Jan. 31, 2006
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Two old friends will be reunited in a few weeks when the Santa Clara University men's basketball team travels to Honolulu to play the University of Hawai'i on February 18.
The Broncos were assigned to play at Hawai'i in a non-conference game as a result of their participation in the larger BracketBusters presented by eBay pool. Hawai'i is expected to make a return appearance at the Leavey Center next season as part of the event's agreement.
The game will air live at 9 p.m. on the radio in the Bay Area on KNTS-AM (1220) and via the Internet on Broncos All-Access.
"Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace is a close friend and there are obviously pros and cons in playing against your friends," said SCU head coach Dick Davey. "I have a great deal of respect for him as a person and the Hawai'i program. Not that we need it right now, this game will present a major test for our team due to the travel and playing against such a quality opponent."
The two head coaches met several years ago at the annual Cable Car Classic Golf Tournament, hosted for college coaches throughout the country by tournament co-founder Art Santo Domingo. Though the years, Davey and Wallace have spent social time together during the offseason and at various coaches conferences and on the recruiting trails.
Santa Clara owns a 20-4 series record against the Rainbow Warriors since the first meeting between the two schools in 1952. In 2003 the two teams met in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina with Hawai'i earning a come-from-behind 56-43 victory.
Santa Clara has played in Hawai'i on 11 previous occasions, dating back to their first trek to the islands in the 1952. That season, head coach Bob Feerick led his eventual NCAA Final Four team to the first of three-straight appearances in Honolulu. The Broncos also played in Honolulu in 1953, 1954, 1968, 1973, 1986 and 1997 and in Hilo in 1999. In addition, Santa Clara played in Lahaina, Maui in 1990, 1995 and 2003.
There were 100 Division I institutions in the original pool and 26 teams were selected to participate in the BracketBusters presented by eBay on Friday, February 17 and Saturday, February 18. The remaining 74 squads have been assigned non-conference games.
The BracketBusters presented by eBay is a concept developed by ESPN in conjunction with a group of conference commissioners prior to the 2002-03 basketball season. The 2006 event will be the fourth for ESPN. ESPN,s commitment to the series continues to increase with the network adding another national cablecast with six games on ESPN or ESPN2, in addition to seven more produced for ESPNU.
