WCC Tournament Central | Bracket

LAS VEGAS - Santa Clara men's basketball advanced out of the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament and now looks for its first win of the season against Pepperdine.

Tipoff Friday's the second-round matchup is set for 8 p.m. in Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The Broncos cruised to a 76-62 win over Portland on Thursday behind DJ Mitchell, who scored 17, and Tahj Eaddy and Trey Wertz, who each tallied 13 points in the team's 20th win of the season.

Santa Clara (20-12), seeded seventh, dropped both regular season games to the Waves (15-15), the No. 6 seed. The winner plays the No. 3 seed Saint Mary's on Saturday.

QUICK HITS...
• Seven players are averaging at least 7.0 points, including three in double digits led by Josip Vrankic (12.3 ppg), Trey Wertz (12.0) and DJ Mitchell (10.6). Guglielmo Caruso (10.2) is averaging 9.9 points, Keshawn Justice 9.0, Tahj Eaddy 8.9 and Jalen Williams 7.7. Vrankic leads the team in rebounding (5.5) and Jaden Bediako is second at 5.3. Wertz is averaging a team-high 4.0 assists per game and Vrankic is second at 2.6.
• With Thursday's victory over Portland, the Broncos reached 20 wins for the first time since the 2012-13 season and just fourth time in the last 19 seasons. The 16-4 start was the best since 1994-95 when the mark was the same. The 14-2 opening to the season was the best since beginning a school-record 21-0 in 1968-69 on the way to a 27-2 mark and a trip to the NCAAs. The Broncos won at least 14 of 16 to begin a season for only fourth time in school history: 14-2 in 1930-31 and 15-1 in 1946-47.

YEAR FOUR UNDER SENDEK...
The Broncos are heading into the their 113th year, including fourth 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. Having led the Broncos to winning records in two of his three seasons, he is in his 26th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES...
• Injuries are taking a toll with three starters missing multiple games since the start of West Coast Conference action where seven players have combined to sit out 55 contests. The injury to Guglielmo Caruso (lower right leg) has been the most impactful. He has missed 13 of the last 17 games and been limited to only 31 minutes in the other four. Josip Vrankic (ankle) and Trey Wertz (concussion protocol) are the latest additions. They were injured against Pacific (Feb. 22) and missed the next two games. Ezekiel Richards (ankle), who played in 10 games as a reserve, and Miguel Tomley (knee), who has not seen action, have been ruled out for the season. Juan Ducasse (ankle) and Giordan Williams (ankle) each missed two games.
• During the last four contests, DJ Mitchell is averaging 16.0 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the floor (21 of 39), including 6-for-13 from beyond the 3-point line. He started for Vrankic the last three games
• In his three starts in place of Wertz, Tahj Eaddy averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals.
• Over the last five games, Keshawn Justice is averaging 9.6 points on 47.6 percent shooting from the field (20-for-42) and 6.8 rebounds. He has led the team in rebounding the last three games.

THE PEPPERDINE SERIES...
The Broncos hold a 79-62 lead, including wins in six of the last nine, in a series that began in 1956. Santa Clara had captured the last six regular season meetings, but the Waves won in the opening round of the 2018 WCC Tournament. The teams have split the six all-time meetings in the tourney.

BRONCOS IN THE WCC TOURNEY
Santa Clara has a 29-31 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 inaugural year and at the end of 1992-93. Thursday's win over Portland snapped a three-game skid in the tournament.

2️⃣ 0️⃣ wins for the first time in 7️⃣ seasons and only the 4th time in the last 1️⃣ 9️⃣ years! #FridayFeeling | #TeamFirst | #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/hvpRuxcIDn

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) March 6, 2020

RADIO
Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst) call the action during the season on radio and through WCC Network at home. As in the past two seasons, nearly all games were heard on either KDOW-AM 1220 or KTRB-AM 860. In addition, every game this year can also be found on the Tunein app. Friday's game can be heard on KDOW-AM 1220 and through Tunein. Click here for the complete list of 2019-20 radio broadcast outlets.

TICKETS
The Santa Clara allotment for the men's tournament is sold out as is the full ticket package. Men's and women's single session tickets are available as are women's all session tickets. Click here for details. Tickets are also available through TicketSmarter.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (Times are Pacific)
 
Friday, March 6
SECOND ROUND
• Game 3: No. 5 San Francisco vs LMU, 6 p.m. (NBCSports California, Root Northwest, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, BYUtv, WCC Network)
• Game 4: No. 6 Pepperdine vs Santa Clara, 8 p.m. (NBCSports California, Root Northwest, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, BYUtv, WCC Network)
 
Saturday, March 7
THIRD ROUND
• Game 5: No. 4 Pacific vs Game 3 Winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
• Game 6: No. 3 Saint Mary's vs Game 4 Winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
 
Monday, March 9
SEMIFINALS
• Semifinal: No. 1 Gonzaga vs Game 5 Winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
• Semifinal: No. 2 Brigham Young vs Game 6 Winner, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
 
Tuesday, March 10
CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Championship Game, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)

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