Santa Clara Men's Basketball - The NCAA Settlement is Very Unsettling

 

                                                                                                                 

The NCAA Division One settlement was ratified on June 6th ushering in a pro sports type model for collegiate athletics.  June 6, 2025 was "D Day" for college sports programs who have to decide by June 15th to either opt in or opt out of the settlement terms.   

Here are some key points: 

Schools that "opt in" will be able to pay their athletes up to $20.5 million directly from a schools operating budget.  

Opting in also allows former Athletes going back to 2016 to file claims against their former schools for NIL compensation they were not able to have access to. 

Schools that opt out, must opt out for all sports and do not have to abide by the settlement to pay athletes directly, but athletes are able to accept NIL deals.  

There are no limits on scholarships for athletes as long as maximum roster numbers are not exceeded.  For D1 Men's Basketball, the maximum roster size is 15.  

NIL money can be paid from a University budget, but counts towards the cap of $20.5 million.   External NIL money can be offered through legitimate business sponsorships from alums, boosters, or even Investment collectives offering business and revenue generating services.  Any amount exceeding $600 to a player will require reporting to a Deloitte external compliance organization for audit and reasonableness.  Expect abuses as the rules and oversight are not yet well defined and seriously understaffed.  Imagine trying to inspect 364 division one programs each with 30 + sports.....

This changes everything except perhaps the X's and O's of how coaches implement their on court systems.  It will change the potential caliber of the players who execute these plays when the best players will be highly paid for their services and play for the more well funded power schools.

It's happening F A S T...Clemson has already formed and funded Clemson Ventures to raise donations and revenues for primarily Clemson Football and Basketball.  Duke was ready last season.  Estimates are that Cooper Flagg earned $28 million in NIL! 

How will smaller schools from smaller conferences compete?  IMHO, might not be as daunting as it sounds.  IF, the goals are to make NCAA tourneys and build your Brands national reputation benefitting the whole University, it will take more money, but not the $145 million that it takes Alabama to run football.  As it stands right now we're not going to be able to buy the 5 star transfers or recruits, but we can, as we have proven find through sharp recruiting 5 star talent for 3 star money.  

Some schools are thinking of a Private Equity or Private Credit model where strategic investments in media, facilities, brand, player development and exposure, and advertising are funded using a shared revenue or payback model.  There are those who believe that SCU's media profile locally and nationally could be enhanced.  How about just a better TV package for games?  Maybe we should engage SCU's own on campus Bronco Accelerator to analyze and make recommendations?

Lastly, in the 2026-2027 season, it's possible the WCC may not be as strong and deep as it will be this current year.  With the Zags, Washington State, and Oregon State departing, it's an opportunity for SCU to rise in the WCC and contend for league titles and auto bids from winning the WCC tourney.  It should be a major goal.  Getting to NCAA's in conjunction with investments from the above can be a game changer.  With the successes from Women's Soccer, Golf, Softball, and Men's Baseball that all helped earn SCU the Commissioner's Cup as the WCC's top athletic program this season we'll have some kindling.  Our last Commissioner's Cup win was 20 years ago.

We'll know more on June 15th.   That's the NCAA settlement opt in or opt out deadline for Division 1 schools.

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - 2026 March Madness Began on March 26th 2025

 

                                                                                                                         

The NCAA Men's Basketball transfer portal opened on March 26th and ushered in the new pay for play, buy a roster era.  Around 2,300 players entered looking to "cash in" at a new school for the 2025-26 season.  The Broncos had two of their best players take the cash with Christoph Tilly moving to Ohio State and Tyeree Bryan to Texas Tech.  The Bronco coaching staff developed them and they became "in demand" players; resulting in them getting nice paydays and a legit chance to play in the NCAA tourney with their new teams.

Men's Basketball. as we've all known it, is now essentially a free agent marketplace where the Power Conferences have the money to buy talent and, in theory, higher odds chances to the NCAA Final Four and NCAA titles.  Rumored total roster "salaries" for the Power Conference elites range from $10-$20 million as they bid for the best 5 star players a school can buy.  This season may be a "one year" open market as the courts will confirm a settlement that will allow Universities to pay athletes a total of about $ 20 million directly from school budgets with the possibility that NIL money "may" be reigned in to some degree.

Through graduation and the portal, SCU lost 70% of our scoring and 75% of the minutes played in the 2024-25 season.  According to analytics sites, those two stats are some of the most reliable indicators of future success.  Since the 2022 season, 18 of the 25 mid-major teams that made the NCAA tourney returned at least 64% of their players minutes.  The formula states maximizing returning minutes(experience), securing down level transfers from high majors, and limit reliance on Freshman.  

Last season the Broncos used this model very successfully falling just short of an NCAA bid, but receiving an NIT invite.  The current year recruiting process has used elements of the above success model.  The new Bronco roster has three high major transfers in Sasha Gavalyugov (Villanova), Gehrig Normand (Michigan) and Chris Tadjo (Iowa).

