals of the conference tournament, Santa Clara is ranked 70th in the NET and has a solid shot at a berth in the WBIT.
Men
SAINT MARY'S (26-7) >> After beating Gonzaga in the WCC tournament championship game, the Gaels climbed to a No. 6 seed in the NCAAs, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. The Gaels will make three consecutive trips to the NCAAs for the first time in program history.
USF (23-10) >> The Dons lost to Gonzaga in the semifinals of the WCC tournament, sit at No. 65 in the NET rankings and should land a spot in the NIT. SANTA CLARA (20-13) >> The Broncos own a victory over Gonzaga but are No. 104 in the NET and won't make the cut for the NIT.