SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball (14-5, 5-1) will look to improve to 10-0 inside the Leavey Center when the Broncos host Pacific (12-7, 3-3) on Wednesday evening for a 7:00 p.m. PT tip. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Anthony Passarelli (pxp) and Henry Caruso (analyst) on the call. 

THE OPPONENT
Pacific is 3-3 in league play and sit at 12-7 overall under the direction of second-year head coach Dave Smart. The Tigers are coming off a 77-70 win over San Diego and are 3-1 in their last four games with the lone loss being a 90-89 setback in overtime in Portland against the Pilots. They average 75.8 points offensively and have the fifth-best defense in the WCC at 68.7 points allowed. Fifth-year senior forward Elias Ralphis the fourth-leading scorer in the league at 16.8 points per game and is also seventh in the league in rebounding (6.6).

SERIES HISTORY VS. PACIFIC
Santa Clara holds a 108-47 advantage in the series that dates back to 1905. The Broncos have taken four straight and are 8-2 over the last 10 meetings. SCU is 26-6 all-time in games played in the Leavey Center.

LAST SEASON AGAINST THE TIGERS
The Broncos swept Pacific last season with an 83-49 victory in the Leavey Center and a 97-66 triumph  in Stockton to cap the regular season. Santa Clara shot 55 percent from the floor in the first meeting and 50.7 percent in the second matchup.

LAST TIME OUT
Santa Clara poured it on against LMU with a 31-point victory at home against the Lions at 103-72. It was the Broncos highest point total of the season, second 100-point game, and their most since scoring 109 at Washington State last season. Four players scored in double figures led by a Herculean 37-point effort from Sash Gavalyugov in his second start of the year. Elijah Mahi logged 17 while Allen Graves had 16 points to with six rebounds and true freshman KJ Cochran tied his season-high scoring total with 14 points 3-of-4 3-point shooting.

PROTECTING THE HOME COURT
Santa Clara is off to a 9-0 start inside the Leavey Center this season, their best start since winning 15-straight to open the 2019-20 campaign. That streak was part of a 17-game home win streak as a whole, which stands as the longest in program history. The Broncos are averaging 86.3 points at home with a plus-21.2 scoring margin.

IMPRESSIVE START TO LEAGUE PLAY
Santa Clara is 5-1 in league play and have gotten there in impressive fashion. The Broncos’ average margin of victory is plus-18.5 and they are averaging 92.3 points per game in league play - good for fifth nationally for a team in conference play. The Broncos are shooting 50.7 percent (3rd in WCC) and lead the league with 11.2 treys per game. They also boast the top turnover margin at 4.00 and are forcing a league-high 11.2 steals per contest.

IN THE NET RANKINGS
Santa Clara currently ranks 51st in the NET rankings, which is third-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (6) and Saint Mary’s (30).

DYNAMIC DUO
Christian Hammond and Elijah Mahi are one of two duos that rank inside the top 10 in the WCC in scoring joining Gonzaga’s Braden Huff and Graham Ike.

GAVALYUGOV GOES OFF
Redshirt freshman Sash Gavalyugov had a performance for the record books in the 103-72 win over LMU. The native of Bulgaria was 14-of-20 from the field and 6-of-12 from 3-point range for a career-best 37 points. Some notable facts about the scoring total:

• tied for the second-most points ever scored by a Bronco in their home venue (Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center)
• second-most points ever scored by a Bronco Freshman (Jared Brownridge, 38 at Pepperdine)
• one point shy of Brandin Podziemki’s Leavey Center record (38 vs. Pacific on Jan. 28, 2023)
• most points scored by a WCC player in league play this season and second-most overall (40 by Washington State’s Ace Glass vs. Arizona State)

Sash’s six made treys are also the most by a Bronco this season and the most since Carlos Stewart Jr. also drilled six last season vs. Saint Mary’s.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Santa Clara has had three weekly award winners so far this season with Gavalyugov earning the most recent of the bunch this week. Allen Graves earned WCC Freshman of the Week honors (the first in program history) 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.

Elijah Mahi was honored by the WCC as the league’s Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 29 after his 23-point performance at Oregon State.

Gavalyugov’s 37-point performance against LMU earned him a share of the WCC’s Freshman of the Week award for the week of Jan. 12.

LAST THREE FOR GRAVES
Redshirt freshman Allen Graves has pieced together one of the best stretches of his season over SCU’s last three games. Going back to the win over San Diego, Graves is averaging 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and has a 5.0 assist/turnover ratio. He is shooting 58.6 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from 3-point range and is 9-for-10 at the charity stripe.

Graves turned in a season-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds and three steals at Gonzaga. He is coming off a 16-point, six-rebound, two-steal night against LMU.

MAHI ON A TEAR
Preseason All-WCC pick Elijah Mahi has lived up to the hype in his final season in the red and white. The Toronto native has 15 double figure scoring games and has scored 13 or more in 11 of the last 123games. Mahi ranks 9th in the WCC in scoring at 14.7 points per game.

Mahi has logged ten games with 15 or more points with three 20-point outings. He is coming off a 17-point performance against LMU.

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 fifth in the WCC in scoring at 16.3 ppg, has scored 10 or more in all but three games with 10 games of 15 or more and seven 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), Arizona State (22), Loyola (25) Pepperdine (20) and most recently against San Diego (21).

Hammond opened the season by scoring 10 or more in 10 consecutive games - the longest such streak to open a season since Keshawn Justice (11) and Jalen Williams (18) in 2021-22.

HAMMOND’S 20-POINT OUTINGS
Christian Hammond’s seven 20-point games are the most by a Bronco since Adama-Alpha Bal turned in nine in 2023-24.

RACE TO 80
The chances of a Santa Clara victory increase exponentially when reaching the 80-point marker. The Broncos are 11-0 this season when scoring 80 or more in a trend that has been in place since Herb Sendek took over the reigns in 2016-17. In the last 10 seasons, the Broncos are 93-11 (.894) when scoring 80 or more. In the last five years alone, SCU is 65-9 (.878) in such games.