Overall, the roster has six freshman; two of which are redshirt Freshman.  We have four Sophomores, three who are redshirts including Christian Hammond and Bukky Oboye who will be in their third year in Coach Sendek's system.  Add Brenton Knapper, Jake Ensminger, Elijah Mahi, Malachi Douyen, and Brendan Yarusso who return as our most experienced roster veterans.

According to the new NCAA roster rules, Men's Basketball can have up to 15 equivalency scholarships; meaning the scholarships can be divided into full or partial rides.  Our roster has good overall size.  We have four guards 6'0" to 6'3", seven players 6'4" to 6'8", and four players 6'9 to 7'1".  Our WCC opponents also have good size and depth at center,  You can view the new roster on the SCU MBB web page.  

The coaching challenges will be significant as we will need to get the most possible from our younger players.  They'll need to learn our system as well as adapt to D1 size an speed.  An additional challenge will be to keep any younger, breakout talent on the roster going forward as the transfer portal will open them up to cash poaching from high major and power conference teams. 

The new pay for play portal may result in player development to be more like the Brandin Podziemski one and done season, versus Jalen Williams three years of growth and then to the Pros.  Hopefully, our returnees and redshirts plus a breakout Freshman will jump start this process.  The coaches goal of making the NCAA tournament has not changed.  Maybe with all the chaos the NCAA will expand the tournament to 72 or even 80 teams to make it more fair.  In my opinion, it's the least they can do after their brazen exploitation of athletes that blew up in their face.  We'll see.

So far, the non-conference schedule looks as strong as last year starting with games at the Acrisure event in Palm Springs, with teams committed like Mississippi, Iowa, Minnesota, USF, Stanford, and Colorado to name a few.  Brackets have yet to be finalized to know which teams we'll play.  I expect additional games versus McNeese St., ASU, Idaho State, and even a possible Xavier game; dates and locations to be announced.

The craziness of this March may pale in comparison to March 2026 when tournament selections happen.  Will the Power Conference "haves" rule over the "have less" and "have nots"?  The good thing for the Broncos is this roster will be motivated and hungry to prove they can compete and hopefully make strides to higher levels in the WCC.  

Next up, more roster, schedule, and intended playing style strategies.

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Spontaneous Implosion

 

                                                                                                                                   

The Broncos dispatched UC Riverside in the first round of the NIT last Tuesday evening with an offensive explosion that led to a 39 point blowout.  We entered the second round matchup with a strong momentum to face University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB).  

We used that momentum to a forge a 7 point lead at half that extended immediately to a 17 point lead with 16 minutes remaining.  UAB looked defeated, discouraged, and disinterested as they left the floor for a timeout.  Maybe their coach treated this timeout the same as a "timeout" for a terrible two year old because what happened next was unfathomable.  One Minute and 30 seconds later our lead was down to 7.  UAB was injected with life and renewed energy; which they used to punish us the rest of the way for an 88-84 stunning win.  

After our offensive explosion Tuesday, this was an offensive implosion that was possibly our most "offensive" and embarrassing loss.  You have to admire the three adjustments the UAB coaches made to exploit their matchup advantages, and, to be polite, we just couldn't or didn't know how to stop it.  Whatever energy we had in half one was sucked it out of us in  half two in suffocating fashion.  Fans and students wonder how a team that's played nearly 70 games together looked like deer in headlights and seemed not to know what to do to stay in this game.  In the words of season ticket holders, fans, and alums,  "We've seen this movie too many times before."  A bitter end to a really good 20-13 season that held so much promise; yet slipped away. 

Wins over St. Louis (120), TCU (71), McNeese(59), Bradley(87), Oregon State (94), USF(65), and Gonzaga(9) and two point losses to Stanford (78), Arizona State (66) and a one point loss to USF were fruits of a strong schedule designed for NCAA invites.   

Statistically, there was overall improvement from the 2023-2024 season on offense in FG%, 3 Pt FG% , and FT%.  However, we ranked last in the WCC in FT%   Rebounding was on par and turnovers, our perennial nemesis, showed slight improvement.  We saw noticeable improvements from Christoph Tilly, Cam Tongue, Tyeree Bryan, Brenton Knapper, and flashes of great play from JC transfer Elijah Mahi.  Johnny O'Neil led the team in rebounds and blocks for the second straight season.  Adama Bal led the team in scoring although he and O'Neil saw a drop in scoring averages year to year.

At key times, our defense was both great and subpar.  We ranked 107 in effective field goal percentage and 189 and 207 in two point and three point percent defense.  These last two stats measure how good your defense is at preventing opponents from making two and three point shots.  By comparison, St. Mary's was ranked 8th and 9th in these categories.  

The hardest thing for loyal fans to understand is the big disparity throughout the year and even mid game in both offense and defense.  The UAB game was a prime example of a number of these efforts where we lost good leads down the stretch.  Defense win games and for the Broncos much needed when their offense struggled.  

