San Francisco hosts Santa Clara in travel partner contest

Jan 18, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Toreros forward

(15) and San Francisco Dons forward

(15) dive for the ball during the second half at War Memorial Gymnasium. The San Francisco Dons defeated the San Diego Toreros 64-62. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco Dons (12-8, 5-3) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (10-11, 3-5)

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2014

Location: War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, CA

Time: 5:00 PM PST

TV: CSNCA, ROOT NW

Video: theW.tv

LiveStats:  http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/usf.portal#

Last Season: Santa Clara won both matchups.  They defeated the Dons 74-69 in Santa Clara and 85-54 in San Francisco

PROJECTED STARTERS

San Francisco

Matt Glover, 8.8 PPG, 3.5 APG

Avry Holmes, 11.8 PPG, 2.9 APG

Cole Dickerson, 14.0PPG, 7.5 RPG

Kruize Pinkins, 12.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG

Mark Tollefsen, 11.4 PPG

Santa Clara

Evan Roquemore, 11.6 PPG, 3.6 APG

Brandon Clark, 17.7 PPG, 3.7 APG

Jared Brownridge, 16.6 PPG

John McArthur, 3.9 PPG

Yannick Atanga, 2.8 PPG

LIVESTREAM (Subject to Blackout) *Brought to you by thew.tv:

KEYS TO THE GAME

San Francisco

Pound the inside: Santa Clara starts 6’2, 195 pound Jared Brownridge at the 3 spot while San Francisco starts 6’7, 227 pound Cole Dickerson.  A mismatch to say the least.  Cole Dickerson is a proven scorer, and whether the Broncos go man or zone, Dickerson will have a size advantage down low.  He needs to use it.

Santa Clara

After taking care of academics, Roquemore needs to come to play: Assuming Evan Roquemore will play (he is listed as a projected starter on SCU’s game preview), he needs to regain control of his team.  He’s played 4 years of point guard for Santa Clara while Matt Glover/Avry Holmes have played exactly 2 months of point guard.  Roquemore will be key to setting up Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge.

KEY MATCHUP

Avry Holmes vs. Brandon Clark: Two excellent shooting guards who dish out their fair share of assists despite not playing point guard.  Clark scores more because his team needs him to score.  But without Cody Doolin, the Dons are fairly reliant on Holmes as well.  The better performer in this matchup will have an enormous impact on the outcome of this game.

PREDICTION

San Francisco has too many weapons offensively while Santa Clara essentially just has three.  At home, the Dons will cruise to an 81-67 victory.