WCC Basketball Tournament Central | Bracket

SENIOR REFLECTIONS: Carlyle | Mitchell | Reynoso-Avila | Vrankic

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball, seeded No. 7, begins play on Thursday in the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament with a matchup against No. 10 seed Portland.

Tipoff between the Broncos and Pilots is set for 9 p.m. from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, fans are not permitted into the facility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were three different meetings scheduled in the regular season but those were either postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 protocol.

The Broncos (10-7, 4-5) are coming off an 89-75 road loss to top-ranked Gonzaga on Feb. 25.

The Pilots (6-14, 0-11) have not played since an 80-58 home defeat at the hands of Pacific on Feb. 20. Portland has dropped 12 games in a row.

The winner of Thursday's game faces No. 6 seed Pacific on Friday at 9 p.m.

QUICK HITS...
• The Broncos were tied for sixth in the WCC standings. With an unbalanced schedule, the league is utillizing the KenPom.com adjusted winning percentage for seeding.
• Senior forward Josip Vrankic was voted first-team All-WCC and sophomore guard Jalen Williams was an honorable mention selection.
• The Broncos went a stretch of 24 days between games due to a COVID-19 pause in activities. Before playing LMU on Feb. 16, they defeated the Lions, 72-69, in Los Angeles, on Jan. 23, and three days later halted activities.

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).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES...
• Josip Vrankic leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and is first in the WCC in rebounding (8.6 pg). He is one of just 22 players in the nation, including the only one in the league, averaging at least 15.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest. Vrankic leads the WCC with seven double-doubles.
• Keshawn Justice is third on the team in both scoring (10.4 ppg) and assists (2.17 pg), and second in rebounding (5.4 pg). Justice has connected on 8 of 21 from behind the 3-point line (38.1 percent) in his last four games, but he has missed the last four due to concussion protocol.
• Jalen Williams ranks second on the team in scoring (10.8 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) and followed with the same total on Feb. 16 against the Lions. Williams has averaged 14.6 points on 9 of 22 behind the 3-point line (40.9 percent), in the last seven games. He was only 3-for-26 on the season prior to that beyond the 3-point line.
• Williams has also been more a facilitator of late, averaging 3.7 assists in the last seven games to take over the team lead in that category (2.3 pg). He is also eighth in the WCC in both free-throw percentage (78.0) and steals (1.3 pg).
• Christian Carlyle, a graduate transfer Florida Gulf Coast, is fourth on the team in scoring (8.7 ppg). Jaden Bediako is third on the team in rebounding (4.5 pg) and DJ Mitchell and Guglielmo Caruso are tied for fourth (4.3 pg).

TEAM NOTES...
• On Tuesday, Feb. 16, Santa Clara played its first game in Leavey Center since Nov. 28 when it defeated Nicholls in the finale of the Bronco Invitational. Due to Santa Clara County guidelines on competition, the Broncos relocated to Santa Cruz, California, for four games and practice from the first week of December through the third week of January.
• The Broncos have had 15 games either postponed or canceled this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The 6-0 start to the season tied for the eighth-best in school history.
• Santa Clara has held the opposition to 40.3 percent shooting from the floor (No. 35 in the NCAA).
• Santa Clara is averaging 4.4 blocks, which ranks 40th in the nation, and 28.8 defensive rebounds, 15th-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 67.4 percent (eighth in the WCC). After connecting on only 117 of 184 (63.6 percent) over the first eight games of the season, the Broncos are 146-for-206 (70.9 percent) over the last nine.
• 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.

BRONCOS IN THE WCC TOURNEY
Santa Clara has a 29-32 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.

THE PORTLAND SERIES...
In a series that began in 1946, Santa Clara leads 69-33. The Broncos have captured the last 11 meetings, which followed a three-game winning streak for Portland. Santa Clara has a 4-2 mark in the conference tournament, including a 91-60 triumph in the first-ever tourney game for both programs on Feb. 28, 1987. The Broncos went on to win the title. The teams also played last season in the tourney with the Broncos prevailing 76-62.

ATTACKING THE GLASS...
Not only is Josip Vrankic one of the top scoring threats in school history, ranking No. 19 on the career points list, but he is also one of the best rebounders. Vrankic leads the West Coast Conference in rebounding at 8.7 per game. Only five players in school history - Dennis Awtrey (13.2/1967-68), Nick Vanos (10.8/1984-85), Ron Reis (11.0/1990-91), John Bryant (9.6/2007-08; 15.1/2008-09) and Yannick Atanga (7.9/2012-13) - have led the league in that category. If not for a shortened senior season, Vrankic would find himself among the top 10 on the Santa Clara career rebounding chart. He has 642 rebounds and Nate Kratch (2013-17) is in 10th with 697.

HOW TO LISTEN
All home games, most road contests and all WCC Tournament games 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.

2021 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament Schedule

Thursday, March 4
FIRST ROUND 
• Game 1: No. 8 San Francisco vs No. 9 San Diego, 6 p.m. (Stadium)
• Game 2: No. 7 Santa Clara vs No. 10 Portland, 9 p.m. (Stadium)
 
Friday, March 5
SECOND ROUND 
• Game 3: No. 5 LMU vs Game 1 Winner, 6 p.m. (Stadium)
• Game 4: No. 6 Pacific vs Game 2 Winner, 9 p.m. (Stadium)
 
Saturday, March 6
THIRD ROUND 
• Game 5: No. 4 Saint Mary's vs Game 3 Winner, 6 p.m. (ESPNU, ESPN app)
• Game 6: No. 3 Pepperdine vs Game 4 Winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
 
Monday, March 8
SEMIFINALS 
• Semifinal: No. 1 Gonzaga vs Game 5 Winner, 6 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)
• Semifinal: No. 2 Brigham Young vs Game 6 Winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN2, ESPN app)
 
Tuesday, March 9
CHAMPIONSHIP
• 6:00 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN app)

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