Our game plan is to shoot threes early and often with the theory being making threes opens up the paint for easier two point shots or layups.  In league, we shot 525 threes, making 210 for 40%.  The number of attempted threes was well over 100 more than any of the other WCC teams except USF.  Our overall FG% was 47%, which is good, however, we were not successful enough finishing in the paint to get free throws.  We ranked 314 out of 364 teams in getting to the free throw line.  Those are 70% + shots and valuable when the threes aren't falling.  

If nine years ago Bronco fans were told we would experience eight winning seasons and five of those were 20 win seasons under Coach Sendek, most all of us would have said "go for it!"   But along with winning comes increasing expectations, particularly with the substantial additional investments made in MBB.  Three NIT appearances are better, but we remain in third or fourth in the WCC and no NCAA invites. 

The parallels to Coach Sendek's prior stints at NC State, ASU and SCU are similar and striking.  Five 20 win seasons at each stop, 10-14 losses, no conference titles and the last NCAA invite was 12 years ago at ASU.  It's a fantastic amount of winning, but as with the prior stops the expectations were higher.  Bronco season ticket holders and fans have had higher expectations beginning at least with the Jalen Williams roster.  Our wait for an NCAA invite is now 30 years.  IMHO, too long.

I started with spontaneous and I'll end with it.  How about some spontaneous communication?  As season ticket holders, fans, alums, students, and parents we know more money will be asked to fund the next pay to play NCAA era.  We just want to know what we are "shooting" at with MBB and when and how it will be measured?  We know with Women's Soccer.  Why not MBB?  

It takes strong leadership at the top to commit to the resources, changes, and improvement needed to make NCAA tournaments.  Bronco season ticket holders and fans stand ready to take the next step.  We just need to know what that is.

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Spontaneous Combustion

 

                                                                                                                                 

It's been 41 years since the Broncos have won an NIT game and the victory last Tuesday night wasn't just a victory, but an offensive explosion resulting in a 101-62 rout.  Bronco fans, season ticket holders, alums, and students witnessed what I'll call spontaneous combustion.  The offensive fire spread to the whole roster ending in a last second, turnaround, deep right corner three by Malachi Douyen to end the game and fireworks. 

With starter Adama Bal out for the game, our team romped with stellar contributions from Tyeree Bryan, Johnny O'Neil, Christoph Tilly, Carlos Stewart, and Elijah Mahi; taking the place of Bal in the lineup.  Cam Tongue and Jake Ensminger did yeoman's work and damage off the bench.  Mahi, the JC transfer, brought a different and effective toolset to this game and this season.  He can score from anywhere at a high percentage, dished out 5 assists, and grabbed 4 rebounds.  Most effective and needed is/was his ability to penetrate into the paint and make tough shots or great passes resulting in easy baskets.   He doesn't just settle for threes when he has a matchup, he can exploit.  

What a night!  It was the third time this season that we responded with a strong win after embarrassing losses; like the most recent one to Pepperdine in the WCC tourney.  With this win, we set the all time record in the WCC for three point shots made in a season.  While making 363 three point shots on 948 attempts (38%) is impressive, but it's also a big part of the conundrum of this season.  

This is arguably our most talented and deep roster in Coach Sendek's tenure.  A team that torches Gonzaga in Spokane and then flames out against LMU and Pepperdine along the way to four Quad three losses, which are death knells to NCAA invites.  Coulda, woulda, shoulda... Begs the unanswerable question - Why?

There is no shortage of opinions from all factions of Bronco basketball.  Coaches may say "it's basketball."  All teams have off nights even against lesser opponents.  Our offensive strategy is to play up tempo and use the three point shot to score early and to open up the paint for easier two point shots.  

Sounds reasonable, but if three point shots aren't falling, we have trouble finishing shots in the paint or getting contact for free throws.  We are # 310 out of 364 teams in free throw rate or how often we get to the line.  The biggest chatter is the effective use of our possessions.  We seem to be unable to get our best players the ball in their best spots to score often enough.  We'll end up late in the clock with one of our bigs shooting a low percentage three from deep or a tough one on one isolation play.  When we move the ball, and have the right guys taking the right shots like the Riverside game, we can be formidable.  On the flip side, when we don't move the ball and are missing our open looks, we have trouble making adjustments to find better scoring opportunities.  

Tonight is another great opportunity for this staff and roster to show we're on the rise against a solid UAB team.  They are long and strong.  Hopefully our defense will start early with stops to light the kindling for another night of more spontaneous combustion.  That's a bonfire we'd love to see!!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - In the Middle of an Egg Shortage - The Broncos Laid a Big One

 

                                                                                                                                     

After a blowout win on the road at Pacific to end WCC play, the Broncos were in great form heading into the WCC tournament.  As the fourth seed, it appeared we would face Oregon State for the right to have a revenge game versus St. Mary's in the semifinal.  

