Who’s Playing
San Fran. Dons @ Santa Clara Broncos
Current Records: San Fran. 14-4, Santa Clara 11-6
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting West Coast matchup on schedule as the San Fran. Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos are set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Leavey Center. The Dons are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 77.9 points per game this season.
San Fran. took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Thursday. They came out on top against Portland by a score of 81-72.
San Fran.’s success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Malik Thomas led the charge by posting 19 points along with two steals. Marcus Williams was another key player, going 8 for 12 en route to 17 points plus three steals and two blocks.
San Fran. smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but Santa Clara ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They skirted by Oregon State 82-81 on a last-minute layup from Tyeree Bryan with 3 seconds left in the third quarter. That’s two games straight that the Broncos have won by just one point.
Santa Clara can attribute much of their success to Elijah Mahi, who went 10 for 15 en route to 21 points plus six rebounds and five assists, and Adama-Alpha Bal, who earned 19 points. Those five assists gave Mahi a new career-high.
San Fran.’s win was their 11th straight at home, which pushed their record up to 14-4. As for Santa Clara, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a massive bump to their 11-6 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: San Fran. has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 36.4 rebounds per game. However, it’s not like Santa Clara struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 38.9. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we’ll see if one team can grab an edge.
San Fran. came out on top in a nail-biter against Santa Clara in their previous matchup last Monday, sneaking past 97-94. The rematch might be a little tougher for San Fran. since the squad won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Series History
San Fran. has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Santa Clara.
- Dec 30, 2024 – San Fran. 97 vs. Santa Clara 94
- Mar 02, 2024 – Santa Clara 69 vs. San Fran. 62
- Feb 10, 2024 – San Fran. 71 vs. Santa Clara 70
- Mar 05, 2023 – San Fran. 93 vs. Santa Clara 87
- Feb 04, 2023 – Santa Clara 83 vs. San Fran. 70
- Dec 29, 2022 – Santa Clara 79 vs. San Fran. 67
- Feb 12, 2022 – San Fran. 74 vs. Santa Clara 58
- Jan 29, 2022 – San Fran. 88 vs. Santa Clara 85
- Jan 21, 2021 – San Fran. 73 vs. Santa Clara 50
- Feb 13, 2020 – San Fran. 70 vs. Santa Clara 61
