SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball is heading to neutral ground for the third-consecutive weekend, this time to Las Vegas to take on Duquesne inside Orleans Arena on Saturday, Dec. 23. The game will be streamed live on FloHoops while Anthony Passarelli will have the Bronco Radio call live on Sidearm Streaming (link above).
Santa Clara (8-5) will look to bounce back once again after a tough 81-78 loss to crosstown rival San Jose State on Wednesday. The Broncos shot 50 percent, knocked down 14 treys (second-most this season) and saw Carlos Marshall, Jr. tie the program record of nine treys, but was still unable to come up on the right side of a great battle. San Jose State made two free throws inside three seconds to make it a three-point game, and Adama Alpha-Bal's buzzer-beating attempt at the tie hit the front iron. The loss was Santa Clara's fourth over the last five games.
Despite the losses, Santa Clara is still boasting some great offensive numbers. The Broncos are second only to Gonzaga in scoring offense at 78.3 points per game and leads the WCC in 3-point shooting percentage (37.7). Marshall Jr. ranks third in the WCC with 28 treys and is second in the league with 2.33 per game. Marshall and Bal have combined to feature one of the top scoring duos in the WCC to this point in the season. Bal ranks fourth in the league at 15.5 ppg while Marshall checks in at seventh at 15.0.
Duquesne enters the contest at 8-2 and is riding a four-game win streak. Led by seventh-year head coach Keith Dambrot, the Dukes are averaging 76.5 points per game led by guard Dae Dae Grant's 18.8 ppg. The Dukes are feature a group of excellent shot blockers that rank 28th nationally with 5.2 blocks per game.
This will be the sixth-ever meeting between the programs. Santa Clara was the victor in the last meeting - a 74-65 win in Albuquerque in the 2004-05 season opener. Duquesne won the prior four meetings dating back to the first game on Dec. 31, 1940 in Pittsburgh.
For more information, check the game notes links above.