When Pepperdine, the 9th seed upset Oregon State, the path to the semifinal game seemed much easier for our highly touted and talented roster.  We had cruised to victory in our league game against Pepperdine at Leavey leading by 12-15 most of the game.  In that meeting, we played a solid game with contributions from all our players; handing out 22 assists and only 10 turnovers.  Our defense was good, not great, but got the job done.  Bronco fans were excited at this fortuitous break and were expecting our momentum to continue and move onto the semis.  

Then, we flew the coop and laid an egg.  To say the humiliating loss was hard to understand is an understatement.  Pepperdine was playing their third day in a row, had won just 4 WCC games in league and was 11-20 on the season entering the tournament.   Not a great resume.   We had a week of preparation; which apparently didn't help.   

For those who were in Las Vegas and maybe to those watching on TV, we played as a team for 9 minutes in the beginning of the first half and 9 minutes to begin the second half.  Pepperdine owned the rest.  At the outset, we were having trouble moving the ball and defending, but we made tough contested threes to forge a 12 point lead,

Same scenario in half two.  We were ahead by seven early and then fell behind seven with five minutes left and could not finish.  We had no answers for Pepperdine guard Moe Odum.  His 13 assists and 19 points sent us packing.  Pepperdine missed shots early, but made them late when needed.  We made shots early, but missed them late.  Our second half 12-33 shooting including 4-14 from three sealed our fate.  Three of our mainstay scorers were 25% from the 3 point line.  Our attempts to drive and score in the paint fell short missing 4 layups in the last five minutes.  Pepperdine just seemed to want it more.  

These lapses and losses are a big factor in not earning NCAA invites.  We seem to go off the rails 4-6 games a season.  Under Coach Sendek and his staff we are winning a lot more, but along the way we struggle to win big games at key points in our season.  I'm pretty sure it's the 4th time we've been ousted by Pepperdine in the WCC tournament in the past nine years.  

We have won only 17% of our games versus St. Mary's and Gonzaga and less than half against USF in the past 9 seasons.  I'm sure the coaches pine for more NIL, Analytics, etc. needed to bring in higher level athletes, but I doubt USF and St. Mary's are flush with NIL nor do they have the facilities we offer, but they seem to be finding talent and outperforming us.

Some analytics sites rank roster performances in terms of whether they are performing above or below their talent level.  These analytics are calculated using every possession of every game for every player.  Two of the outliers this season in the WCC who are judged to be underperforming are Santa Clara and Gonzaga.  Obviously, an off year for the Zags, but they still won the WCC tourney and are going to the big dance.  This stat is no surprise to season ticket holders, fans, and alums.  It also affects student turnout when students show up and witness the St. Mary's meltdown at Leavey in the second half.  

There's no doubt that Santa Clara has been Coach Sendek's most difficult assignment by far. At North Carolina State and Arizona State there was a culture of winning.  Those teams finished third and fourth in league or lower a number of times over 9 and 10 seasons.  Their conferences were strong enough to earn NCAA berths when fourth and NIT bids when finishing sixth and eighth several times.  Not the WCC.  This pattern is eerily similar so far at Santa Clara.  We've finished third twice earning two NIT bids, but no NCAA invites.  We are likely to get our 3rd NIT invite this season due to playing our strongest schedule to date.  In our NIT invites, we have not won either of our first round games.  

I can say the horses in the Corral, season ticket holders, alums, and fans are loyal, but more impatient than ever.  I'm sure the coaches are as well.  They want the same higher level performance as well all do.  The SCU administration recognizes the positive value of NCAA tournament exposure for the University.  This was re-iterated when our new A.D. Heather Owen, attended the pre-game Bronco Bistro at our last home game and confirmed the goal for Men's Basketball is making NCAA tournaments.  

BTW, it's the similar Goal stated in the SCU 2020 strategic planning that started meeting in 2016, stating one of the key goals was "excellence in intercollegiate athletics".  We have excellence in Women's Soccer with two national championships, but we're not there (NCAA's) in Men's Basketball nine years into the plan and 30 years since the last NCAA.  

We're pretty sure we will all be asked for more money to fund this goal, given the pay for play reality in athletics and Men's Basketball.  It'd be nice to know where we are in the shot clock on these expectations and accountability for the results towards this worthy goal.

Hopefully, we'll start now if we get an NIT invite and instead of laying an egg - lay it on our NIT opponents and go deeper than the first round.  That would be worth "clucking" about!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - We Need A Van Halen Moment in The WCC Tourney

 

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                    

Before reading, clink the link below and the music should start in another window.  Then return to this window to read the story.  The lyrics start at 1 minute in the video.

Right Now

The Broncos finished the regular season with a 20-11 record, a 53 NET ranking and their fifth 20 win season in the past six years.  There were six signature wins versus teams ranked near or under the top 70 capped by a road win at Gonzaga.  All in all, an impressive year.  The strong schedule and all key players returning set the stage for an NCAA tournament run; yet it's no secret that we suffered five losses when we held and lost leads late in the second half that derailed our chances.  As a result, the WCC tournament is what's left to meet the season goal of making the NCAA tourney after a 29 year drought.   

