Hot BYU team travels to Santa Clara

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Nov 26, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard

Matt Carlino

(2) celebrates after making a three point shot during the first half of the game against the Wichita State Shockers at Sprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Santa Clara Broncos (10-10, 3-4) vs. BYU Cougars (12-7, 4-2)

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2014

Location: Leavey Center, Santa Clara, CA

Time: 7:00 PM PST

TV: CSN California, ROOT Sports NW/RM, TWC SN

Video: TheW.tv

LiveStats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?gid=scu&theme=santaclara

Last Season: BYU won both matchups.  They beat the Broncos 82-64 in Santa Clara and 96-79 in Provo.

PROJECTED STARTERS

Santa Clara

Evan Roquemore, 11.6 PPG, 3.5 APG

Brandon Clark, 17.6 PPG, 3.6 APG

Jared Brownridge, 16.0 PPG

John McArthur, 3.9 PPG

Yannick Atanga, 3.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG

BYU

Kyle Collinsworth, 13.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 5.3 APG

Skyler Halford, 8.9 PPG

Tyler Haws, 22.6 PPG

Eric Mika, 13.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG

Nate Austin, 3.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG

LIVESTREAM (Subject to Blackout) *Video brought to you by thew.tv

KEYS TO THE GAME

Santa Clara

Get Evan Roquemore going: The senior guard still seems to be bothered by early-season injuries, and his point and assist totals are down from last season.  As well as Clark and Brownridge have played, Roquemore has the most experience on Santa Clara and he is the one who can win the games if playing well.

BYU

Carlino’s second half shooting:  The past two games, Matt Carlino has shot the lights out in the first half only to go cold again in the second half.  If he can put two good halves of basketball together, BYU will be that much more difficult to guard for opposing teams.

KEY MATCHUP

Jared Brownridge vs. Tyler Haws: Haws has a 3 inch size advantage, while Brownridge is peaking just at the right time of the season.  This matchup is more about how both players perform offensively, since neither is a defensive specialist. These two players can really ignite scoring runs for their teams and it will be interesting to see who can perform better.

PREDICTION

Santa Clara is at home but BYU is just playing far too well right now for the Broncos to pose a serious challenge to them.  I predict a 87-75 victory for BYU behind strong play from Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth.