SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball (16-5, 7-1) will look to extend their win streak to four straight on Saturday evening when they take to the Jenny Craig Pavilion to take on San Diego (9-12, 3-5) in a 6:30 p.m. PT tip. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Jack Cronin (pxp) and Braden Surprenant (analyst) on the call.
THE OPPONENT
San Diego is riding some momentum into Saturday’s contest after taking down Washington State 96-92 on Wednesday to improve to 3-5 in league play. The Toreros are one of four teams with a 3-5 conference record and tied for sixth in the league standings. They sit at 9-12 overall in Steve Lavin’s fourth season at the helm. San Diego is averaging 76.2 points per game led by the conference’s leading scorer in league play Ty-Laur Johnson, who is averaging 20.4 points per outing.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAN DIEGO
Including the victory just a couple weeks ago in the Leavey Center, Santa Clara sits at 60-40 all-time in the series and has won five straight. The Broncos are 27-19 in games played in San Diego and have won their last six inside Jenny Craig Pavilion with their last loss coming on Jan. 25, 2018 (58-66).
LAST TIME AGAINST THE TOREROS
Santa Clara handled business in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 4 in the Leavey Center. The Broncos knocked down 14 3-pointers, shot 50 percent overall and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line en route to a 98-70 victory. Christian Hammond was one of four Broncos in double figure scoring, finishing with 21 points while Thierry Darlan added 14, Allen Graves flirted with a double-double with 12 points, 9 rebounds and Brenton Knapper poured in 10 points. Ty-Laur Johnson led the Toreros with 21 points.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos picked up one of their best wins of the season with a 62-54 triumph over rival Saint Mary’s, breaking an eight-game losing skid to the Gaels with their first victory in the series since Feb. 8, 2022. Santa Clara’s defense frustrated the Saint Mary’s offense from start to finish, holding the Gaels to their lowest scoring total and shooting percentage (31.0) of the season. Christian Hammond led the way with 25 points - tied for the most scored on the Gaels this season - while Allen Graves added 11 points and eight rebounds. Elijah Mahi notched eight points to go with six rebounds and tied his career highs for steals (3) and blocks (2).
PROTECTING THE HOME COURT
Santa Clara is off to an 11-0 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 fourth-longest home win streak in program history. The Broncos are averaging 84.0 points at home with a plus-19.5 scoring margin.
IN THE NET RANKINGS
Santa Clara currently ranks 44th in the NET rankings, which is third-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (4) and Saint Mary’s (28).
IMPRESSIVE START TO LEAGUE PLAY
Santa Clara is 7-1 in league play and have gotten there in impressive fashion. The Broncos’ rank fifth nationally in average margin of victory in league games at plus-16.9, and they lead the WCC in scoring at 87.6 ppg (11th in NCAA D1). The Broncos are shooting 49.4 percent (2nd in WCC) and lead the league with 10.0 treys per game. They also boast the top turnover margin at 5.13 and are forcing a league-high 10.3 steals per contest.
HIGH SCORING OFFENSE
In addition to the Broncos having the WCC’s top scoring offense in league games, Santa Clara also ranks second in scoring in all games at 82.3 through 21 games, second only to Gonzaga (89.9). The Broncos have posted a top-three scoring offense in the league in each of the last four seasons.
BRONCOS SWEEP WEEKLY AWARDS
Santa Clara swept the most recent edition of the WCC’s weekly player of the week awards with Christian Hammond taking home Player of the Week honors and Allen Graves picking up his second Freshman of the Week accolade of the year. Hammond averaged 21.5 points on 60 percent shooting against Pacific and Saint Mary’s while Graves averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks.
