SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball (8-3) will look to get back on track on Wednesday as they take the short drive down Highway 17 to Santa Cruz where they will take on North Texas (8-3) in the first of two games to be played at Kaiser Permanente Arena this week to close out nonconference play. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the link above. Fans unable to attend can catch the action live on Baller TV with Thomas Dunn and Rocco Miller on the call, or listen to Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso on the audio only stream through Sidearm Sports (link above).
THE OPPONENT
North Texas checks into the game with an 8-3 record as well and are coming off a hard-fought 58-57 road victory over South Alabama. Led by first-year head coach Daniyal Robinson, the Mean Green average 69.1 points offensively and boast a stout defensive group that has the nation’s 20th-best scoring defense at 64.4 points. They also rank 34th nationally in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to connect on just 28.6 percent. Sophomore guard Je’shawn Stevenson leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game and has four 20-point outings including 22 in the win over South Alabama.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH TEXAS
This will be the fourth meeting between the Broncos and Mean Green, and the first since 1981. Santa Clara won all three previous contests.
A FAMILIAR VENUE
Santa Clara has a unique connection to Santa Cruz, and more specifically, Kaiser Permanente Arena. The Broncos relocated to Santa Cruz for around a month during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21, and played a total of three games at Kaiser Permanente Arena during their stay. SCU was 2-1 in those games, defeating Cal State Bakersfield (53-47) and Fresno Pacific (88-65) before falling to Colorado State (57-70).
IN THE NET
Santa Clara debuted at No. 32 in the initial NET Rankings (12/1) and currently sit at No. 58 as the third-highest ranked team in the WCC.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos led by as much as 19 early in the second half, but a big 21-2 run midway through the period allowed Arizona State to come from behind for an 82-79 victory at the Jack Jones Classic. It was the second consecutive loss for SCU after a fantastic 8-1 start to nonconference play. The Broncos shot lights out in the first half (58.1 percent), but couldn’t sustain the success in the second half (27.3 percent). Christian Hammond logged 22 points to lead the scoring charge while Elijah Mahi (17), Sash Gavalyugov (12) and Bukky Oboye (10) also finished in double figures.
HAMMOND MAKING NOISE
Christian Hammond has established himself as one of the top players in the WCC since assuming a full-time starting role after redshirting last season. The Denver native ranks second in the WCC in scoring at 17.7 ppg, has scored 10 or more in each game he’s played and has four 20-point outings. He scored a career-high 27 points against Nevada (11-17 FG) and also has 20-point outings against Minnesota (20), New Mexico (22) and Arizona State (22).
ON A HEATER
Christian Hammond has reached double figure scoring in all 10 games he’s played in to open the season. It is the most consecutive games with 10 or more points to open a season since Keshawn Justice (11) and Jalen Williams (18) in 2021-22.
THREE STRAIGHT WITH 20 OR MORE
Christian Hammond has scored 20 or more points in the last three games - Minnesota (20), New Mexico (22) and Arizona State (22). It is first time a Bronco has done so since Brandin Podziemski in 2022-23.
MAHI OFF TO A BIG START
Preseason All-WCC pick Elijah Mahi has lived up to the billing in his senior campaign. The Toronto native ranks second on the team and 14th in the WCC in scoring (13.5). He has logged double figure scoring in all but two games and has done so in five-straight games. His season high was 19 against McNeese, and he also a pair of 18-point nights against Xavier and Saint Louis.
Over the last five games, Mahi is averaging 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals, and has scored at least 13 points in each outing.
CLEANING UP THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Santa Clara continues to clean up the offensive glass better than anyone else in the WCC. The Broncos lead the conference and are seventh nationally in offensive rebounding at 15.1 per game.
RAINING THREES AGAIN
Santa Clara set a WCC record with 368 made 3-pointers last season and have continued to put up a high volume of attempts from beyond the arc this season (30.4 per game). The Broncos have made 10 or more treys seven times this season. They had their best 3-point shooting night of the young season against Minnesota, where they were 16-for-31 (51.6) - their most makes of the year and most since also knocking down 16 against UC Riverside in the NIT last season.
MORE BLOCKS THAN A SPAM CALLER
Santa Clara is off to a tremendous start when it comes to protecting the rim. The Broncos are averaging 5.2 blocks per game, which leads the WCC and ranks 25th nationally.
SCU logged 11 blocks in consecutive games at Xavier and against Nevada, which is tied for the third-most in program history. The performance at Xavier is tied for their most-ever in a road game.
Both totals are SCU’s most since tallying 13 in 2005 against UC Riverside.
GRAVES MAKING THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITY
Redshirt freshman Allen Graves is off to a big start in his first season of action. The big man ranks fourth on the team in scoring (8.8) and second in rebounding (6.1). He leads the team and is second in the WCC with 2.1 steals per game and leads the league (50th nationally) with 23 total steals.
GRAVES NAMED WCC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Graves earned WCC Freshman of the Week honors for the week of Dec. 8th after averaging 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 47.8 percent in SCU’s two games against Utah Tech and New Mexico. He stuffed the stat sheet in SCU’s 90-80 victory over Utah Tech with 13 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three blocks and three steals.
Graves is the first Bronco to win a WCC weekly honor this season and first since Elijah Mahi was the league’s player of the week last season on Feb. 8th. Graves is also the first player in program history to win WCC Freshman of the Week honors, which was first recognized in 2020-21.
MR. EFFICIENCY
Jake Ensminger returned from a three-game absence against Arizona State where he picked up where he left off by turning in five assists, seven points and three rebounds. In eight games, the Ulm, Germany product leads the Broncos in rebounding (7.0) and assists (4.3) while also averaging 7.3 points. He ranks fourth in the WCC in rebounding and eighth in assists.
Ensminger also has a 6.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, which leads both the WCC and the nation.
LENDING A HAND
Santa Clara is averaging 18.4 assists per game, which ranks 30th nationally and third in the WCC. They are dishing the ball out efficiently with a 1.58 assist/turnover ratio - good for 49th nationally.
The Broncos have tallied 20 or more assists in five games this season with a high of 27 vs. Nevada and 26 against Utah Tech.
