4. San Francisco Dons (12-1)
As a freshman, Charles Minlend was a double-digit scorer and a promising future piece for the Dons, getting dubbed with preseason All-WCC honors the following season. However, a should injury caused him to miss all of last year, causing San Francisco to miss out on a go-to player.
But as a healthy player, Minlend is living up to the All-WCC hype, leading the team with 15.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg. He’s now surrounded by a veteran supporting cast, including senior point guard Frankie Ferrari and his 6.0 apg. Other key contributors include Jordan Ratinho, Matthew McCarthy and Jimbo Lull.
San Francisco is a good offensive team but they’re an even better defensive unit, giving up less than 60 ppg and allowing just 28% in three-point defense. The Dons main weakness comes from the charity stripe, where they’re ranked in the 300’s.
Outside of a win over Stanford and a dominant road win over lowly Cal, Kyle Smith’s team doesn’t have the greatest resume. But with their only loss coming to a top-25 ranked foe, the Dons don’t have any blemishes either.
San Francisco will have their chances to prove any remaining doubters wrong, with home games against Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga to start conference play. If they can get a win over either of them (especially the Bulldogs), they can start to really build a resume to get an at-large bid. With a healthy Minlend as the primary offensive option, that’s far from impossible from happening.