SAN FRANCISCO – It's March which means it is NCAA Tournament time, so in this month's episode of the University of San Francisco's cable television show "Behind the Mask," hones in on the 1997-98 Dons and their magical run to the NCAA tournament. This half hour show spotlights several vignettes starting with the 1985 Back to Basketball team, the lasting impact of Jim Brovelli, Phil Mathews and the Ventura pipeline and the WCC championship game that led to the first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1982.
The 1997-98 Dons were hampered early on by injuries. Gerald Zimmerman would miss the entire season with a knee injury, while M.J. Nodilo (foot) sat out 12 games and Damien Cantrell (mono) missed 10 games. Yet, despite the injuries the Dons won six of their first seven games including a 59-50 win over California on the home floor and a sweep of Monmouth and Richmond in the Northwestern Mutual Classic. The Dons gave Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers all they could handle in the Pete Newell Challenge at the Oakland Coliseum in late December. The Dons led 32-24 at the half before Indiana rallied for a 65-52 win. Hakeem Ward paced USF with 22 points on 11-18 shooting.
The Dons finished the non-conference slate at 9-3 and seemed primed for a strong season in the West Coast Conference. However, after a tough 65-61 loss at Pepperdine, the Dons were just 4-7 and in sixth place, when they suddenly caught fire winning their final three WCC games to finish league play at 7-7.
The red-hot Dons then knocked off Saint Mary's 83-66 in the opening round of the WCC postseason tournament which set the stage for a semifinal battle with arch rival Santa Clara. The two foes went toe-to-toe as neither club led by more than six points the whole game. USF eventually prevailed, 85-83, as Ward poured in 23 points.
In the WCC title game against favored Gonzaga, USF grabbed momentum early in the second half and pulled away for an 80-67 victory and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA postseason tournament, the Dons first trip to the Big Dance since 1982.
Seldom used freshman Ra'oof Sadat came off the bench to score 18 points in the win over the Bulldogs. The Dons then drew a 14 seed in the NCAA West regional and were upended by a powerful Utah team 85-68 in Boise, Idaho. Four players averaged double figures in scoring for USF. Ward led the way at 17 points per game with Ali Thomas (11.1), Cantrell (10.9) and Nodilo (10.1) each providing additional scoring punch. Thomas knocked down 41% from three-point range and Nodilo made 36% of his three point tries.
The latest episode of Behind the Mask debuts on Friday, March 12 at 5:00 p.m. on NBC Sports California. Check local listings for your cable provider's station guide and additional air dates and times each month. Segments from the show, as well as past seasons of "Behind the Mask," are available on-demand on USF Athletics' Youtube channel.
To tune in to the show in the San Francisco Bay Area, NBC Sports California can typically be found on channel 698 for DirecTV customers, 438 on the Dish Network, 412-01 on Dish Hopper packages, 767 on U-Verse and 41 on most Comcast packages. CSN Bay Area can be generally be accessed at channel 40 on Comcast, 41 on the Dish Network, 696 for DirecTV subscribers, and at 770 on U-Verse.
