Saint Mary’s stands out as the Bay Space’s solely males’s basketball staff within the NCAA Event, however 4 different native faculties will even be taking part within the postseason this coming week.
Hours after the NCAA Event was revealed Sunday, Stanford, San Jose State, San Francisco and Santa Clara all accepted invitations to the boys’s Nationwide Invitational Event.
Stanford (20-13) shall be participating within the postseason for the primary time since 2018 when it hosts Cal State Northridge (22-10) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. Santa Clara (20-12) performs host on Tuesday as nicely when it faces UC Riverside (21-12) at 8 p.m.
Each USF and San Jose State will play at house Wednesday night time within the 32-team NIT. The Dons (24-9) will play Utah Valley (25-8) at Warfare Memorial at 8 p.m. In the meantime, the Spartans (15-19) are set to make their first NIT look since 1981 after they face Loyola Chicago (22-11) at 8 p.m.
Regardless of their sub-.500 report, the Spartans are having fun with a little bit of a renaissance below coach Tim Miles. Their 15 victories provides them their most wins over a three-year span (45) for the reason that college received 46 video games from 1985-88.
San Jose State might have been one of many beneficiaries of extra postseason spots being obtainable this 12 months. There have been various groups that declined to play within the NIT with a purpose to take part within the new, Fox-sponsored Faculty Basketball Crown. That 16-team match shall be held in Las Vegas from March 31-April 6. West Virginia and Ohio State are among the many faculties anticipated to take part within the inaugural match.
Stanford may have historical past on its facet when it takes the ground Tuesday night time. The Cardinal is 11-2 at house all-time within the NIT, together with 9 straight wins from 2006-18. Plus, it has superior to the second spherical, or additional, in every of its final 5 appearances.
The matchup with Northridge would be the eighth in program historical past, with Stanford holding a 7-0 all-time report in a collection that started in 1976. With a win Tuesday, Stanford will host St. Bonaventure or Kent State within the second spherical.
The Cardinal completed seventh within the Atlanta Coast Convention in Kyle Smith’s first 12 months as head coach. He led Stanford to a 20-win season for the primary time since 2020 and the twenty fifth time in program historical past. The Cardinal boasts one of many prime gamers within the NIT in 7-foot-1 senior Maxime Raynaud, who averaged a double-double this season with 20.1 factors and 10.6 rebounds per recreation.
Santa Clara is making its third NIT look within the final 4 seasons below coach Herb Sendek, whose Broncos are 10.5-point favorites in opposition to Riverside. The Broncos will actually be taking pictures for a report Tuesday in opposition to Riverside as Santa Clara is three 3-pointers shy of breaking the West Coast Convention report for 3-pointers set in a season. USF set the report with 349 made 3’s within the 2022-23 season.
This 12 months’s USF squad makes its third postseason look in 4 seasons after advancing to the WCC match semifinals for the fourth straight 12 months. The Dons completed unbeaten (16-0) on the Hilltop for the primary time in 44 years — again after they received the fifth of six straight regular-season convention titles in 1980-81.
Initially Printed: March 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM PDT
