SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After more than three weeks off, Santa Clara men's basketball faces Loyola Marymount on Tuesday to start a stretch of three straight at home.

Tipoff between the Broncos and Lions is set for 6 p.m. in Leavey Center. Fans are not permitted in the facility due to Santa Clara County COVID-19 guidelines.

The Broncos (9-4, 3-2 West Coast Conference) have not played since defeating LMU, 72-69, in Los Angeles, on Jan. 23, due to a COVID-19 pause in activities.

Santa Clara will be playing its first game in Leavey Center since Nov. 28 when it defeated Nicholls in the finale of the Bronco Invitational. The Broncos relocated to Santa Cruz, California, for four home games.

The Lions (9-6, 4-3) have played only twice since the teams met last month, including an 80-76 home win over Pacific on Saturday.

QUICK HITS...
• Santa Clara has won at least nine of its first 13 games for just the second time in the last eight seasons. The Broncos were 10-2 in 2019-20 and their 6-0 start this year was tied for the eighth-best in school history.
• Santa Clara has won 23 of its last 30 home games, including a 5-2 mark this year.
• The Broncos are coming off a 20-13 mark last season, their first 20-win campaign in seven years and just fourth occurrence in the last 19.
• Santa Clara has four starters and seven of its top nine scorers from last season, including preseason All-West Coast Conference performer Josip Vrankic, a three-year starter. The senior ranked first on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 pg) last season. DJ Mitchell was third in scoring (10.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.2 pg).
• Before his injury at the beginning of league play last year, junior Guglielmo Caruso was among the most productive and efficient big men in the WCC. He would have ranked first in the league in field-goal percentage (66.1) and third in blocked shots (1.1 pg) but did not appear in enough games to qualify.
• Mitchell and junior Keshawn Justice were two of the top three 3-point shooting threats in the league in 2019-20. They each shot 38 percent from behind the 3-point line.
• The Broncos had two of more productive first-year players in the WCC a year ago. Jaden Bediako was a member of the WCC All-Freshman team and Jalen Williams proved to be one of the most explosive first-year players in the league. Bediako was inserted into the starting lineup for Caruso as conference play opened and went on to average a team-best 11.9 rebounds per 40 minutes of play. Williams started the final 23 games and tallied the third-most steals (44) by a freshman in school history.
• Newcomers include freshman guard Trent Hudgens Jr. and three transfers in Christian Carlyle (Florida Gulf Coast), Joe Foley (Lehigh) and Vittorio Reynoso-Avila (Princeton). Carlyle and Reynoso-Avila are graduate transfers.

YEAR FIVE UNDER SENDEK...
The Broncos are in their 114th year, including fifth under Herb Sendek, who has been successful in each of his four head-coaching stops. With a resume that includes 18 postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year awards, Sendek has led the Broncos to three winning seasons, including a 20-13 mark in 2019-20. The Broncos had only three winning records in the previous 15 seasons, and the program had not recorded three winning campaigns during a four-year stretch since Dick Davey led it to seven in a row from 1994-95 through 2000-01. Sendek is in his 27th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).

THE LMU SERIES...
In a series that began in 1937, Santa Clara holds a 92-63 lead. The Broncos snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with last month's 72-69 win on the road. The teams had split the previous 12 meetings. The Lions have won four of the last five in Santa Clara. 

TEAM NOTES...
• Santa Clara's win at Saint Mary's on Jan. 9, was its second straight in Moraga, California. The Broncos hadn't won in back-to-back seasons at Saint Mary's since 2001-02 and 2002-03.
• The Broncos played four home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena due to COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County. They have had 14 games either postponed or canceled.
• Santa Clara has held the opposition to 38.2 percent shooting from the floor (No. 7 in the NCAA).
• The Broncos have struggled shooting from outside, connecting on just 29.3 percent from behind the 3-point line (10th in the WCC) though they have connected on 39.3 percent (33 of 84) in the last five games. They had season-highs in percentage (55.0) and made 3-pointers (11) against San Diego (Jan. 17).
• Santa Clara is averaging 4.6 blocks, which ranks 43rd in the nation, and 29.8 defensive rebounds, eighth-most nationally, per game.
• The Broncos ranked third in the WCC in free-throw shooting (74.2 percent) in 2019-20, but have struggled overall this season, connecting on only 67.5 percent (ninth in the WCC). However, Santa Clara has shot 74.4 percent (78 of 105) over the last five games, including a season-best 84.0 percent (21 of 25) against LMU (Jan. 23).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES...
• Josip Vrankic leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and is second in the WCC in rebounding (8.5 pg). Vrankic, Eli Scott of LMU and Drew Timme of Gonzaga are the only players in the WCC averaging at least 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
• Keshawn Justice is second on the team in both scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 pg), and first in assists (2.2 pg). Justice has connected on 8 of 21 from behind the 3-point line (38.1 percent) in the last four games.
• Jalen Williams ranks third on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and his offensive production has steadily increased since missing two games (Cal Poly, Dec. 9; Fresno Pacific, Dec. 15) with a foot injury. He had a season-best 18 points in a 72-69 win over LMU (Jan. 23), the team's last game. Williams has averaged 16.0 points on 46.9 percent shooting from the floor in the last three games. He has gone 3 of 7 from behind the 3-point line in the last three contests after connecting on only 3-for-26 prior to that this season.
• Jaden Bediako is third on the team in rebounding (5.3 pg) and sixth in the WCC in offensive rebounding (1.9 pg). Bediako has two or more blocked shots in six games. His 1.8 blocks per contest rank No. 2 in the WCC.
• Christian Carlyle, a graduate transfer Florida Gulf Coast, is fourth on the team in scoring (8.5 ppg) and DJ Mitchell is fourth in rebounding (4.7 pg).
• Vrankic (23 points/12 rebounds) recorded his 16th career double-double, including fifth this season, in the win against LMU (Jan. 23).

��️ Coach @HerbSendek is on the mic ahead of tonight's game!

More from Coach during the Lunardi's Markets pregame show on @tunein (audio) and the @WCCsports Network (video).#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/HkB3WgNece

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) February 16, 2021

HOW TO WATCH ON THE WCC NETWORK
All Santa Clara home games and West Coast Conference contests not shown on a national platform (ESPN, CBS Sports Network or BYUtv) will be streamed through the WCC Network. Local blackout restrictions apply on WCC Network for regional TV broadcasts, including Thursday's matchup with San Francisco. All events that are not selected for a Stadium Plus broadcast or a national outlet, can be viewed on the following platforms:

• WCCsports.com
• Roku
• Android Device
• iOS Device: Mobile • tvOS
• FireTV

For home games not on national or regional TV, Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) calls the action in his 14th season as Voice of the Broncos.

HOW TO LISTEN
All home games and most road contests can be heard on the TuneIn app. The Lunardi's Market's Pregame Show begins 10 minutes prior to tipoff with Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) calling the action in his 14th season as Voice of the Broncos.

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