We preview the matchup between the Blue Demons and the Santa Clara Broncos on Friday night in the Bahamas in this report.
Key Information
DePaul Blue Demons (3-0) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (2-1) Friday, November 18th, 8:30 p.m. Central – Nassau, Bahamas
How to Watch on Television – CBS Sports Network
Follow @WeAreDePaul on Twitter
Game Preview
Following a trip to the cold of Minnesota, the Blue Demons head for the balmy temperatures of Nassau, Bahamas. There they will open with the Santa Clara Broncos in the semifinals of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship.
Santa Clara finished 21-12 and advanced to the NIT last season. The Broncos are led by coach Herb Sendek who previously coached at North Carolina State and Arizona State. This will be Sendek’s seventh season at Santa Clara.
The Broncos lost leading scorer Jalen Williams to the Oklahoma City Thunder as he was selected 12th overall in the 2022 NBA draft.
University of Illinois guard Brandin Podziemski entered the NCAA transfer portal and has now resurfaced as a newcomer on the roster at Santa Clara. They also brought in 6-6 guard Carlos Marshall, Jr. who was a 3-point marksman at Tennessee State last season.
The Broncos return starting forward Keshawn Justice, who led the team in rebounding last season with 5.9 boards per game and was fourth in scoring with 11.2 points per game.
This season, the Broncos are off to a 2-1 start. They won two games at home over Eastern Washington and Georgia Southern before going on the road to Utah State and losing 96-74.
Podziemski was looking super-human in the first two games, putting up 30 points on Eastern Washington and 34 versus Georgia Southern. On Monday night at Utah State, he came back down to earth and shot three for 11 to finish with 12 points.
Utah State wrote the blueprint on how to beat Santa Clara. The Aggies employed a full court press and cranked up the tempo. It was a style of play that resulted in 12 steals for Utah State.
Sophomore guard Carlos Stewart is averaging 13 points per game, while Marshall contributes 10 ppg.
As for the Demons, they have gone with the same starting lineup in the first three games – Yor Anei, Jalen Terry, Umoja Gibson, Eral Penn, and Javan Johnson. If you’re wondering how important the NCAA Transfer Portal has been to DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield’s rebuilding effort, well all five starters arrived at DePaul via the transfer portal.
The Demons will continue to go with that lineup as starting center Nick Ongenda (hand injury) will be out for the two games in the Bahamas.
Gibson was named to the Big East weekly honor roll earlier in the week. Through three games, Gibson is averaging 16.7 points and 7.3 assists. As of this writing, he is tied for 11th in the nation in assists.
Javan Johnson is leading the Demons in scoring with 19.3 points and eight rebounds per game.
Fun Fact: Santa Clara’s most famous basketball alumnus is former NBA point guard Steve Nash. Actor Shemar Moore, who stars in the CBS TV series S.W.A.T., and USA soccer player Brandi Chastain are also alums.
2021-22 NCAA NET ranking – 70
2021-22 KenPom.com ranking – 76
Sunday, November 20th - Central Florida Knights or Oklahoma State Cowboys
Depending on the outcome of Friday’s game in the Bahamas, the Blue Demons will face Central Florida or Oklahoma State on Sunday.
The Knights were 18-12 last season and were ranked 104th on KenPom.com and rated 99th in the NCAA NET rankings.
The Cowboys finished 15-15 a year ago and were ranked 34th on KenPom.com and rated 45th in the NCAA NET rankings.
This season Oklahoma State and Central Florida are both off to a 2-1 start.
The third place game will be played at 3:30 p.m. Central on Sunday.
The championship game will be played at 6:00 p.m. Central on Sunday.
Gambling Info.
DePaul is favored by 3 points.
The Blue Demons are 1-2 against the spread thus far this season.
The over/under is 151.
The Last Time
On December 12, 1981, at Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California, the seventh-ranked Blue Demons defeated the Broncos 80-58.
Skip Dillard led the way for DePaul with 19 points. Terry Cummings and Bernard Randolph scored 14 points apiece.
Santa Clara Roster
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/High School/Last School
0 Brenton Knapper G 6-0 170 R-Fr. Ontario, Calif. / Colony
1 Carlos Stewart G 6-1 185 So. Baton Rouge, La. / The Dunham School
2 Carlos Marshall, Jr. G 6-6 205 Grad Memphis, Tenn. / Southwind HS
3 Kosy Akametu G 6-5 210 Fr. Carson, Calif. / King Drew HS
4 Giordan Williams G 6-4 191 Sr. Carson, Calif. / Long Beach Polytechnic
12 Jaden Bediako C 6-10 245 Sr. Brampton, Ontario, Canada / Ridley College
13 Christoph Tilly C 7-0 225 Fr. Berlin, Germany / Alba Berlin
14 Keshawn Justice F 6-7 225 Grad Madison, Wisc. / Madison East
15 Jacob Holt F 6-9 235 So. Ladner, Delta, British Columbia, Canada / Vancouver College
21 Camaron Tongue F 6-7 220 So. Medfield, Mass. / The Rivers School
22 Brandin Podziemski G 6-5 205 So. Greenfield, Wisc. / St. John's Northwestern Academies
23 Parker Braun F 6-10 215 Sr. Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Northwest / Missouri
31 Malachi Douyon G 6-3 180 Fr. Santa Cruz, Calif. / Pacific Collegiate Charter School
44 Jake Ensminger G 6-9 205 Fr. Ulm, Germany / Ratiopharm Ulm
50 Brendan Yarusso G 6-1 160 Fr. Lombard, Ill. / St. Francis HS