Santa Clara Basketball Season Preview 2024-25: Biggest games, key players to watch and more

Santa Clara finished the 2023-24 college basketball season with a 20-13 record and failed to make it through any postseason tournaments. The Broncos open the new season with a solid core of 13 returnees, two transfers and one freshman who aim to surpass their fourth-place result in the West Coast Conference.

Here's an inside look into Santa Clara's 2024-25 men's basketball campaign, from its biggest games to key players to watch out for.

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Santa Clara's biggest games of the 2024-25 season

Santa Clara will play 13 non-conference and 18 conference games during the regular season. The Broncos open the 2024-25 campaign against Saint Louis in the Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase on Nov. 4 at the Sanford Pentagon at Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

They head to Henderson, Nevada, on Nov. 8 to meet Arizona State, which is bannered by five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance and two other highly-rated prep players. They host new ACC member Stanford on Nov. 23 before going to the Acrisure Arena for the Acrisure Invitational on Nov. 28-29.

Santa Clara will play five non-conference games in December before plunging into the WCC regular season. They start off intra-conference play against Pepperdine on Dec. 28 at the Leavey Center and will travel to San Francisco two days later to take on the Dons.

They will play San Francisco, San Diego, Oregon State, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga, Washington State, Saint Mary's and Pacific twice in a home-and-away format and visit Portland on February 6 at the Chiles Center.

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Top Santa Clara players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season

#1. Adama-Alpha Bal

Adama Bal (Image Source: IMAGN)

Adama-Alpha Bal excelled in his first season with the Broncos, averaging 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The six-foot-seven transfer out of Arizona suited up for 30 games and played 31.1 minutes each contest.

The Frenchman shot 43.3% from the field, including 35.4% from the 3-point line, and made 82.1% of his attempts from the free-throw line.

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#2. Johnny O'Neil

Johnny O'Neil (Image Source: IMAGN)

Johnny O'Neil was Santa Clara's third-leading scorer, putting up 11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 1.6 apg. The 6-foot-10 forward played in all 33 games for the Broncos and shot 43.5% from the field, including 32.5% from way downtown.

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#3. Elijah Mahi

Elijah Mahi is coming off an MVP season at the CCCAA State Tournament, where he averaged 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while leading West Valley College to a 33-0 record and subsequently winning the state championship title last season. The six-foot-seven forward was named California Player of the Year.

Mahi is expected to be a key piece in the small forward spot for Santa Clara, which already has a solid frontcourt duo in Johnny O'Neil and Christoph Tilly.

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Santa Clara's 2024-25 season preview

Santa Clara approaches the new season with an intact roster, strengthened by two transfers and a freshman. The offense will still revolve around Adama Bal and Johnny O'Neil but they got new weapons in Elijah Mahi and Allen Graves.

This lineup brings in the experience of last season and is expected to contend for the WCC regular season title and possibly the conference tournament, where an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament is at stake.

The Broncos are capable of winning 22-25 games this season depending on how they perform against their conference rivals.

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