USF, Gonzaga competing for WCC Tournament bye

In a densely populated city that’s home to a few storied professional sports franchises, the San Francisco men’s basketball team has quietly become one of the most consistent mid-major programs in the sport over the last decade.

The Dons have won 20 or more games in eight of the past nine seasons under the leadership of three different head coaches. Kyle Smith started the run in the late 2010s before handing the baton off to Todd Golden, who got the program to its first NCAA Tournament in over two decades after earning an at-large bid in 2022. Since Golden’s move to Florida later that offseason, now third-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen has kept San Francisco in the mix for one of the top spots in the West Coast Conference standings year after year.

Last season’s NIT berth, the Dons’ first in a decade, is indicative of the progress Gerlufsen has already made in two years at the helm. But he’s got his eyes on an even greater breakthrough as he and his program look to make more noise in 2024-25.

“It’s a matter of kind of talking to our team about what’s next,” Gerlufsen said to Gonzaga on SI in October. “And we want to continue to push the program forward in whatever that looks like and I think the next logical thing would be, can we be an NCAA Tournament team and go from 23 wins to hopefully even more than that.”

LIVE SCORE UPDATES, HIGHLIGHTS: GONZAGA VS. USF

Here’s an in-depth look at the Dons’ 2024-25 roster.

GUARDS

San Francisco's all-conference backcourt featuring 6-foot-2 senior Marcus Williams and 6-foot-5 senior Malik Thomas is back to causing problems for the rest of the WCC. That duo combined to score one-third of all the Dons’ points in 2023-24, and through 26 games this season, they've combined for 43.5% of their team's total scoring output.

Thomas, now in his second season at San Francisco after transferring from USC, has carried the bulk of the load offensively for his team. He's averaging a WCC-best 19.2 points while shooting 47.0% from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range across 25 appearances. Thomas has scored 30 or more points three times, which is also the same amount of times he's been held to single digits.

“When he got his chance, he never looked back and never had a bad attitude,” Gerlufsen said of Thomas. “I don't think Malik's ever had a bad day in his life that bleeds into other people. And he just has a really good way about him.”

Thomas appears well on his way to earning All-WCC first team honors at season's end, but he probably won't be alone from San Francisco. Williams, who earned all-conference honors last season, can impact the game as both a scorer and the one who sets the table for the Dons on offense. Second on the team with 14.4 points, Williams leads the way with 4.2 assists per game and 40.4% shooting from 3-point range.

“Marcus has just grown up a lot since [his freshman year],” Gerlufsen said. “I think he's just matured as a player. He's matured off the floor. We spend a ton of time talking about relationships and how much time we invest with our guys in our program, and I think that has really allowed Marcus to trust and him and I have a great relationship.”

Gerlufsen never considered Ryan Beasley as a freshman last season, adding the 5-foot-11 guard is “well beyond his years.” The San Ramon, California, native showed no signs of first-year jitters and was a pest on the defensive end of the floor in his role as the Dons’ sixth man. Beasley led the WCC in steal percentage (3.2%) and finished 10th in total steals (37) to go with 7.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game en route to being named the WCC Freshman of the Year.

Across 21 appearances this season, including one start, Beasley averages 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 24.8 minutes per game.

“He's what's good about college basketball for sure,” Gerlufsen said of Beasley. “For us to be able to keep him home here in the Bay Area and beat some Power Five schools out for him, his future is so bright. I think the next kind of logical step for him is to develop into a true point guard. I think scoring comes naturally for him, so it's been fun to, kind of try to peel back a few more layers to his game over the offseason.”

Speaking of homegrown talent, Gerlufsen and the coaching staff reeled in quite the prospect in 6-foot-6 Watts, California, native Tyrone Riley IV, whose father Tyrone Riley Sr. played for the Dons once upon a time from 2003-05. Riley IV was a four-star recruit according to 247Sports’ Composite ranking after he averaged 22.2 points and 9.2 rebounds his senior year at St. Pius X-St. Matthias (Downey, California).

Gerlufsen expressed excitement about what Riley IV was bringing to the table in year one, and rightfully so considering the highly-touted freshman wasted no time getting himself acclimated to Division-I college basketball. Riley IV dropped 26 points in his debut against Cal Poly on Nov. 5, then put up 28 points on Chicago State for his second 20-point performance in just four career games. Though he hasn't crossed that threshold since then, he's been efficient from the field (50.9% from the field and 38.2% from 3) in addition to being San Francisco's top rebounder to date with 5.5 boards per game.

Robby Beasley, Ryan's older brother who's in his fifth and final season of college ball, logs 11.1 minutes off the bench for the Dons.

Vanderbilt transfer Jason Rivera-Torres, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Bronx, New York, had his moments during SEC play last season, including a career-high 20 points against Alabama in January, though his minutes have been inconsistent with the Dons. Rivera-Torres averages 8.8 minutes and scores 2.7 points per game off the bench.