The only path is to win the tournament and that's why I'm saying we need to channel Van Halen and do it "Right Now - Catch that magic moment."   

It could happen, but it will take something different than just shooting threes to get it done.  We have a lot of fire power, but sometimes lack the discipline, decision making, and competitive "fire" that it takes to beat opponents like St. Mary's and the Zags; who won't beat themselves.  They use and exploit matchups and have first team all conference playmaking guards who get the ball to their teammates in places where they can optimize their advantages.  That's why they win close games.   

There were six guards selected to the WCC all conference first team.  The Zags had two, SMC's Marciulionus was named player of the year for the second year in a row and USF added their two starting guards.   Adama Bal was SCU's lone first team member while Christoph Tilly and Carlos Stewart were named to the second team.  

There's a theme here.  The top 3 WCC teams all have two playmaking guards that run the offense with a pass first mentality, but they can also score when needed.  It's a combination that doesn't seem to be part of our recruiting or perhaps coaching philosophy.  

Our coaches love the players to push the tempo and shoot early clock threes in transition.  Too often when threes aren't falling, we also fall because we don't seem to go to our other strengths.  We  don't seem to be able to regroup; much like what happened to us during the second half huge run by St. Mary's.  We love Tilly and Cam in the post, but not so much for top of key threes too early in the clock.  Our bigs score it at a 59% clip in the paint, but 26% from three on about 140 attempts.  This takes the ball out the hands of our best three point shooters who are shooting threes at 43%.  More touches down low in the paint would be nice to see as well.  We can expect a press as it has been effective in slowing our transition to offense.  Hopefully, we won't devolve into the one on one dribbling into traffic we've seen when our offense stalls.   Suffice it to say, when the ball moves and we get the ball to our shooters in their spots, we are a tough out.  Exactly what we need this week.

Add a little of our recent defense and rebounding and we can make a go of it.  

The game this coming Sunday against Oregon State will be a tough tournament opener and the season tiebreaker between us.   They are better than their record and also beat Gonzaga this season.  They are a big team and have depth they use to attack the rim, an area where we have limited defensive depth.  Parsa, Rataj, and Kingz are a hand full and were tough for our defense to stop.   

In our overtime win, we had a four point lead with 3:48 left.   We did not score again in regulation and had six chances to pull away, but missed free throws, a 3pt miss and 3 missed layup attempts sent the game into overtime.  We had the ball with 30 seconds left in regulation, but couldn't get a shot off.   We'll need to rebound and make them take tough shots.  It's a game we should win, but our first round efforts in the WCC Tourney have been inconsistent.  

Beating Oregon State gives us another shot at St. Mary's in the Semifinals.  It's a great opportunity to play them vs Gonzaga, the 7th best offense in the nation.   We'll see if we can breakthrough and prove we can win big games.

So, we'll hope for a Van Halen run to the finals!

A Few Lyrics:

Don't want to wait 'til tomorrow
Why put it off another day?
Right now....
It's what's happening
Right here and now....

Tell me, what are you waiting for?  Turn this thing around...
 Catch that magic moment, do it:
 Right here and now!"
 It means everything....

                                                                                                                             

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Fever Pitch

 

                                                                                                                                      

So far in February, the Broncos are on a "heater" with a 5-1 record and four of those games were absolute blowouts.  While the fever from the flu virus has been going through our and other WCC teams, the Broncos three point shooting has been sizzling at 47%.   

In conference play, seven Broncos are shooting above 35% and four of those are above 40% with Brenton Knapper (54%) and Johnny O'Neill (47%) leading the way.  If you subtract out our bigs three point attempts that are not late in the clock, we are at 50%.  Carlos Stewart and Tyeree Bryan kept us in games with their three point shooting until Johnny O'Neill got into his rhythm and has been a huge catalyst in the latest run. 

The turnaround, run, or whatever you want to call it, is not only remarkable, but stunning considering the equally stunning lapses where we lost important games shooting threes at around 20% with a season low at LMU of 15%.  Therein lies our strength and our Achilles Heel in that we seem either unable or reluctant to stop shooting early clock threes when we are ice cold.  That strategy may be the difference between an NCAA at-large bid versus an NIT selection.  

To fans and season ticket holders, the biggest change in our success has been the ball movement on offense and some much better defense; yes I said defense.  Belief and team effort.  During the 7-3 streak since Gonzaga, on offense our assists to turnover ratio is at a season high per game while our three point shooting defense is now second in the WCC.  We are also first in defensive rebounding.  Less hero ball and more team ball; not only finding open shooters, but actually our better three point shooters who are moving to their spots and getting great looks.  Better.  

This final week of the season determines the WCC tournament seedings.  We will most likely be a third or fourth seed.  If we beat Gonzaga again and USF and Oregon falter, we could move higher.  USF plays at Oregon State and then at home versus Gonzaga.  Oregon State hosts USF and then play St. Mary's in Moraga.  Anything can happen.

