SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Two of the top teams in the West Coast Conference are set to square off on Saturday afternoon in the Leavey Center when Santa Clara men's basketball (15-5, 6-1) welcomes long-time rival Saint Mary's (17-2, 6-0) to the Leavey Center for a 4:00 p.m. PT tip. Fans unable to make it out in person can catch the action live on ESPN+ with Anthony Passarelli (pxp) and Henry Caruso (analyst) on the call.
THE OPPONENT
Receiving votes in both major polls and holding a No. 28 ranking in the NET, Saint Mary’s is yet again having a great season in Randy Bennett’s 25th year at the helm in Moraga. The Gaels (17-2, 6-0) have the third-best scoring offense in the WCC (79.9) and as always feature an elite defense that ranks 19th nationally with just 65.1 points allowed. Saint Mary’s leads the nation in free throw percentage (82.0), is seventh nationally in rebound margin (11.1) and ranks 16th nationally in 3-point percentage (38.6). Junior forward Paulius Murauskas is the WCC’s leading scorer at 19.6 points per game while the Gaels are also getting around 13 points per game from both Mikey Lewis (13.6) and Joshua Dent (13.4). Sophomore center Andrew McKeever is a force on the boards, ranking fifth nationally with 184 total rebounds and 24th with 9.7 per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAINT MARY’S
As one of the longest standing rivalries on the west coast, Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s have met 239 times since 1910. The Broncos historically have the upper hand at 136-103 all-time, but the Gaels have controlled things in recent years. Santa Clara is looking to break an eight-game losing skid in the series, with their last victory coming on Feb. 8, 2022 inside the Leavey Center. The Gaels were ranked 22nd nationally in that game, and was the first ranked victory of the Herb Sendek era.
LAST SEASON AGAINST THE GAELS
Saint Mary’s swept the two regular season meetings last season. The teams first met on Jan. 29 inside the Leavey Center where the Broncos put up a great battle in the first half before everything fell apart. The Gaels opened the second half with a 26-0 run and held on for a 67-54 victory despite SCU outscoring them 18-3 over the final few minutes.
It was a bit closer when the teams revisited in Moraga just a couple of weeks later. Despite missing leading scorer Adama-Alpha Bal, the Broncos fought well and were tied with the Gaels with 5:30 remaining. Saint Mary’s, however, used a 9-0 run to regain control and held on for the 73-64 victory. Jake Ensminger had 13 points with a 3-for-5 mark from 3-point range.
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Clara improved to 10-0 inside the Leavey Center thanks to a big second half run that helped the Broncos put away Pacific for an 85-69 final. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the opening half with the Broncos leading by just two at the break. Santa Clara fared much better defensively in the second half, allowing just 27 points, and used a massive 24-6 run to take control for good. Three Broncos scored 15 or more led by Christian Hammond’s 18-point effort. Elijah Mahi logged 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds while Allen Graves had a ridiculous stat line of 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
PROTECTING THE HOME COURT
Santa Clara is off to a 10-0 start inside the Leavey Center this season, their longest 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. It is also tied for the fifth-longest home win streak in program history. The Broncos are averaging 86.2 points at home with a plus-20.7 scoring margin.
IN THE NET RANKINGS
Santa Clara currently ranks 49th in the NET rankings, which is third-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (4) and Saint Mary’s (27).
IMPRESSIVE START TO LEAGUE PLAY
Santa Clara is 6-1 in league play and have gotten there in impressive fashion. The Broncos’ average margin of victory is plus-18.1 and they are averaging 91.3 points per game in league play - good for fifth nationally for a team in conference play. The Broncos are shooting 50.4 percent (3rd in WCC) and lead the league with 11.0 treys per game. They also boast the top turnover margin at 5.43 and are forcing a league-high 10.7 steals per contest.
HIGH SCORING OFFENSE SET TO FACE A STALWART DEFENSE
Saturday’s showdown pits together one of the WCC’s top scoring offenses against the best scoring defense. Santa Clara is averaging 91.3 points per game in league play while Saint Mary’s has allowed just 66.8 points in their undefeated 6-0 start.
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 Gonzaga game, Graves is averaging 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 steals, 1.3 blocks and has a 4.0 assist/turnover ratio in additon to shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.
Graves turned in a season-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with nine rebounds and three steals at Gonzaga, and followed up with a 16-point, six-rebound, two-steal night against LMU. He most recently tallied 17 points, again on 7-of-14 shooting with a season-high three 3-pointers, pulled down eight rebounds and had three steals and three blocks against Pacific.
LEAGUE PLAY GRAVES
Those last three games are just part of the larger scope of how well Allen Graves has played in the Broncos’ seven league games. The Ponchatoula, La., native is shooting 58.5 percent with 12.3 points, 7.1 rebounds (team-high) and 2.3 steals per game.
ELITE TERRITORY
Allen Graves is one of just three players in NCAA D1 that is currently averaging better than 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, joining Utah Valley’s Jackson Holcombe and Monmouth’s Jason Rivera-Torres.
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.
Sash 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.