WINGS/FORWARDS

Not many college basketball players decide to take the long route and stay all four years at one program these days. Consider 6-foot-8 senior Ndewdo Newbury a throwback player in that regard. The long game has paid off thus far for the London native, as he went from averaging 1.7 points his freshman year to 9.4 per game as a junior in 2023-24. Though Gerlufsen believes another jump is in store for Newbury.

“I think he's going to be a guy that really surprises people,” Gerlufsen said of Newbury. “He's just gotten better and better each year. I mean, his freshman year, we joke about this all the time. We questioned whether he's even going to be able to make it more program. And to his credit, he's invested everything he's had into improving, and he's self made.”

Newbury’s mentality is old school, but his skillset and play style are very much modernized. In addition to being a versatile defender, he can space the floor on offense and is willing to put the ball on the deck if he has a lane to the rim. Newbury shot 40% on 3.1 3-point attempts last season and 63.2% on 2-point field goals.

“He has a sneaky kind of way of affecting the game in a lot of different ways,” Gerlufsen said of Newbury. “He's extremely versatile from the defensive standpoint, can guard a lot of different positions and gets on the offensive glass. And I think his offensive game is really diversifying itself so, he’s going to be a fun player to track this year.”

Unfortunately for the Dons, Newbury has been out of the lineup since he suffered a leg injury against Loyola Chicago on Dec. 15. Through the first 11 games of the season, he put up 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Junjie Wang, the other holdover at the wing spot, has stepped up in Newbury's absence. The 6-foot-9 sophomore has started the last 15 games for the Dons and is averaging 5.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in those appearances. Wang scored 16 points and knocked down three 3-pointers in San Francisco's win over Washington State on Feb. 1.

Of the four freshmen San Francisco signed this offseason, 6-foot-9 forward James O’Donnell could be the one who’s slated for an impactful role from day one. The Sydney, Australia, native was a standout at the NBA Global Academy after making a strong impression with the Australian youth national teams. He and Karl Markus Poom, a versatile and talented 6-foot-8 freshman from Estonia, have the potential to be the future of the Dons’ forward position on the perimeter.

The team’s fourth freshman, Veniamin Abosi, could wear a few different hats for the Dons at 6-foot-6 and weighing 225 pounds. Abosi battled against some of the best young talents from Europe during his time with Olympiacos in Greece last season, as he played for the U18 team at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament and also spent some time with the Olympiacos Piraeus junior team, which included winning the Greek National Cup in 2024.

CENTERS

With the need for more experience up front, Gerlufsen and the coaching staff brought in 7-foot grad transfer Carlton Linguard Jr. from UTSA to run the “5” position. The San Antonio, Texas, native started 27 of 32 games for the Roadrunners and put up 9.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game (he finished fifth in the AAC in total blocks with 49 on the season). Linguard provides a different look than former Dons star and current Toronto Raptors forward Jonathan Mogbo did a year ago.

“He's a different kind of threat from an offensive standpoint than Mogbo,” Gerlufsen said of Linguard. “He has the ability to step out and really shoot the ball for being seven foot tall and with the way that we play, we like to spread people out. Having bigs that can shoot is a sneaky kind of component for us. So I think he'll be really interesting in that regard.”

Linguard Jr. has started all 26 games this season, averaging 8.5 points on 44.4% shooting from the field. He's shooting 29.6% on 3-point attempts. San Francisco is 8-2 when Linguard Jr. scores 10 or more points,

WRAP IT UP

With an experienced roster boasting continuity and versatility, the puzzle pieces to an NCAA Tournament team are all there to be put together. As such, the Dons gave themselves ample opportunities to build their postseason resume in nonconference play with notable matchups against Boise State, Memphis, Clemson, Saint Louis and Bradley.

“I feel like we've really challenged ourselves and given ourselves enough opportunities where, if we handle our business, we at least should be in the [NCAA Tournament] conversation,” Gerlufsen said. “We're always just talking about how many potential Quad 1 or Quad 2 opportunities do we have on our scheduling. We're constantly looking at numbers with that and making sure that we're at least trying to get to that threshold and give ourselves, as I said, enough opportunities to [where] if we at least perform to the level that I think we're capable of, we have a chance to be in a conversation.”

Fast forward nearly four months later, the Dons find themselves sitting outside that imaginary room where those postseason conversations are being held. Despite not having a bad blemish on its postseason resume, San Francisco is just 1-4 against quad 1 foes and has a sub-.500 record in true road games (3-4). According to Barttorvik.com, the Dons have a 6.5% chance of earning an at-large bid.

Those odds can take a drastic turn for the better should the Dons experience yet another breakthrough Thursday when they visit the Kennel for a showdown against Gonzaga, a team they haven't bested in Spokane since 1989.

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