SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Bay Area rivals Santa Clara and San Francisco are set to meet on the hardwood Wednesday, Jan. 28, inside Leavey Center as the Broncos (17-5, 8-1) welcome the Dons (13-9, 5-4) for an 8:00 p.m. PT tip. The game will be nationally-televised on CBS Sports Network with Jordan Kent and Mike O'Donnell on the call live from Leavey. Fans can also tune in to the audio only stream via Sidearm Sports to hear Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso's call.
THE OPPONENT
San Francisco enters the contest at 13-9 overall with a 5-4 mark in league play. The Dons, led by fourth-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen, are coming off a tough road loss to No. 8 Gonzaga. USF trailed by just a bucket and had the final possession looking to tie or win outright, but the Bulldogs got the defensive stop they needed to escape with a 68-66 victory. The Dons are averaging 75. 3 points while allowing just 69.7 points defensively. Ryan Beasley is the team’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per contest, and has fared even better in conference play at 15.9 points (seventh in the WCC).
SERIES HISTORY VS. SAN FRANCISCO
The longstanding Bay Area rivalry between the Broncos and Dons goes back to 1909. It has been evenly matched series throughout the years with Santa Clara holding a slim 120-117 advantage. It has been evenly-matched over the last couple of seasons with SCU leading 4-3 over the last seven meetings. The teams have split the regular season in each of the last two years with the Broncos defending their home court with a 69-62 victory in 2024 and a 77-54 triumph last season.
LAST SEASON AGAINST THE DONS
Santa Clara and USF split last season’s series. In the first meeting at War Memorial, the Broncos held a late three-point lead and seemed poised to escape with a hard-earned win, but the Dons drew a late foul on a 3-point attempt, buried all three free throws and ultimately sent the game to overtime where they went on to win 97-94.
It was a different story when the teams revisited in Leavey Center just two weeks later. The Broncos got their revenge by outscoring the Dons 56-26 in the second half to run away with a 77-54 victory. Four Broncos scored in double figures, including a 17-point night from Elijah Mahi.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos won their fourth-consecutive game with an 85-73 victory on the road against San Diego. Santa Clara had one of their best shooting nights of the season at 63.5 percent as they cruised to a 26-point second half lead and ultimately the double digit win. Four Broncos scored in double figures led by 16 from both Christian Hammond and Bukky Oboye. Oboye also pulled down a career high-tying eight rebounds. Allen Graves tallied a season-best five blocks to go with 12 points while Mahi matched the 12-point total and had three assists and a pair of steals.
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.
BEST START TO WCC PLAY SINCE THE NASH ERA
The Broncos are off to an 8-1 start in conference play with their lone blemish coming on the road against No. 8 Gonzaga. It is their best start in league play since the 1994-95 Broncos began 12-1 and ultimately won the regular season title at 12-2. That team was the first of three consecutive squads to play in the NCAA Tournament.
LOOKING FOR NO. 10
Santa Clara is two wins shy of reaching double digit victories in conference play for the fifth-straight season. They would join Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s as the only three teams in the WCC to do so over that stretch. SCU’s four-year streak with 10 or more is already a program record.
TURNING HEADS IN LEAGUE PLAY
Santa Clara is 8-1 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-16.3, and they lead the WCC in scoring at 87.3 ppg (11th in NCAA D1). The Broncos are shooting 50.7 percent (2nd in WCC) and lead the league with 10.0 treys per game. They are also forcing a league-high 10.0 steals per contest.
IN THE NET RANKINGS
Santa Clara currently ranks 45th in the NET rankings, which is third-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (4) and Saint Mary’s (30).