For the Broncos, we need to continue the winning ways of moving the ball, taking good shots, and making the needed adjustments.  We have an opportunity to win 20 games for a fifth season and more importantly prove the early season promise of this roster by making some noise this week and in the WCC Tournament!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Gael Dominance

                                                                                                                                          

Wednesday night's beatdown by St. Mary's at Leavey continued their dominant streak against the Broncos; making it seven straight wins.   We are now 3-18 during Coach Sendek's tenure.   I hate to say it, but the Gaels by their standards, did not play well.  They were well below conference game averages in shooting, overall rebounding, and had 12 turnovers which was 4 more than usual.  We have to give the Broncos' credit for their effort in the first half to trail only by two.  

The second half was a "clinic" put on by Randy Bennett and his team making adjustments that resulted in a 26-0 Gael run that painfully lasted 10 minutes; pushing their lead to 52-26.  In the words of  Bronco fans, it wasn't just dominant, but humiliating.  While it's only one game, it's also a stark reminder of this team and a program, that while seemingly on the rise, wins few big games.  Sure, the wins against Washington State and, then, Gonzaga in Spokane were awesome, yet any momentum was wasted by two successive losses that meant more to our season.

Head scratching and swear words aside, how did this happen?  Here are some observations from the Bronco "chairback" season ticket holders and other fans.  

Our stated game plan was to "shrink the floor" on defense and prevent them from pounding it to the rim.  Limit their offensive rebounds as they are ranked in the top 5.  Force their shots to outside the paint and contest these aggressively.  On offense, the Broncos wanted to create openings into the middle from ball movement around the perimeter, then drive and dish for a three or good two pointer.  Or post Christoph Tilly and Cam Tongue low to get Saxon in foul trouble since he is a centerpiece to their offense. 

Game Plan Result:  The Gaels pounded it inside all game.  They drove the middle and got 17 offensive rebounds resulting in half of their points coming in the paint.  They also shot 47% from three in the second half.  Our defense mostly goes behind screens or switches top of the key, leaving their point guard Marciulionis to be defended by a big.  This creates the matchups that Randy Bennett exploits with impunity.  Marciulionis, the reigning WCC player of the year, controls the flow, but every Gael player runs their offense with a purpose each possession.  They are coached to know the matchups that are to their advantage.

They used these matchups to shut us down on offense.  Their perimeter defense in the second half was a brick wall we could not find a way to penetrate.  Time outs and adjustments by us didn't succeed.  They got through our screens or had another player step in our path.  If we got into the middle they swarmed and used active hands to knock the ball away and stop us from scoring.  Christoph Tilly made a run late in the first half but we were unable to replicate this in half two.  We were not patient and appeared befuddled as to what to do.  Difficult to watch.  

Bottom line, St. Mary's have the players in a system where they are able to impose their will on opponents.  At times, they run a "surgical" offense and defense and it is why they are 9-0 in the WCC.  I know there are many Broncos who continually say we have more talent than SMC.  However, a 3-18 record against them is proof we do not get the most out of our talent.  

It's not just against SMC.  We've all witnessed the wild swings in consistency from this team that continues to haunt us this season.  Every team experiences this, yet we seem more prone than our WCC competition for these lapses.  

Tomorrow against Pacific we get another chance to reset.  The chance to achieve the fourth seed in the WCC tournament is still in the mix.  With eight games left it will take a 6-2 finish to contend for the fourth seed.  One of the best things about this team is they forget about what's behind them and focus on what's ahead.  We'll need this selective amnesia big time over the next eight games!

As usual, comments welcome!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Lost and Found

 

                                                                                                                                 

There's one month left in our season, which can only be described as perhaps the most unexpected in the nine year tenure of Coach Sendek and his staff.  Unexpected in that we started the year with our most experienced roster in many years with the hype and hope of finally earning an NCAA invite only to open with a 3-5 record.  For a team with over 30 games playing together in the same offensive and defensive system, these veteran players seem lost at key moments and unable to finish games they expected to win. 

Then, suddenly after the Washington tough loss on November 29th, things have been more like what this team is capable of and what fans expected them to do.  Wins over Bradley, Oregon State, Washington State, USF, and Gonzaga, at the Kennel, proved the talent in this roster.  This latest 11-3 run has also produced a 6-3 conference record putting us in position to grab the number 3, 4 or 5 seed in the WCC tournament.  More than the record, our team KNOWS if they play the right way, they can beat any of the WCC top level teams on any court.  

The key to the above is to avoid any more losses to the lower WCC teams. The good news is the remaining schedule actually favors the Broncos as we have already played most all the top five.  For example, St. Mary's is 8-0 in the WCC, but has eight games left against the top teams, including two versus the Zags as well as two against SCU.  We have only four remaining against the top teams.

Earning the # 3 or # 4 seed is crucial if we want a chance to dethrone either St. Mary's or Gonzaga for the title.  It means one less game to play to get to the title game.  That's what it's going to take to get an NCAA bid.  IF we can go 6-3 in the last nine WCC games our net ranking of 50-60 will not earn an at-large NCAA invite.  Maybe an NIT?  

