WCC Basketball Tournament Central | Santa Clara-BYU Game Notes
WATCH | "Bronco Bites" with Jared Brownridge, KJ Feagin
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara, seeded No. 6, will face third-seeded BYU at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first quarterfinal game in the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas. The winner will play either No. 2 seed Gonzaga or seventh-seeded Portland Monday in a semifinal game.
BYU won both regular season contests with the Broncos. The teams faced each other in last year's WCC tournament quarterfinals, with the Cougars escaping with a 78-76 victory.
"They are one of the better teams in our league and last year we were within a possession," head coach Kerry Keating said. "Obviously, it's a challenge, but we're just trying to keep our minds right heading into the weekend."
The Broncos closed out the regular season Saturday with a solid 69-65 victory over Pacific, clinching sixth place in the league.
"Coming off a loss [Thursday at Saint Mary's] we showed some pretty good resiliency, especially having to go on the road and then coming home," Keating said. "It showed us something about our guys and the capability they have. Obviously against a team in Pacific that had some turmoil this season, but came around to have a good conference season with some big wins."
Santa Clara looks to build off that home win when it hits the Orleans Arena floor Saturday afternoon.
"Our guys are excited about the opportunity," Keating said. "When you get to this point everyone is 0-0 and we're only concerned about the first one."
No. 6 SANTA CLARA (11-19, 7-11) vs. No. 3 BYU (22-9, 13-5)
Saturday, March 5, 2016 • Orleans Arena (9,500) • 1 p.m. PST
TV: CSN Bay Area, TWC SportsNet, ROOT NW/Rocky Mountain - Steve Quis (play-by-play), Casey Jacobsen (analyst), Kelli Tennant (coutside)
TV: BYUtv - Dave McCann (play-by-play), Blaine Fowler (analyst)
Live Stream: TheW.tv
Radio: KSCU (103.3 FM) - Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst)
Live Stats: www.statbroadcast.com
Tickets: Tickets can be purchased through the Orleans Arena box office.
Quick Hits...
• Junior Jared Brownridge was voted first-team All-WCC for the second-straight year and KJ Feagin secured a spot on the all-freshman team.
• Brownridge, in his third year as a starter, ranks second in the WCC and No. 25 nationally in the scoring (20.3 ppg). He has hit 83.3 percent of his free throws (fourth in the WCC) and his 150 makes from the charity stripe are No. 41 in the NCAA this year. He also ranks tied for 24th nationally in 3-point field goals (88). Brownridge is one of four players in the nation to rank in the top 50 of both those categories. Joining him are Josh Adams (Wyoming), Stefan Moody (Ole Miss) and Elijah Brown (New Mexico).
• KJ Feagin, the team's second-leading scorer (11.4 ppg), has emerged in the last two months as a consistent scoring option and distributor. The freshman guard has scored in double figures 15 times in the last 22 games after hitting that mark just once in the first eight contests. He has posted eight or more assists three times in WCC action and ranks second in the league among freshman (ninth overall) in assists (3.8 pg).
• Despite playing less than three seasons, Brownridge already ranks second in school history with 276 career 3-pointers and ninth in scoring (1,686 points). In addition, his career scoring average (17.7 ppg) ranks No. 5 on the Broncos all-time chart and his career 3-point field-goal percentage (41.9) is tops in school history. After missing most of preseason practice Brownridge had an uneven start to the year, but started to heat up in December. He has scored in double figures in the last 21 games and averaging 24.3 points in the last four.
• Nine of Santa Clara's 19 losses have been by eight points or less, including seven that were within three and four in overtime. The Broncos are 6-7 in games decided by four points or less, but have won the last three.
• The Broncos have three injured players. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow (broken right wrist) has missed the last 23 games and is out the rest of the year. Sophomore forward Jarvis Pugh (knee) missed 21 of 22 games before playing the last two. Sophomore Matt Hubbard (concussion protocol) missed the last two games. Junior guard Brendyn Taylor (concussion) missed seven games earlier this year and freshman forward Tony Lewis (leg) has not played this season.
Brownridge, Feagin Earn All-WCC...
Jared Brownridge was voted first team All-WCC and KJ Feagin secured a spot on the all-freshman team. Brownridge made the first team for the second-straight year, the first Santa Clara player to earn back-to-back selections since John Bryant (2007-08 and 2008-09) and 13th Bronco in school history. Feagin emerged as one of the top first-year players in the league. He ranks 21st in the WCC, including second among freshmen, in scoring (11.4 ppg) and ninth in assists (3.8 pg). Feagin ranks No. 3 on the Santa Clara all-time freshman list assist list (115). Under head coach Kerry Keating, eight players have earned a spot on the WCC All-Freshman team, including current members Brownridge (2013-14) and Matt Hubbard (2014-15).
Broncos in the WCC Tournament...
Santa Clara has a 27-27 all-time record in the West Coast Conference tournament, which began with the 1986-87 season. The Broncos have won two tournament titles, at the conclusion of the 1986-87 and 1992-93 seasons.
Addition and Subtraction...
• After missing 21 of the previous 22 games due to a knee injury, Jarvis Pugh saw 14 minutes of action off the bench last week vs. Saint Mary's, tallying four points with five rebounds. Pugh also played in Saturday's regular-season finale vs. Pacific, posting two points and five rebounds in 15 minutes.
