SANTA CLARA, Calif. - There's no time to rest for Santa Clara men's basketball. Fresh off of a WCC-opening victory over San Francisco, the Broncos are set to host yet another bay area rival on Saturday with the Saint Mary's Gaels (11-4) coming to town for a 4 p.m. tip inside the Leavey Center. The game will be broadcast locally on NBC Sports Bay Area. 

THE MATCHUP
Santa Clara (13-3, 1-0) vs. Saint Mary's (11-4, 1-0)

SERIES HISTORY
Santa Clara leads 136-96

GAME INFO
When: Saturday, Dec. 31 • 4 p.m. PT
Where: Santa Clara, Calif. (Leavey Center)
TV: NBC Sports Bay Area
Audio: TuneIn (Subscription) | KDOW 1220 AM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game Notes: Santa Clara | Saint Mary's 

NOTES

• The Broncos sit atop the WCC standings at 13-3, 1-0. They are 86th in the NET rankings. 

• The Broncos are set to play in their ninth-straight home game. SCU is 24-5 in home games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season and are 10-1 on the year.

• SCU won their sixth-straight WCC opener with a 79-67 win over USF. All five starters scored in double figures with Stewart and Podziemski each scoring 18.

• Keshawn Justice is just 2 points shy of moving into the top-20 on the school's career scoring list. 

• Justice is sixth nationally in 3PT attempts (123), 13th in 3PT made (43), and 5th in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.79).

• Brandin Podziemski has won WCC Player of the Week honors twice in the first five weeks of the year. He's the first Bronco since Jared Brownridge in 2016-17 with multiple WCC POTW honors. 

• Podziemski ranks third in the WCC in rebounding (8.4) and fourth in PPG (18.3). He ranks 8th nationally in points (293), third in steals (39), sixth in FG attempts (221) and 11th in rebounds (135).

• Carlos Stewart ranks ninth in the WCC in ppg (14.9) and second in FT percentage (88.2)

• Stewart has scored 20 pts in three of the last five games and avg. 20 ppg in that stretch.

• Santa Clara ranks 42nd nationally in rebounds per game (39.7) and 27th in defensive rpg (28.4) 

• Podziemski is second in the WCC and is 13th nationally with six double-doubles. 

• Jaden Bediako is 2nd in the WCC with 19 blocked shots. The Broncos are 3rd as a team with 3.8 per game. 

• Herb Sendek has 523 victories, good for 66th all-time in NCAA D1 history. He needs one more to tie for 65th. 

• With an 12-3 mark, SCU tied for their 2nd most non-conference wins in program history.

• The Gaels, once again, are one of the top teams on the West Coast, checking into Saturday's game 15th in the latest NET rankings. Led by Randy Bennett in his 22nd season at the helm, Saint Mary's is 11-4 and coming off a blowout victory in their WCC opener vs. San Diego (85-58). As always, the Gaels boast a fantastic defense, ranked 10th nationally in scoring defense with just 57.5 ppg allowed. They also have fared well on the boards with a conference-best plus-8.7 rebound margin. Freshman Aiden Mahaney has been the Gaels' top scoring threat at 13.7 ppg while Mitchell Saxon is averaging 8.6 rpg, 2nd best in the league. 

• Saturday's game will be the 233rd all-time meeting between the Broncos and Gaels. Santa Clara holds a big lead all-time with a 136-96 advantage, but Saint Mary's has fared well in recent years, including win two out of three last season. Santa Clara lost game one in Moraga, 73-65, but knocked off the 22nd-ranked Gaels in Santa Clara, 77-72, for their first ranked win since 2005. Saint Mary's then got revenge in the WCC Tournament seminfinal, holding on for a 75-72 win. 

Full game notes for both teams are available in the links above. 

HOW TO WATCH 
Thursday's game can watched live on NBC Bay Area. Barry Tompkins (play-by-play) and Dan Belluomini (analyst) will have the call live from the Leavey Center. 

HOW TO LISTEN
All home games and road contests can be heard on the TuneIn app (subscription required), while a majority of the games can be heard on KDOW-AM 1220. Anthony Passarelli will have the call live from the Leavey Center with Henry Caruso serving as his color commentator. 

TICKET INFORMATION
Season, mini plans and group ticket options are available for Bronco Basketball! Follow this link to secure your tickets today! Additionally, you can call the Broncos ticket office (408-554-4660) or email them at broncostickets@scu.edu.

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 is reserved for season-ticket holders. Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions.

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