Nov. 21, 2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Santa Clara University men's basketball team will travel to Seattle for the first time since 1978 to play the University of Washington Huskies Saturday at 1 p.m. in the 10,000-seat Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
The game can be heard on the Bronco Radio Network, which consists of KSCU-FM (103.3) in Santa Clara, KDIA-AM (1640) in Vallejo and the Internet by clicking here. The Internet broadcast will be live, while the radio broadcast will be tape-delayed following the San Jose Sharks game at approximately 4 p.m.
Santa Clara is 0-2 on the season following narrow losses at home to Pacific (85-83) and on the road at Cal (67-60). The Broncos have been led in scoring in both games by sophomore guard Kyle Bailey, who is averaging 18.5 points per game. The Fairbanks, Alaska native is also averaging a team-high 4.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds per outing. Senior forward Steve Ross is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points per game.
Coached by Bob Bender, the Huskies own a 2-1 overall record and earned a runner-up finish at the Top of the World Classic last weekend. Washington defeated host Alaska-Fairbanks by a score of 82-70 in the opener then knocked-off Bowling Green by a score of 81-74 in the second round. In the championship game, the Huskies dropped a 67-64 decision to Butler despite shooting 51 percent in the game.
The leading scorer for the Huskies is sophomore forward Doug Wrenn, who transferred to Washington from the University of Connecticut. A native of Seattle, Wrenn is averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the first three games for UW. Wrenn, senior David Dixon (13.7 ppg), freshman Erroll Knight (13.0 ppg) and sophomore Curtis Allen (13.0 ppg) combine to score 65.2 percent of Washington's 75.7 points per game.
Surprisingly, Santa Clara and Washington have only played four times in series history. The Huskies own a 3-1 series edge with wins in 1950-51 (56-34), 1952-53 (74-62) and 1975-76 (76-50). Santa Clara won the last matchup between the two schools (see below). On Mar. 14, 1953, the Huskies knocked Santa Clara out of a chance to advance to a second-straight NCAA Final Four with a 74-62 regional finals win in Corvallis, Ore.
The last time Santa Clara faced the Huskies, sophomore Kurt Rambis scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the Broncos' 82-75 win on Dec. 19, 1978 at Toso Pavilion. The victory was the fifth of a nine-game win streak for the Carroll Williams-led Broncos who finished the season with a 21-8 overall record. Center Mark McNamara scored 17 points, while Londale Theus chipped-in 14 and Eddie Joe Chavez added 10 for the Broncos.