SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men’s basketball (21-5, 12-1) returns to Leavey Center after a successful three-game road trip, hosting Seattle U. (15-10, 4-8) on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., streaming live on ESPN+ with Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso on the call.
THE OPPONENT
Seattle U., in their first year back in the WCC, is currently 15-10 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The Redhawks had a great start to the year in nonconference play with key wins over Stanford (77-69), UC Davis (79-78) and Washington (70-66), and later gave No. 7 Gonzaga all they could handle in Spokane before falling in overtime. Led by fifth-year head coach Chris Victor, Seattle U. has the WCC’s third-best scoring defense at 67.3 points allowed while averaging 73.0 on offense. Senior guard Brayden Maldonado leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game while redshirt sophomore Will Heimbrodt is the WCC’s top shot blocker at 2.6 swats per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE
The Broncos and Redhawks are meeting for the first time since Jan. 3, 1987 and for the 28th time overall dating back to 1947. The teams met 18 times as members of the West Coast Athletic Conference (now WCC) when Seattle was a member from 1971-80, and have squared off six times previously in Santa Clara with SCU taking five of those contests.
LAST TIME OUT
Washington State gave the Broncos all they could handle in an offensive shootout in Pullman, Wash., with both teams shooting better than 54 percent, but Santa Clara was able to pull off the road victory, 96-92, to extend their winning streak to eight and remain atop the WCC standings. Allen Graves played the best game of his young career with a monster double-double of 30 points and 13 rebounds while Christian Hammond and Bukky Oboye contributed 16 and 11 points, respectively. Jake Ensminger had one of the biggest moments of the game with a late block inside the final 20 seconds to help SCU hold off the upset bid.
A LOOK AT THE RESUME
Santa Clara is making a strong case for their return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. The Broncos are 21-5 overall and 12-1 in conference play, matching the same records from the 1994-95 squad for their best start in 31 years. They currently rank 41 in the NET, 38 in KenPom and 41st in wins above the bubble (WAB), and hold a 7-4 combined record in quad 1 and 2 games.
A NEW LEADER IN THE STANDINGS
Santa Clara currently finds itself on top of the WCC standings at 12-1. Gonzaga is just behind at 11-1 having played one less game while Saint Mary’s is third at 10-2. This is the first time a program other than the Bulldogs or Gaels has occupied the top spot in the standings at this stage of the season since 2002 when Pepperdine eventually won the regular-season title at 13-1.
BEST START SINCE THE NASH ERA
The Broncos are off to a 12-1 start in conference play with their lone blemish coming on the road against No. 8 Gonzaga, and sit at 21-5 overall. Both of those records stand as their best starts since the 1994-95 campaign when Santa Clara was also 21-5 overall in the regular season and finished 12-2 in conference play to capture the WCC regular-season title. That team, led by Dick Davey, Steve Nash and company, was the second of three squads to play in the NCAA Tournament over a four-year stretch from 1993-96.
ON A STREAK
Santa Clara is currently riding an eight-game win streak - their longest since winning nine straight in 1994-95.
WHAT’S ON THE LINE...
At 21-5, Santa Clara is one win shy of their best start since 1969-70 when the Broncos were 22-5 en route to a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Another conference win would tie the program record for the most in a single season. Both the 1967-68 and 1968-69 teams were 13-1 in conference play to not only win the conference titles, but also advance to the Elite Eight under the guidance of legendary head coach Dick Garibaldi. Both of those squads eventually fell victim to Lew Alcindor (better known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and the UCLA Bruins during their historic run of seven consecutive national titles.
EYE POPPING NUMBERS IN CONFERENCE SCORING
Santa Clara ranks third nationally in margin of victory in conference games (16.3) and are fourth in scoring average across conference play (88.1).
RECEIVING VOTES
Santa Clara is once again receiving votes in the latest AP Top 25 Poll (Feb. 9). It is the third time this year that they have done so after receiving three votes in the Nov. 24th edition and one vote on Feb. 2. The Broncos have not been ranked inside the Top 25 since the 1995-96 season when they reached as high as No. 22 in the poll.
They also are receiving votes in the coaches poll (Feb. 9) for the first time this season.
FIVE STRAIGHT WITH 10 OR MORE...
Santa Clara has recorded double digit conference victories for the fifth-straight season, extending their program record that began back in 2021-22.
...AND FIVE STRAIGHT WITH 20
At 21-5, Santa Clara has reached the 20-win marker for the fifth-consecutive season. Excluding the 2020-21 campaign in which SCU only played in 20 games total, that streak extends to six consecutive seasons. Prior to this stretch, the Broncos had never won 20-plus games in more than three-consecutive seasons at a time, doing so in both 1968-70 and 1983-85.
PROTECTING THE HOME COURT
Following the win over USF, Santa Clara remains a perfect 12-0 at Leavey Center this season. The streak ranks as the fourth-longest in Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center history and sits one win shy of tying for third. It is the Broncos’ longest home winning streak since posting a school-record 17 straight from 2018–19 to 2019–20. SCU is averaging 84.3 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting at home, with a plus-19.2 scoring margin.
YET ANOTHER FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK NOD FOR GRAVES
Allen Graves has won at least a share of WCC Freshman of the Week honors four times this season, including three of the last four weeks. He is tied with Brandin Podziemski’s 2022-23 total for the most single weekly awards in program history.
Graves’ most recent award (Feb. 9) came after averaging 21.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists over Santa Clara’s two victories at Pacific and Washington State.
