Broncos Lock Down 3-Seed In WCC Tournament As Part Of Historic Season

Posted: Mar 01, 2022

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The 2021-22 season has been one to remember for Santa Clara men's basketball. The Broncos just recently wrapped up the regular season with 20 wins, securing their second 20-win season in the last three years under Herb Sendek which includes the 2020-21 campaign in which SCU was only able to play in 20 games total due to Covid-19. In the process, they locked down the No. 3 seed in the WCC Tournament and will take on either Portland, Pepperdine or San Diego in the quarterfinal at 9:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2, Saturday in Las Vegas.

At 10-5 in WCC play, Santa Clara finished the regular season third in the conference behind No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 19 Saint Mary's. That is the best finish from a Bronco squad since the 2006-07 season in which SCU finished second with a 10-4 mark. Those 10 conference wins are also the most for Santa Clara since the 2016-17 season (10-8), the first year under Sendek's direction.

This marks the first time that the Broncos have won 20 or more games twice in a stretch of three years since 2010-11 through 2012-13. Additionally, Santa Clara has now posted a winning season in four-straight seasons, the most since Dick Davey led the team to seven-straight from 1994-95 through 2000-01.

The Broncos began the season with a bang, winning five-straight with an average of 88.0 ppg. Among those wins were double-digit victories over TCU (85-66), Stanford (88-72) and Nevada (96-74). Despite not having fifth-year senior and 2020-21 First Team All-WCC pick Josip Vrankic for a stretch of eight games due to illness, Santa Clara was still able to navigate their way to a 10-5 record in nonconference play, their most since winning 11 in the 2012-13 season.

That high level of play continued after the flip of the calendar with the start of WCC play. After starting 1-2 in the league with losses to Gonzaga and on the road against Saint Mary's, the Broncos would go on to win nine out of their last 12 to secure their spot in the league standings. Among those victories were a 77-76 victory over BYU, their first over the Cougars since 2017, and, of course, a 77-72 upset over then-No. 22 Saint Mary's at home in the Broncos' first win over a ranked team since Nov. 19, 2004 (No. 4 North Carolina), breaking a streak of 43-straight such losses.

Every team hoping to have a great season needs to shoot the ball well, and Santa Clara certainly was able to do that this year. As of today, the Broncos are fifth-nationally and second in the WCC behind Gonzaga in field goal percentage, converting 49.2 percent from the floor. The 3-ball has been falling effectively as well at 38.3 percent, which leads the WCC and ranks 12th nationally. The Broncos are one of just four teams that are shooting the ball that efficiently from both the floor and 3-point range, joining South Dakota State, Gonzaga and Purdue.

Of course, every good shooting team has to have some individuals able to produce those points, and Santa Clara features of the best in the WCC in Jalen Williams, Josip Vrankic, Keshawn Justice and PJ Pipes - all of which rank in the top-20 in points per game in the WCC at the start of tournament play. They are the only team in the WCC with four players averaging 12.0 ppg or better. Jalen Williams not only leads the team in that department, but is also the conference leader at 17.9 ppg. Williams has scored in double figures in all but two games, scored at least 16 points in 20 games and tallied 11 20-point games, including a career-high 30 points against Hawai'i.

Vrankic is tied for sixth in the WCC with 15.1 ppg and went over 20 points in five games, including his last outing on senior day against Portland in which the big man scored a game-high 30 for the second 30-point game of his five-year career. Justice is averaging 13.0 ppg, good for 16th in the league while PJ Pipes is 20th at 12.3 ppg. Pipes has particularly been on fire as of late, averaging 20.8 ppg over the last four games.

Momentum is on the Broncos' side and they will look to keep it rolling this weekend in the WCC Tournament. For all information concerning the tournament, check out the WCC Tournament Central.