NCAA Basketball: 10 potential March Madness Bracket-Busters

San Francisco Dons

This San Francisco team has a good blend of experience at every position. They have played well to start the season, losing two games by just a combined six points. They primarily run an eight-man rotation but they have other guys below that who can step up when needed. The Dons haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1998. They have played in the CBI postseason tournament the last two seasons, including when they lost to North Texas in the finals last year.

This team is improved from a year ago and they have the talent to get back to the NCAA Tournament but Gonzaga is likely going to keep them from getting a chance. Charles Minlend and Frankie Ferrari give this team a really good backcourt. They’re the two leading scorers on this team but they still aren’t needed to do it all themselves which has led to this team having a lot of early season success. Minlend is averaging 15.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. His 24% 3-point percentage is a huge concern after he made 37% his freshman season. He has been very consistent this season outside of one game against Sonoma State where he scored just two points and didn’t make a shot. He scored double-digits in every other game so far this season.

Ferrari has had a good start to his senior season, averaging 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He too has seen a drop in 3-point percentage from 39% to 33%. This isn’t a huge concern for him but you would like to see that increase in conference play. Matthew McCarthy has only started two games and is averaging less than 20 minutes per game but his 10.9 points are third on the team and he leads the team in rebounding with 7.4.

Then, we have the other big who has started the other 12 games in Jimbo Lull. He is averaging 8.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The other two starters on this team are Jordan Ratinho and Nate Renfro. They are both solid players who fit into their roles nicely. Ratinho is averaging 10.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. His offense comes from 3-point range and so far this season, he’s done a great job as he has made 40% of his 6.1 three-point attempts per game. Renfro is averaging 5.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He doesn’t fill up the stat sheet but he impacts the game in multiple ways.

This team has a lot of guys they depend on and that’s why they are a threat to beat any opponent they go up against. If they want to make the NCAA Tournament, it may require an upset over Gonzaga in the conference tournament. If they can get there, though, then you should expect them to pull off an upset in their first-round game.