WCC Game Preview: Santa Clara vs. Portland
By James Pigott
February 16, 2012; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Santa Clara Broncos guard Evan Roquemore (0) shoots the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs forward
Elias Harris(20) and forward/center
Sam Dower(35) during the second half at Leavey Center. The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 73-62. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Santa Clara Broncos (10-13, 3-7) vs. Portland Pilots (12-10, 4-6)
Date: Saturday, February 1, 2014
Location: Leavey Center, Santa Clara, CA
Time: 7:00 PM PST
TV: None
Video: TheW.tv
LiveStats: http://www.santaclarabroncos.com/links/e43k9l
Last Season: Santa Clara won both games. They defeated the Pilots 70-46 in Santa Clara, and 75-63 in Portland.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Santa Clara
Brandon Clark, 17.2 PPG, 3.6 APG
Jalen Richard, 4.0 PPG
Jared Brownridge, 16.7 PPG
John McArthur, 3.7 PPG
Yannick Atanga, 3.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Portland
Alec Wintering, 8.1 PPG, 4.2 APG
Bryce Pressley, 8.2 PPG, 3.3 APG
Kevin Bailey, 16.9 PPG
Ryan Nicholas, 12.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG
Thomas van der Mars, 12.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG
LIVESTREAM: *Brought to you by thew.tv
KEYS TO THE GAME
Santa Clara
Quick start a necessity: With two of the teams top 4 scorers now coming off the bench (Evan Roquemore and Jerry Brown), it will be crucial for the Broncos to come out early and play well. If they could bring those two guys off the bench after a strong start, the Broncos will have a chance to further extend a lead at that point.
Portland
Big men need to produce: Portland’s big men have been in a scoring slump as of late. And I’m not talking about Riley Barker. Against San Francisco on Wednesday, Ryan Nicholas and Thomas van der Mars combined for 11 points on 5/15 shooting. That won’t get it done in this league. While Portland has four good scoring guards, they need the big men to balance out the scoring in order for the team to be successful.
KEY MATCHUP
Evan Roquemore vs. Alec Wintering: Wintering represents the young, promising, talented point guard that Roquemore did 3 years ago as a freshman. It will be interesting to see which point guard can keep command of their team and convert during the crucial stretches of the game.
PREDICTION
Based on the results earlier this week, it would make sense that Santa Clara would be a favorite to win this game at home. But Portland has been an up and down team this year and I expect more up tonight. I predict a 77-70 victory for the Pilots.