WCC Tournament Team Preview: Santa Clara

#7 Santa Clara Broncos

Record: 13-17, 7-11

Postseason Prediction: None

WCC Tournament – First Round:

• Friday, March 6, 2015
• Time: 8:00 PM Pacific
• Opponent: #10 Loyola Marymount (8-22, 4-14)

Stat Leaders:

• Points: Brandon Clark (15.5 PPG)
• Rebounds: Nate Kratch (4.6 RPG)
• Assists: Brandon Clark (3.8 APG)

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Santa Clara has won just two of their last five games. In their wins over Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary’s, the Broncos scored at least 70 points. In their losses to San Francisco, Pepperdine, and Pacific, they averaged just 65.7 points per game. However, Santa Clara proved that they can handle big-time moments with their 71-70 win against Saint Mary’s. That gives them momentum to work with.

How the Broncos Can Win It All

Santa Clara needs to score at least 7o points per game if they want to make it far in the tournament. In their seven conference wins, they averaged 64.6 points per game. They scored at least 70 points in three of those wins. Their defense is spotty, so they will need to shoot the ball well if they want to win their first game in the WCC Tournament.

I think they stand a good chance to beat Loyola Marymount on Friday. LMU is the only school that the Broncos swept during the conference season, so the odds are in their favor. However, they would have to play second-seeded BYU in the quarterfinals. The Cougars pulled off an improbable upset of then #3 Gonzaga in Spokane. If BYU comes in with too much confidence, Santa Clara could keep the game interesting and pull of the upset. From there, they can only hope upsets happen with the other top seeds. Otherwise, their chances are plenty slim to win it all.

Predicted Finish

Santa Clara should have no problem taking care of business against Loyola Marymount on Friday. Loyola Marymount will stay in the game for a while, but the Broncos will ride their momentum to advance to the quarterfinals. I think their journey will end there. Santa Clara will come out to fight against BYU in the quarterfinals, but BYU will find a way to win. The Cougars are hot right now and know they need to take care of business to keep their at-large hopes alive for the NCAA Tournament.