How can we do this?  We will have to be ourselves, which is to push the ball and move the ball to our best open shooters.  We will have to outshoot opponents.  Limit hero threes and threes from players who know they are better from two.  Attack the basket and finish or dish.  Limit the "dribbling" into trouble.  Play smart.  Our defense will have to be good enough to stay in games and hope for a few big stops when needed.  

That's why I'm going "lost and found."  We've "lost" enough games we expected to win and should have, and now it time to find again the mid-season mojo we had in our 11-3 run.  We'll see tomorrow night against a St. Mary's team who has had our number for a long time, if we've "found" what it takes to play our way into the WCC final.

As usual, comments welcome!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Gimmie "Five"

 

                 

                                                                                                                                      

Last Saturday the Broncos 103-99 beatdown of Gonzaga in Spokane was the manifestation of the talent this roster has on display at it's best.  This was no fluke.  It was an in your face drubbing with a second half that saw us go head to head and outplay the Zags in all key areas.  The win had the sweet side benefit of knocking the Zags out of the NCAA top 25.  

This signature win came two days after a complete meltdown at LMU on the prior Thursday, where we lost by three in one of our worst performances of the season.  This team is an enigma, in that when they go off the rails, they seem unable to make adjustments to stay in games against below average opponents.  At LMU, we shot 15% on 4-26 from three.  Didn't matter, we just kept shooting threes even though Christoph Tilly was dominating the interior.  

That's why I say "gimmie five."  There are five games coaches, players, and of course fans know we lost; most in the last 5 minutes some with leads of about 5. Think of what a 17-3 record right now would mean if we won four of those five?   OK, every WCC team has tough losses, but maybe not on 25% of the games in your current schedule. 

Even though we've suffered these losses, we still have an amazing opportunity ahead the next 11 games; 5 of which are against the top WCC teams.  By winning those we could finish in the top 2 or three in the WCC AND make a case for post season.   Gimmie 5.

What will it take?  First, a starting 5 that plays to their potential most nights and when they don't, adjust in real-time to what IS working that night.  Bronco fans find it's hard to understand why we just settle for contested threes early in the clock versus look for a better three or mismatch or a good two pointer.  Not an issue if it's early in the clock and we have a great look from three by one of our best three point shooters.  Sometimes it feels like these contested shots are an audition for scouts rather than what's best for the team.  We also have had 89 three point attempts from players averaging 22% from three.  These same players average 42% from two and nearly 70% at the free throw line.  They can contribute better near the rim versus deep.  

Next, the second unit 5 players need to play to their strengths and not just follow the three point shooting mantra.  This unit has three very good players around the rim and arguably are better defenders than the starters. Three of those 5 in the second unit are in the top 30 in the WCC in defense versus our highest rated starter who is ranked 35th on defense. 

Today we play a good Washington State team at Leavey.  They are a ranked # 12 in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage and # 79 in defense.  We are ranked # 93 in overall defense but 215+ in 2 point and 3 point shooting rate defense.   They have outstanding guards which always presents a problem for us.  A big challenge.  We must defend and most likely score like we did against the Zags or it could be a long night.

The talent is there with our roster.  It all depends on which "5" shows up.  Here's hoping for some "high 5's" after a great home win Thursday!

As always, comments welcome.  Feel free to chime in!

                                                                                                                              

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Was the Oregon State Win the "Tipping Point" of Our Season

 

                                                                                                                           

The Broncos led Oregon State by 12 points with under 10 minutes left in the second half only to succumb to a 19-5 run by OSU; who took the lead with 5 minutes to play.  Season ticket holders and fans have seen this movie many times with our team failing to finish games against good opponents.  We had a chance to win with the ball and 23 seconds left.  A careless turnover sent the game into overtime.  

After falling behind by four points late in OT, the Broncos dug deep to claw to within 1 with 10 seconds left and we had a free throw to tie the game.  Incredibly, we missed the free throw, but somehow got the offensive rebound.  A quick pass to Christoph Tilly for a 3 pointer bounced wide right off the rim, only to have Tyree Bryan come from nowhere to tip in the rebound that bounced once, twice and then dropped in with 3 seconds left leaving Oregon State stunned and all Broncos jubilant.  

So, is this the "tipping point" for the momentum needed to propel us to higher in the WCC and a post season invite that looked improbable only 10 days ago?  Two nights after the Oregon State win, the Broncos thumping of a higher ranked USF team at Leavey showed further evidence that the tipping point momentum was alive.  

As a consequence, our team ranking has moved to 66 from 95 since late November.  However, the next five games presents the biggest challenge to this "comeback" quest for a post season invite that everyone expected from this veteran team at the start of the season.  

The tests begin at LMU Thursday night.  LMU is 1-4 but those losses are to the then top 4; Washington State, St. Mary's, Gonzaga, and USF.  Their win was against Oregon State by 19.  They are tough at home.  Following LMU, we play at Gonzaga, Washington State at Leavey, at Oregon State, and St. Mary's at home.  

