Santa Clara Basketball faces late-night WCC tournament test against Pacific

For Santa Clara Basketball, a single late-night game will decide whether its WCC tournament run continues, while Pacific tries to extend its postseason after playing the night before. Sunday at 11 p. m. ET, the No. 3 seed Santa Clara Broncos (24-7, 15-3 WCC) meet the No. 6 seed Pacific Tigers (18-14, 8-10 WCC) with a spot in the next round on the line.

Santa Clara Basketball and Pacific collide with contrasting styles at stake

Santa Clara enters the matchup with the higher seed and a 24-7 overall record, and it finished 15-3 in WCC play. Pacific arrives as the No. 6 seed at 18-14 overall and 8-10 in conference, and it reached this game by beating Seattle in the WCC Tournament on Saturday night.

The teams have taken different paths into Sunday’s contest. Santa Clara last played on Feb. 28 in a win over Oregon State, while Pacific is on a short turnaround after snapping a four-game losing streak with a 61-58 victory over Seattle. The bracket setup also makes Sunday’s meeting a “3rd vs. 6th seed” game in the West Coast Conference Tournament, setting up a test of preparation versus momentum.

Oddsmakers list Santa Clara as the favorite. The line has Santa Clara at -9. 5, with moneyline odds of -500 for Santa Clara and +380 for Pacific, and the total is set at 149. 5.

Pacific Tigers’ Seattle win sets up third meeting with Santa Clara Broncos

Sunday’s matchup is the third time Pacific and Santa Clara have played this season. Santa Clara won both regular-season meetings, beating Pacific 85-69 on Jan. 14 and 71-56 on Feb. 4.

Pacific’s win over Seattle came with defensive urgency and a low final score, 61-58. That game also had betting notes attached to it: Pacific covered as a 1. 5-point underdog, and the total stayed under 129. 5. On the season, Pacific is 15-14 against the spread and has gone under the total in 17 of 29 qualifying matchups.

Individually, Pacific’s leaders include Elias Ralph (16. 5 points and 6. 8 assists per game, 39. 5% from three), TJ Wainwright (13. 2 points, 3. 9 rebounds, 39. 4% from three), Isaac Jack (9. 4 points, 5. 4 rebounds), and Justin Rochelin (9. 2 points, 6. 2 rebounds). Jaden Clayton, Kajus Kublickas, and Jaion Pitt were also identified as rotation players.

Herb Sendek’s Santa Clara Broncos bring scoring punch into 11 p. m. ET tip

Santa Clara’s profile is built around offense. Herb Sendek’s team scores 83. 8 points per game, ranking 29th among Division I teams, and it ranks 35th in offensive rating. The Broncos also rank 67th in field-goal percentage and 25th in three-point attempts per game.

Christian Hammond leads Santa Clara with 15. 9 points per game while shooting 39. 5% from three, and he adds 2. 9 rebounds and 2. 4 assists. Elijah Mahi contributes 14. 0 points, 4. 5 rebounds, and 2. 7 assists. Allen Graves is the other double-figure scorer at 11. 5 points per game, plus a team-high 6. 5 rebounds, and he is shooting 40. 8% on three-point attempts. Aleksandar Gavalyugov, Bukky Oboye, Brenton Knapper, and Jake Ensminger were also noted as part of the rotation.

Defensively, Santa Clara allows 72. 4 points per game (ranked 139th out of 365 qualifying teams) and ranks 82nd in defensive rating. Pacific’s season-long defensive profile was described with several national rankings, including 57th in opponent scoring and 104th in defensive rating.

The late tip is also part of the immediate reality for both teams: Pacific must try to carry over energy from Saturday’s win, while Santa Clara must match that urgency after having last played on Feb. 28. If Santa Clara’s higher-scoring approach holds against Pacific’s defensive-minded style, Santa Clara is positioned to move on after the 11 p. m. ET start.