Men's Basketball Finishes Homestand Saturday, Faces Portland

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball caps off its three-game homestand on Saturday with a matchup against Portland.

Tipoff between the Broncos and Pilots is set for 6 p.m. in Leavey Center.

After winning six games in a row at home, the Broncos (11-11, 3-5) have dropped four of their last five overall. Santa Clara will have six-day break between games.

Last time out, Loyola Marymount rallied from nine down at the half to claim a 69-61 victory. James Batemon had 20 points and Dameane Douglas a double-double (16 points/10 rebounds) for the Lions who held the Broncos to 27 percent shooting from the floor in the final 20 minutes. Trey Wertz had 13 points and five assists for Santa Clara.

Portland (7-16, 0-8) has dropped its last nine outings, including an 83-58 loss to Pepperdine on Thursday.

QUICK HITS...
• Tahj Eaddy (15.5 ppg) is first among four Santa Clara players scoring in double figures. Josip Vrankic is averaging 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds (second on the team) per game. Trey Wertz (12.1 ppg) and Keshawn Justice (10.3) are the top freshmen scorers in the WCC. Wertz is also fifth overall in assists (4.8 pg). Josh Martin is the leading rebounder at 8.2 per contest (No. 3 in the WCC) and the most efficient 3-point shooter (43.9 percent) in the league.
• After a 1-5 start, the Broncos have gone 10-6 with a roster that receives 75.2 percent (1,140 of 1,515 points) of its offensive production from first-year players. The team is shooting 46.4 percent from the floor in the last 16 games after hitting only 41.2 in the first six. Field-goal percentage defense is also down in that stretch (44.1 to 42.9), but the biggest improvement is at the 3-point line where the opposition is being held to 31.3 percent in the most recent 16 contests, compared to 34.9 in the opening six. Santa Clara limits long-range attempts. The Broncos are No. 27 in the nation in percentage (33.1) of 3-point tries to total field goal attempts, according to KenPom.com.
• Injuries have plagued the Broncos and shrunk the rotation to eight players. Five players have missed games this season, including three currently on the shelf. Two-time All-WCC guard KJ Feagin (foot) and Juan Ducasse (knee) are out for the season. Fallou Ndoye (foot) has been out of action indefinitely, but close to a return.
• Neither Santa Clara nor Portland possess high scoring offenses. The Broncos average 68.9 points per game and the Pilots 67.8, which ranks eighth and 10th, respectively, in the WCC. The Broncos are in the middle of the pack in a number of other league categories. However, they are third in blocked shots (3.5 pg) and fourth in 3-point field-goal percentage (35.8), but 10th in turnover margin (-3.7 pg). The Pilots are ninth in the conference in turnover margin (-1.3 pg) and 10th in rebounding margin (-5.9).
• Santa Clara's recent six-game winning streak (Dec. 9-Jan. 3) was its longest in six years. The Broncos won six in a row from Dec. 8-22, 2013.
• The win over Washington State on Dec. 29, gave the Broncos a pair of victories over Pac-12 Conference schools in the same season for the first time since 1997-98. Santa Clara also snapped a streak of 11 straight road/neutral site losses to Pac-12/Pac-10 schools. The last victory occurred at Stanford (62-46) on Dec. 16, 2006.

YEAR THREE UNDER SENDEK...
The Broncos are in their 112th year of existence, including third under Herb Sendek, who has been successful in each of his three previous head-coaching stops. With a resume that includes 18 postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year awards, Sendek, was one of the three youngest coaches with 400 or more career victories. He is in his 25th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).

THE PORTLAND SERIES...
In a series that began in 1946, Santa Clara leads 64-33. It has been a series of streaks in recent years. The Broncos have captured the last six meetings, which followed a three-game winning streak for Portland. Santa Clara was victorious in the previous three before that nine-game stretch.

ABOUT PORTLAND...
The Pilots are led by third-year head coach Terry Porter. Markus Shaver Jr. (15.3 ppg) leads three players in double figures. JoJo Walker averages 12.1 ppg and Josh McSwiggan 10.6.

INJURY BUG...
Six players, including five current ones, have suffered injuries. Juan Ducasse will miss 2018-19 after having knee surgery in August. Matt Hauser, who would have been a senior, decided not to play this season due to a foot injury. Henrik Jadersten suffered a stress fracture in his foot in the preseason and did not return until the second game of the season. KJ Feagin has suffered two injuries with the second one knocking him out for the year. He suffered a broken bone in his left hand against UC Irvine (Nov. 15) and was ruled out indefinitely. On Dec. 28, Feagin had season-ending surgery on his right foot. Fallou Ndoye suffered a torn tendon in his foot against San Jose State (Nov. 24) and has been out indefinitely though close to a return. Ezekiel Richards (ankle) missed the USC game, but returned vs. Idaho (Dec. 21).

RADIO/LIVE STREAM
Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst) call the action during the season on radio and through TheW.tv at home. All Broncos home games and West Coast Conference contests (not on an ESPN platform or BYUtv) will also be streamed through TheW.tv (local blackout restrictions apply for games broadcast over the air). This season at least 25 games will air on either KDOW-AM 1220 or KTRB-AM 860. The remainder can be heard on Livestream.com. Saturday's game against Portland can be heard on KDOW-AM 1220. Click here to view broadcast outlets for the season.

AUDIO | We're gearing up for Saturday's home game vs. @PilotHoops. Did you miss Wednesday morning's weekly 'Chatting with Coach Sendek' segment presented by @Heffernan_Ins on KDOW-AM 1220? That's ok.
��️https://t.co/39L8YJSLDx#StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/VOcqDkaH3V

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 31, 2019

TICKETS
Single-game and gameplan options are available for remaining games. For questions, contact the Santa Clara Athletics ticket office at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Doors to Leavey Center  open one hour prior to tipoff.

FAN EXPERIENCE PACKAGES
Group-ticket options and Fan Experience Packages are available through the Santa Clara ticket office, which is open weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Contact Jesse Moreno, one of our sales and service consultants, at (408) 554-4628 or jmoreno@scu.edu for further details.

RALLY TOWEL GIVEAWAY
The first 1,000 fans that enter Leavey Center before the Portland game will receive a Rally Towel. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Be in Leavey Center early on Saturday (doors open at 5 pm) for the @WCChoops matchup against @PilotHoops. The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive a cool Rally Towel. �� �� pic.twitter.com/kRgZL8Jtbe

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) February 1, 2019

PARKING
Parking is $10 in the main campus parking structure, which is located on Palm Drive through the main campus entrance (500 El Camino Drive). The Leavey Center parking lot, located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is reserved for season-ticket holders. Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions.

Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
• Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
• Men's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat