Featuring up to 18 games vs. 2011 post-season teams and at least seven games on ESPN, Santa Clara released its 2011-12 men's basketball schedule Thursday. Click here for the 2011-12 schedule. The Broncos are coming off a 24-14 season after they won the CollegeInsider.com Post-Season Tournament with its final three victories coming on the road.
Santa Clara will play at least seven games televised on the ESPN family during the regular season, with four ESPN games during West Coast Conference play. In addition to four league games on ESPNU/ESPN2, Santa Clara will also play in the 76 Classic Nov. 24-25 and 27 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. where its opening-round game vs. New Mexico will be shown on ESPNU on Nov. 24. Santa Clara will play either Oklahoma or Washington State on Fri., Aug. 25 and then its final game in the tournament will be vs. one of the following: Villanova, UC Riverside, Saint Louis or Boston College (ESPNU/2). Each game of the 76 Classic will be shown on the ESPN family throughout the weekend. Click here to see the 76 Classic bracket with game times.
Santa Clara will also host the 45th annual Cable Car Classic - the longest-running annual university tournament in the country on Thur., Dec. 29 and Fri, Dec. 30. This year's tournament will feature the Broncos, Eastern Michigan, Air Force and Wagner. Historically, 31 times in its 44 seasons a team from the Cable Car Classic has advanced to the NCAA Tournament later in the season.
Times for WCC games will be released in mid-September as the WCC will once again join forces with the Comcast Network to televise a number of WCC games (complete Comcast schedule to be released in mid-September). All Bronco men's basketball games will be broadcast live on KDOW 1220 AM with Anthony Passarelli making the call for the fourth straight season.
Season tickets are available for purchase at the Leavey Center ticket office (500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif.) by calling directly at 408-554-4660, or by purchasing online at SantaClaraBroncos.com/buytickets.
Because of their special status with Santa Clara Athletics, Bronco season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase single game tickets, including BYU, Gonzaga and St. Mary's before the official release of single game tickets. If you are interested in a private seating selection tour, please call 408-554-4660 to make a reservation today.
The 2011-12 Santa Clara team welcomes seven newcomers, including six freshmen (featured in the photo). It also welcomes back All-WCC first team member Kevin Foster, the MVP of the CIT, All-WCC freshman team member Evan Roquemore and Trasolini, who was All-WCC as a sophomore. Both Foster and Trasolini reached their 1000th career point last season with Foster knocking down a WCC-record and national-leading 140 three pointers and they were the first duo to score 1000 career points in the same season since 1989. In addition, Santa Clara returns juniors Raymond Cowels III, who averaged 5.4 ppg in 15.3 minutes and Niyi Harrison, who averaged 5.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 14.4 ppg, as well as sophomore John McArthur, who appeared in 36 games in his rookie campaign.
"Coming off last season's success and with a big group of newcomers added to this season's roster, we are excited about the upcoming season," said Bronco head coach Kerry Keating. "The conference looks to be as challenging as its ever been, and combined with a very competitive non-conference schedule, we should be prepared as we've ever been to compete in each and every game we play. We're happy to continue the Cable Car Classic, and excited to be involved in yet another high level event in November with the 76 Classic. As always, we look forward to all of our games at the Leavey Center to have our players represent Santa Clara in a positive and first class manner, and we look forward to all of the challenges the road games will bring with them."
The 2011 76 Classic will feature 12 games through three days. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated will face off in a championship game Sunday, Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2.
The inaugural 76 Classic was played in 2007, with USC defeating Southern Illinois. In 2008, Wake Forest captured the title by beating Baylor and in 2009, West Virginia, an eventual NCAA Final Four participant, defeated Portland. Butler, which lost the 2010 national championship game to Duke, was also in the 2009 76 Classic field.
Tickets to the 2011 76 Classic are on sale and can be purchased at www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Additional information can be found on the 76 Classic website, www.76classic.com. For more information on Disneyland Resort, visit www.disneyland.com.
Santa Clara will be featured on ESPN in both league games the weekend of Feb. 16 and 18. First, the Broncos will be looking for their second straight nationally-televised home win over Gonzaga when it plays the Zags at 8 pm on ESPN2 on Thurs., Feb. 16. It will host BYU for the first time as a member of the WCC on Sat., Feb. 18 on ESPNU (time TBA).
In other WCC nationally televised games, Santa Clara will host Portland on ESPNU on Thurs., Feb. 2. It will also travel to San Francisco for an ESPNU contest on Thurs., Feb. 9.
The Broncos first WCC weekend will feature a trip a to the Northwest when it plays at Portland on Thurs., Jan. 5 and Gonzaga on Sat., Jan. 7. It opens WCC play at the Leavey Center with San Diego Thurs., Jan. 12.
Rivalry games include USF coming to the Leavey Center on Thurs., Jan. 26 in a rematch from last year's CIT quarterfinal game that Santa Clara won 95-92 in San Francisco on March 23. Saint Mary's will visit the Mission Campus on Sat., Jan. 21.
The Broncos will travel to War Memorial Gym on Thurs., Feb. 9 and Saint Mary's on Sat., Feb. 11.
Santa Clara will host a lone Monday night game on Jan. 23 when it welcomes LMU. Otherwise all its games are on Thursday and Saturdays.
The WCC Tournament is once again be at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will be held Feb. 29-March 5. For additional information on the WCC Tournament click here.
Start following the Broncos today at www.twitter.com@scubroncos, on their Facebook Fan Page at www.Facebook.com/SantaClaraBroncos and on their YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/SantaClaraBroncos.