• While Pugh was added to active roster, Matt Hubbard had to miss the Saint Mary's and Pacific games due to concussion protocol. The sophomore had started the previous two games and averaged 8.7 points in the last seven contests. He played in the first 28 games this season.
Final Game for One Senior...
With 10 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, there was only one senior player recognized in Saturday's home finale vs. Pacific. Guard Werner Nistler, who has played in 16 games as a reserve, was joined by four-year student managers Logan Breen and Josh Gray in the pregame acknowledgment. Nistler served as a practice player as a sophomore and junior before being added to the roster as a walk-on last summer.
Tidbits...
• With 29 points vs. Pacific (Feb. 27), Jared Brownridge passed two all-time greats on the Santa Clara scoring list. He now has 1,686 career points, moving from ninth to seventh after passing John Bryant (1,667/2005-09) and Dennis Awtrey (1,675/1967-70). Brownridge needs just three more points to reach Steve Nash (1,689/1992-96) in sixth place and 13 to equal Marc Trasolini (1,699/2008-13) in fifth.
• Brownridge has scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, including 11 of the last 20 games. He has posted 30-plus points in three games, including a career-high 44 vs. Arizona (Nov. 26) in the Wooden Legacy. Brownridge is the only player in school history to post 38 or more points in a game three times. In fact, only one other player has done it twice. Ken Sears had 39 at Saint Mary's (Feb. 28, 1955) and then 41 vs. Pacific (March, 4, 1955).
• Since an 0-for-3 performance from the free-throw line at Pacific (Dec. 21), KJ Feagin has connected on 43 of 49 free throws (87.8 percent). He has improved from 59.1 to 83.3 percent from the line in the last 15 games. Feagin has moved to No. 5 in the WCC in free-throw percentage, first among freshmen.
• During the first 15 games of the season, Santa Clara only had as many as three players in double figures six times. In the last 15 games, three or more players have reached double figures 10 times. The Broncos are 9-7 when at least three players reach double figures, including 3-0 with four players scoring 10 or more.
Scouting the Cougars...
BYU, 22-9 on the season (13-5 WCC), has won five of its last six games and scored more than 90 points 12 times this year. The Cougars lead the WCC in scoring (83.9 ppg) and rank second in 3-point field-goal percentage (38.0). They maintain a plus-5.6 rebounding edge per game (third in the WCC) and rank third in the league in opponent field-goal percentage (41.2). Offensively, the Cougars are led by a pair of senior guards in Chase Fisher and Kyle Collinsworth. Fisher leads four players in double figures at 18.1 points per game. Collinsworth, the WCC Player of the Year, is third at 15.2 ppg and leads the WCC in both assists (7.5 pg) and steals (2.1 pg). He is also averaging a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game, which is third in the league. Junior forward Kyle Davis collects 8.6 rebounds per game, sixth in the WCC. Freshman Nick Emery is second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg).
The BYU Series...
The series began in 1951 with BYU leading, 26-5. The Cougars have won the last 12 meetings, including all 11 since BYU joined the WCC during the 2011-12 season. The Broncos last win in the series was on Dec. 2, 1972 (66-64 in Provo, Utah) though the teams only met once (Dec. 30, 1986 in the Cable Car Classic) in a 38-year span. The teams have met once in the WCC Tournament. Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge combined for 52 points, but BYU's Tyler Haws hit a jumper at the free-throw line with 2.5 seconds left to lift the Cougars to a 78-76 victory in last year's quarterfinals.
By The Numbers…
3...Jared Brownridge (1,686) needs three more points to move from seventh to sixth on the school's career scoring list. Steve Nash (1,689/1992-96) is currently sixth and Marc Trassolini (1,699/2008-13) just ahead in fifth.
3...Jared Brownridge is third in the WCC in minutes played (35.7 pg).
4...Jared Brownridge is one of only four players in the NCAA to rank in the top 45 in both made free throws (41st at 150) and 3-pointers (t-24th at 88) this year. Josh Adams of Wyoming (t-9th in FTs/t-12th in 3FGs), Stefan Moody of Ole Miss (t-9th in FTs/t-28th in 3FGs) and Elijah Brown of New Mexico (6th in FTs/t-32nd in 3FGs) are the others.
5...KJ Feagin is fifth in the WCC in free-throw percentage (80.6).
9...The Broncos have used nine different starting lineups this season (page 26). They had used the same one for 12 games until adjusting vs. LMU (Feb. 18).
WCC Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 4
No. 8 Loyola Marymount vs. No. 9 San Diego, 6 p.m. (BYUtv, TheW.tv)
Saturday, March 5
No. 3 BYU vs. No 6 Santa Clara, 1 p.m. (TWC SportsNet, CSN Bay Area, ROOT Northwest/Rocky Mountain, BYUtv, TheW.tv)
No. 4 Pepperdine vs. No. 5 San Francisco, 3 p.m. (TWC SportsNet, CSN Bay Area, BYUtv, TheW.tv)
No. 1 Saint Mary's vs. No. 8/9, 7 p.m. (ESPN2, WatchESPN)
No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 7 Portland, 9 p.m. (ESPN2, WatchESPN)
Monday, March 7
Semifinal No. 1, 6 p.m. (ESPN, WatchESPN)
Semifinal No. 2, 8 p.m. (ESPN2, WatchESPN)
Tuesday, March 8
Championship Game, 6 p.m. (ESPN, WatchESPN)
All times Pacific
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