SANTA CLARA, Calif. - December has not been kind to Santa Clara men's basketball so far, but the Broncos will have another great opportunity to right the ship this Saturday as they take on Washington State as part of the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix. The Broncos will take on the Cougars at 11 a.m. PT at the Footprint Center. The game will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Network with JB Long (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (color) on the call. Anthony Passarelli and John Stege, making his 2023 color commentary debut, will also be on location for the live audio call. Both links can be found above.

Santa Clara (7-4) is looking to bounce back after dropping four of their last five games. The Broncos nearly did just that in their last outing against Utah State, showing signs of improvement across the board and shooting a season-high 57.1 percent from the floor. However, the Aggies grabbed a late two-score advantage inside the final minute to pick up their 10th win of the season. Five Broncos scored in double figures (third time that has happened this season) led by Adama-Alpha Bal's 18 points. Bal currently ranks fifth in the WCC in scoring average at 14.9 ppg and leads the league in free throw shooting (87.2). 

Behind the play of Bal, Carlos Marshall, Jr. (14.1 ppg), Tyeree Bryan (9.6) and the rest of the Bronco shooters, Santa Clara checks into Saturday's game second in scoring average in the WCC at 79.2 ppg. 

Washington State will prove to be another great test for the Broncos. The Cougars, led by fifth-year head coach Kyle Smith, are 8-1 on the year and have won six-straight. They are shooting 50.7 percent from the floor and limiting opponents to just 37 percent shooting defensively. Miles Rice (16.0) and Isaac Jones (15.0) rank in the top-15 in the Pac-12 in scoring. 

Bronco fans will likely remember the last time the teams squared off. The Broncos took on Washington State in the opening round of the 2022 NIT, falling 63-50 in Pullman. Prior to that, Santa Clara had won two-straight in the series and have won three of the last five. The most recent victory came on Nov. 12, 2019 - a 70-62 win inside the Leavey Center. 

For more information, check the game notes link above.