Santa Clara’s men’s basketball team has been subjected to decades of loss to Gonzaga and their Bay Area counterparts, St. Mary’s, in the West Coast Conference (WCC). So far this season, no WCC team has established themselves as the favorite, including the powerhouse Bulldogs. Every team has accumulated at least four losses during their non-league play, increasing the parity and calling into question the depth of the league this year. An 11-6 record has the Santa Clara Broncos in a solid position for the moment, but games against the perennial powers are directly approaching to challenge their standing.

Broncos compete against the Zags, 2023. *Source: Santa Clara Athletics*

Santa Clara vs Gonzaga

On Jan. 11, Santa Clara will get another crack at beating the Bulldogs, a team they haven’t beaten in their 26 games since 2011. In the 2023 matchup, Santa Clara had as good of a chance as they’ve ever had, leading by 14 points in the first half before falling in a loss 81-76.

The superhero from that matchup, Nolan Hickman (averaging 12.7 points per game), will return for Gonzaga this year alongside Anton Watson (13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game) and Ryan Nembhard (12.5 points and 6 assists per game), will be just some of the players the Broncos need to contain. The Bulldogs have also gained several notable transfers, including Nembhard and Graham Ike, to offset the losses of prior talent like Julian Strawther and Drew Timme to the NBA, and will have an onslaught of star players to throw at Herb Sendek’s team.

Santa Clara’s firepower is rooted in a duo of Adama-Alpha Bal, a transfer from Arizona whose average of 15.9 points per game has taken him to 4th in the WCC in scoring, and Carlos Marshall Jr, who comes in at 14.2 points per game, 10th in the conference for scoring. Santa Clara’s games this season have earned themselves more discourse online, taking down three Pac 12 opponents Stanford, Oregon and Washington State before bungling losses to San Jose State and Yale. If the Broncos want a chance at a win that may feel unthinkable, they’ll need to not turn the ball over, and get contributions from everyone else outside of Bal and Marshall.

Santa Clara vs St.Mary’s

Going into battle with Gonzaga is tough enough, but following that with a game against the St. Mary’s Gaels has the Broncos work cut out for them. St. Mary’s makes their presence felt on defense, suffocating teams in the paint and rendering them inefficient. Players often fall short of their normal shooting averages.

Santa Clara was swept last year against the Gaels, losing at home after a furious comeback but getting eviscerated on the away trip in Moraga. Even with NBA talents like Brandin Podziemski and Keshawn Justice, physical defense from bigger forwards like Mitchell Saxen and Harry Wessels stonewalled Santa Clara.

Aidan Mahaney, a 2023 WCC Basketball First Team honoree, and Alex Ducas have become the main challenges for Santa Clara, with Mahaney’s playmaking and Ducas’s sharpshooting. This season, St. Mary’s has had more offensive problems than in recent memory, and Santa Clara will need to hunker down for 40 minutes on defense if they hope to upend this rival for the first time since 2022.