In addition, three of these games will be played after only one day of rest.   For example, we play LMU on Thursday in LA or possibly a neutral site, at 7:00 pm.  We fly back to San Jose that night arriving late - around midnight.  After a short practice on Friday afternoon, we fly to Spokane to play Gonzaga Saturday at 7:00 pm.   

The overarching conundrum for Bronco fans is, shall we say, the consistent "inconsistency" of this veteran team.  Something rarely seen from our nemesis rivals St. Mary's and Gonzaga.  St. Mary's and Gonzaga's 5-0 starts in league were against WCC bottom five teams.  However, they manhandled every opponent.  

To our credit, the 4-1 start were against three of the top 6 teams, but we struggled mightily to hold on to wins against both lowly Pepperdine at home and USD away.  In our great win versus USF, we were behind 7 at half and then absolutely shredded the Dons, outscoring them by 30 in the second half!  It would be great for coaches and players to be able to replicate the specific things done on offense and defense that create these great play moments, but we struggle to do it.  

Some think it is the result of lacking a floor leader or leaders in key moments when we need to stop opponents' runs.  Our roster is deeper, but we don't have a true point guard/s that run the show.  We rarely see one of our players take charge and direct a "go to" play that takes advantage of either a mismatch or a play we can execute when we need it.  We have eight capable outside shooters, which is great, and may lessen the need for a true point guard if we have the motion and ball movement; like we saw in the second half against USF.  For example, Carlos Stewart (2.9 Assists, 16 ppg) is a very talented player, but more of a scorer than facilitator.   Contrast to the Zags Ryan Nemhard (9.6 Assists and 12 ppg) and St. Mary's Marciulionis (6.5 assists and 14.4 ppg) who do both.  

On defense, we often lack the ability to get stops.  Our defense in the WCC is ranked 6th in the amount of points given up and 9th in free throws opponents make due to our fouling.  Our Achilles Heel is when shots don't fall, our defense can have trouble keeping us in games until shooting recovers.

We'll know if the Oregon State win was a "tipping point" or not for these next five games after the St. Mary's game at Leavey January 29th.  If we do our part by filling Leavey, hopefully the team will do theirs and keep rising in the rankings and the WCC!

Santa Clara Men's Basketball - Do We Need to Go to "Finishing" School?

 

                                                                                                                                     

If NCAA Men's Basketball games were only 37 minutes, in all likelihood. the Broncos would be 12-3, not 9-6.  The adage you need to finish what you've started has again proved its wisdom .  We have witnessed three late game leads evaporate into losses, none perhaps more glaring than Monday night at USF where a 3 point lead with 15 seconds left led to a crushing defeat in overtime.  Deja Vu from last seasons similar loss on the Hilltop.

This phenomenon happens to all basketball teams, yet we seem more prone than our WCC top competitors to fall apart down the stretch.  It's hard to understand, given that this veteran team has played 50 games together, yet still struggle to close out games with, frankly, freshman like mistakes.  

The latest example during Monday's game vs USF was fouling on a 25ft three point attempt with 15 seconds to go with SCU leading by three.  The USF shooter averages 40% from three point range, but shoots 83% from the free throw line and made all three.  Despite that, we had a free throw with .9 seconds left to ice it, but couldn't get that to go.  The collapse continued in the overtime despite time outs for us to set clear offensive and defensive plans.  

So, do we need to go to finishing school to learn how to close out games?  While I know of no such school, this skill would be developed in practices under stressed conditions.  

Some Bronco fans feel our style of play doesn't translate well to late game, more precise execution under stress.  Coaches like a "run and gun" fast paced tempo; which attempts to gain advantage before defenses can get set.  Late in the game and close games require disciplined, patience, movement, and precision designed to get the best players the best shot opportunity rather than the open court, anyone, anywhere shooting style.  

Our late game plan seems to be to hold the ball until 9 seconds left, then go one on one to create a shot or pass for a better look.  It seems too many times we don't get a good look or be able to find one of our best shooters; who should be making themselves available for the pass.  I haven't done the homework, but it would be interesting to chart our success rate over the past eight seasons of this one on one style in games with under three minutes left with either five point leads or deficits.  

In this past four game stretch, our shooting has been great, however our defense has not; now ranked 10th in the WCC.  Good defense stems not just from proper techniques, but also from an attitude and personal pride.  Scoring 90-94 points is terrific, but not when you give up 97.   Looking ahead, we need to be 4-3 or better versus the remaining games with top 4 in the WCC and only 1 loss to the bottom 5.  A tough task.  

Our collective record versus the top two teams Gonzaga and St. Mary's in the Coach Sendek tenure is 4-31.  It's 7-13 versus USF.  Ergo, stuck in fourth.  

We have 16 chances ahead to right the ship.  We'll see what adjustments are made to get our offense and defense in sync to turn our fortunes around.  As Bronco fans and season ticket holders, we'd like to see 40 minutes of solid play and "finish" what we start!