Dec. 4, 2014
MEN'S HOOPS SET TO HOST SANTA CLARA FOR THE CLASH OF THE COUNTY
Join the San José State men's basketball team this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in The Event Center when Santa Clara comes in for the 2014 edition of The Clash of the County. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Spartan Ticket Office at (408) 924-7589. To buy tickets online, click here.
GAMES #9
SAN JOSÉ STATE (1-7) vs. SANTA CLARA (3-4)
THE EVENT CENTER (5,000)
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
COVERAGE
STRETCH INTERNET RADIO
SPARTAN DIGITAL NETWORK
LIVE STATS
THE MATCHUP
San José State and Santa Clara first met on the hardwood back in 1909. Since then, some of SJSU's most celebrated victories have come against the Broncos. In 1969, led by Coby Dietrick and Darnell Hillman under head coach Dan Glines, the Spartans defeated #2-Broncos, 73-69. To this day it remains the highest nationally seeded team San José State has ever beaten. People may not remember that earlier that year, Santa Clara had beat San José State 62-49. Recently, Santa Clara has been dominant against the Spartans, taking eight of the last 10 dating back to the 2006-07 season. San José State's last win versus Santa Clara came on December 23, 2009, when Adrian Oliver's scored 23, and Mac Peterson put in 17 points, leading SJSU to a 74-68 victory. Santa Clara controls the all-time series, 74-29.
SPARTANS FALL ON THE ROAD TO UC DAVIS
The Spartans shot 31 percent in the first half and trailed 31-21 at the break. Rashad Muhammad's season-high 20 points were not enough to overcome UC Davis' 11 three-point baskets that handed SJSU a 70-56 loss at The Pavilion. The loss extended the Spartans' losing streak to seven games.
BAKER FILLS STAT SHEET IN WOODEN LEGACY FINALE
Jordan Baker had his best game of the season with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists against Princeton (11/30). He finished 9-of-13 from the floor and tied a career-high with four three pointers. Baker led the team in scoring over the three contests of the tournament at 12.0 points per game, and he finished +4 in assists to turnovers.
SPARTANS WIND UP 0-3 AT WOODEN LEGACY
San José State lost all three games at the Wooden Legacy last week, extending the team's losing streak to six games. The Spartans fell to tournament champion Washington (78-56), Western Michigan (79-60) and Princeton (69-54).
BAKER, ROGERS LEAD SPARTANS IN SCORING
Jordan Baker at 11.5 points per game and Frank Rogers at 10.2 points per game are the scoring leaders for SJSU. Both have played in six games and made five starts. Baker is coming off of a season-high 23 points against Princeton, and the 6-foot-9 Rogers has shown he can score inside and out with six threes on the year.
SLUGGISH STARTS HURTING SJSU
The Spartans are averaging just 8.4 points during the first 10 minutes over the last five games. During that span, SJSU was outscored by a total of 169-110 in the first half.
SPARTANS TOP MOUNTAIN WEST IN TOTAL REBOUNDING
San José State's added size this season has helped the team gather a MW-leading 277 total rebounds. The Spartans' defense is holding opponents to 42 percent shooting through seven games, which has led to 205 defensive rebounds, by far the most in the conference.
FINDING THE FIVE
Head coach Dave Wojcik has put out six different starting lineups through seven games this season. Senior Jaleel Williams and sophomore Jalen James have been a constant, starting every game. Jordan Baker has made five starts, and Rashad Muhammad has made three. Brandon Mitchell, Isaac Thornton, Leon Bahner, Darryl Gaynor II, and walk-on point guard Danny Mahoney have also made appearances in the starting five for SJSU.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara (3-4) returned the WCC's top-scoring back-court from a season ago in Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge. The two lead the team in scoring again this season at 18.3 ppg and 13.4 ppg respectively. The Broncos ended a four-game slide when they beat Rider 68-60 in their last game on November 30 at the Orlando Classic Tournament. Other wins this year have come against Cal State Fullerton (89-72) and San Diego Christian (70-58).
LAST MEETING WITH SANTA CLARA
San José State had a late rally fall short for an 89-77 loss at Santa Clara on November 12, 2013 in the two teams' last meeting. Jaleel Williams scored 20 points and Rashad Muhammad scored 15. SCU's Brandon Clark led all scorers with 23.
HOT PRINCETON SHOOTING DOWNS SPARTANS IN WOODEN LEGACY FINALE
Princeton hit its first five shots of the game and its first 10 shots out of the halftime locker room, and Jordan Baker's season-high 23 points were not enough for SJSU in a 69-54 loss to the Tigers. Baker scored 18 in the second half and tied a career-high with four three pointers.
SPARTANS CAN'T COME BACK FROM DEFENSIVE LAPSE IN 79-60 LOSS TO WESTERN MICHIGAN
San José State trailed Western Michigan 19-16 with just over five minutes to go in the first half, but the Broncos finished out on a 17-5 run and sent the Spartans into the locker room trailing 36-21. Western Michigan shot 10-of-14 from beyond the arc for the game, and SJSU shot just 41 percent from the floor while being outrebounded 33-23.
SPARTANS FALL TO WASHINGTON IN WOODEN LEGACY OPENER; FACE WESTERN MICHIGAN FOR FIRST TIME
The San José State men's basketball team didn't score its first basket until 5:14 into the game against Washington in the Wooden Legacy opener (11/27). It allowed the Huskies to start on an 8-0 which they never looked back from, and cruised to a 78-56 victory. Robert Upshaw set a single-season record with eight blocks in the game against the Spartans. SJSU finished the game shooting 30 percent from the floor. Rashad Muhammad led all Spartans with 15 points.
SINGLE-GAME & SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
For tickets to all San José State men's basketball games, call the Spartan Ticket Office at 408-924-7589 or visit the tickets section on SJSUSpartans.com. The Spartan Ticket Office is your one-stop shop for all single-game tickets and season ticket plans. Also see the Season Ticket Membership Brochure for information on this year's variable ticket pricing.