Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Basketball Beat Reporter
Members of SJSU men’s basketball and Santa Clara will be playing each other for about the 30th time in 2022.
Only difference is that Saturday afternoon’s affair will be the first scheduled matchup.
Starting in April, both squads competed in pick-up games multiple times a week, trading off each week who would make the seven mile trek.
“It’s definitely a game we’ve been looking forward to with Santa Clara just being down the street,” said third-year forward Tibet Görener.
The pick-up games began out of necessity.
SJSU men’s basketball (7-3, 0-0 MW) had only six players left on its roster when the 2022-23 offseason began. Four short for a full game, but plenty to create some monotony in intersquad scrimmages.
Facing the same five guys can feel overly repetitive, leading to a dip in intensity. An open run against new players allows for an expansion of one’s personal skillset and overall joy.
“It was something that was pretty fun,” said fourth-year guard Omari Moore. “When we get a different look or somebody different to play against it just brings a little more life to the run.”
The battle for the Silicon Valley has swung the Bronco’s way since the teams began playing yearly in 2012.
SJSU has won two of the nine matchups, coming in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017, aligning with the welfare of both programs.
Only once has SJSU finished with a higher winning percentage than Santa Clara since the 2011-12 season. The Broncos (8-2, 0-0 WCC) are on pace to finish their fourth-straight season with at least a .600 winning percentage.
The Spartans’ 7-3 start is their best in over a decade.
“It shows the city and the area and all of mid-major college basketball that San Jose is here and they’re making a difference and they’re ready to compete with anybody,” said Moore, who averages a team-leading 13.5 points points per game.
Times appear to be changing for SJSU in the second year of the Tim Miles era. A win against Santa Clara, who’s 8-2 and on a five-game win streak, is change fans can grasp and hold in their palm.
The Spartans have a legitimate chance at an upset against SCU, something they didn’t have in last Saturday’s bout in Bud Walton Arena.
SJSU was blown out by No. 11 Arkansas by 41 points after getting outscored 58-23 in the second half.
The lopsided loss should not be held against the Spartans. There’s a Mount Everest-sized gap in talent between the two teams.
Clearly Santa Clara isn’t Arkansas, but they are formidable in their own right.
A win for SJSU would let Spartans fans know it’s not ‘the same old Spartans.’
“It will definitely be a statement win,” said Görener.