MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's will travel to Santa Clara this Thursday for an ESPNU showdown before returning to McKeon Pavilion when they host Pepperdine at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 26 vs. Santa Clara (13-12, 5-6 WCC)
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 14 at 8:00 p.m. PST
Location: Leavey Center (Santa Clara, Calif.)
TV: ESPNU
Radio: https://tunein.com/radio/Saint-Marys-IMG-Sports-Network-s280256/
Live stats: https://www.santaclarabroncos.com/links/c8pf98
Gaels' all-time head to head record: 91-137 (Last meeting: 1/17/19, H, SMC 75 — SCU 55)

Game No. 27 vs. Pepperdine (12-13, 5-6 WCC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8:00 p.m. PST
Location: McKeon Pavilion (Moraga, Calif.)
TV: NBCSN Bay Area / Spectrum / TheW.tv (out of market only)
Radio: https://tunein.com/radio/Saint-Marys-IMG-Sports-Network-s280256/
Live stats: https://smcgaels.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Gaels' all-time head to head record: 70-73 (Last meeting: 1/26/19, A, SMC 77 — PEP 84, OT)

ABOUT SANTA CLARA
The Broncos currently sit tied for sixth in the West Coast Conference standings at 5-6 but are just a game and half back of Saint Mary's and San Francisco for third place. Last week, Santa Clara took down Pepperdine on the road before being narrowly defeated by USF by six at the Hilltop.

Sophomore Tahj Eaddy continues to lead the Broncos' offense with 14.6 points per game although fellow sophomore Josip Vrankic has led the team's scoring efforts during conference play with 13.6 points. All five of Santa Clara's top scorers this season are freshmen or sophomores and only one upperclassman, senior Josh Martin, has started a non-conference game for the team.

The Broncos are third in the conference in blocks per game although no player is averaging one or more per contest. Vrankic and Guglielmo Caruso each average 0.9 while Martin is the third Bronco among the WCC's top-15 at 0.6.

Saint Mary's and Santa Clara met on Jan. 17 earlier this season in McKeon Pavilion and the Gaels rolled to a 20-point victory. 10 different Gaels scored in the game, including Jordan Ford who had a game-high 18 points. SMC has won the last seven meetings between the two teams.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE
As is Santa Clara, the Waves are also 5-6 in conference play and remain within striking distance of a third place spot in the WCC standings. Pepperdine snapped a two-game losing streak on Saturday with an exciting 70-67 win over San Diego at home.

The Gaels and Waves will rematch exactly three weeks after their initial meeting in Malibu where Pepperdine pulled out an 84-77 overtime win. Saint Mary's shot an uncharacteristic 59 percent from the free throw line and 22 percent from beyond the arc in the game while the Waves made 92 and 58 percent of their attempts, respectively.

Colbey Ross, who scored 29 points in the first meeting, paces Pepperdine's offense at 18.6 points per contest, fifth in the conference, while Kameron Edwards is second on the team with 16.9. Eric Cooper Jr. ranks behind only Jordan Ford in the WCC in 3-point percentage at 42.4 percent and the Waves are also right behind the Gaels at third place in that same category.

Prior to the loss in Malibu, Saint Mary's had won the previous six matchups against Pepperdine. The Gaels are 9-2 versus the Waves in the last 11 games in McKeon dating back to 2008.