Washington (2-1) vs. Santa Clara (0-2)
Sunday, November 18th @ 5:00 p.m. PST
Vancouver Convention Center (Vancouver, Canada)
Line: Washington –17.0
TV: ESPN3
Radio: 1000AM KOMO/97.7 FM
KEY PLAYERS: WASHINGTON
Forward – Noah Dickerson
Noah Dickerson returns for his senior season and is currently averaging 15.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season. He is a dominant player in the paint and can also rebound the basketball. Last season, Dickerson was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team for his stellar play.
Guard – Matisse Thybulle
Matisse Thybulle returns for his senior season and is averaging 7.3 points this season and garnered 101 total steals last season. He is the spark plug and energy of the team with his elite play on defense. Last season, Thybulle was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Guard – Jaylen Nowell
Jaylen Nowell returns for his sophomore season and is currently averaging 17.0 points and 2.7 assists per game this season. The talented all-court guard excels in the midrange game and is often the go-to-guy down the stretch. Last season, Nowell was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman team.
KEY PLAYERS: SANTA CLARA
Forward – Keyshawn Justice
Keyshawn Justice is a true freshman and was the leading scorer against Prairie View A&M, posting 15 points in just 17 minutes of action. He is currently the leading scorer on the season for the Broncos while averaging 13.0 points per game.
Guard – Tahj Eaddy
Tahj Eaddy is a sophomore guard who is eligible this season after sitting out 2017-18. He transferred from Southeast Missouri last summer. He has reached double-digit scoring in both of the Broncos games so far this season.
Forward – Josh Martin
Josh Martin is a senior who posted his ninth career double-double, registering 11 points and 13 rebounds against the Panthers. He had a career-best five last season at Cal Poly. He is a local from Bothell High School in Bothell, Washington.
PREVIEW
The Washington Huskies came into the start of their regular season returning all five starters from last season, and that experience will prove to be the driving force to their success this season. Last game the Huskies earned a hard-fought 66-63 win against San Diego and the game came down to the final possession. The Huskies are still trying to find their true identity and their stride. They are looking to shore up their 2-3 zone defense and find some easier scoring from the outside. The Huskies are looking forward to putting their best foot forward in the Vancouver Showcase Tournament. “When we get there, the focus will be on Santa Clara. You want to win that first one above all else.” Washington head coach Mike Hopkins said.
On the other side, the Broncos bring back a revamped roster of their own. Guard KJ Feagin, and forwards Henrik Jadersten and Josip Vrankic are the only returning rotational players. Santa Clara currently has an 0-2 overall record with losses to Prairie View A&M and also UC Irvine. There are eight additions to the 2018-19 squad. The Broncos are in their 112th year of existence, including third under Herb Sendek, who has been successful in each of his three previous head-coaching stops. With a resume that includes 18 postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year awards, Sendek, was one of the three youngest coaches with 400 or more career victories. He is in his 25th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).
ESPN MATCHUP PREDICTOR
HUSKY NOTES
BRONCOS NOTES
• The Broncos will face Washington for the seventh time in school history, but this will be their first meeting since 2002. Santa Clara has played Minnesota three times with the last occurence in 2007.
• Eight of the 10 Santa Clara players who saw action against Prairie View A&M (Nov. 9) appeared for the first time as Broncos. Freshman KeShawn Justice was the lead- ing scorer against Prairie View A&M, posting 15 points in just 17 minutes of action. Senior Josh Martin posted his ninth career double-double, registering 11 points and13 rebounds against the Panthers. He had a career-best five last season at Cal Poly.
• Justice and Tahj Eaddy are the only players toreach double figures in both games. Eaddy has not shot the ball well (32 percent from the floor), but is averaging 5.5 rebounds (second on the team) and3.0 assists.
• Feagin has gone back-to-back games not reach-ing double-figure scoring for the first time since 2016-17 (Dec. 22 vs. Valparaiso/Dec. 29 vs. BYU), inhis first two games after returning from a foot injury.
• Guard KJ Feagin, and forwards Henrik Jadersten and Josip Vrankic are the only returning rotational players. Feagin, a three-year starter, is a two-time All-West CoastConference selection who averaged 17.5 points per game (fifth in the league) and 4.0 assists pg (ninth in the league) in 2017-18. Jadersten has appeared in 84 careergames and Vrankic was one of the more productive freshmen in the WCC during2017-18, ranking third on the team in both scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (4.6 pg).
• Sophomore guard Tahj Eaddy is eligible this season after sitting out 2017-18. Hetransferred from Southeast Missouri last summer.
• There are eight additions to the 2018-19 squad, including five true freshmen inGuglielmo Caruso (Naples, Italy), Juan Ducasse (Montevideo, Uruguay), Keshawn Justice (Madison, Wisconsin), Zeke Richards (Oak Park, California) and Trey Wertz(Charlotte, North Carolina). Fallou Ndoye, DJ Mitchell and Josh Martin are trans-fers. Ndoye (CSU Bakersfield) and Martin (Cal Poly) are graduate transfers with im- mediate eligibility. Mitchell played the last two seasons at Wake Forest and will sit out2018-19.
• The Broncos are in their 112th year of existence, including third under Herb Sendek,who has been successful in each of his three previous head-coaching stops. With a resume that includes 18 postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year awards, Sendek, was one of the three youngest coaches with 400 or morecareer victories. He is in his 25th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).