March 8, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Santa Clara Broncos guard Sash Gavalyugov (2) dribbles a basketball against Pacific Tigers guard Jayden Clayton (6) during the first half at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Image Santa Clara is on the verge of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years, but coach Herb Sendek won’t rely on the opinions of March Madness experts.
The overarching belief is that the Broncos’ drought will end, but if Santa Clara can defeat top-seeded and No. 12 Gonzaga (29-3) in the West Coast Conference title game in Las Vegas, it could punch its ticket on its own terms Tuesday night.
The third-seeded Broncos (26-7) took a big step toward advancing to the 68-team NCAA field by defeating second-seeded St. Mary’s 76-71 in the semifinals Monday night.
“It doesn’t matter what I think, I’m here to learn,” Sendek said after earning his 600th career win. “Let’s just play the game (Tuesday). That was our message. We’re not trying to make the situation worse, and we’re not signing up for bracketologists.”
Tuesday will mark Santa Clara’s first appearance in a conference championship game since 2007, when the team lost to Gonzaga. And the NCAA Tournament famine dates back to 1996, when the Broncos made three appearances in four seasons during the Steve Nash era.
Current players are well aware that history is within reach.
Super-confident Broncos guard Sash Gavalyugov is already predicting an NCAA Tournament run.
“We are not satisfied with just getting to March Madness,” Gavayugov said. “We want to win it all. We have something special and we can achieve it this year.”
Gavalyugov scored 23 points against St. Mary’s, providing the biggest moment of the game.
The Gaels were down by two points and decided not to foul. Then, with the shot clock winding down, Gavalyugov buried the dagger well behind the 3-point line to give the Broncos a five-point lead with 12.1 seconds left to play.
“I feel pretty confident at the moment,” Gavayugov said. “I am not afraid of failure.”
Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara during the regular season, 89-77 at home on January 8 and 94-86 on the road on February 14. WCC Player of the Year Graham Ike averaged 27.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in the win.
Sendek said he doesn’t think his club will be affected by the regular season outcome against the Bulldogs.
“We’re a team that keeps a very even keel,” he said. “They don’t get too excited when things aren’t in our favor.”
The Bulldogs beat Oregon State 65-56 in the semifinals on Monday. Gonzaga will be looking for its 22nd WCC Tournament title in the last 28 seasons.
It will be the Bulldogs’ final WCC championship game before exiting for the rebuilt Pac-12.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few said the tournament had no sentimental value.
“Not really. The times are so competitive that we’re just trying to keep the momentum going into the NCAA tournament,” he said. “It would be great to win here in our last WCC tournament. We’ve had a lot of big wins here.”
Ike recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Oregon State. In his eyes, the Bulldogs have a lot to play for on Tuesday.
“This would mean a lot to our team and our senior group, and certainly to the legacy of Gonzaga and the WCC,” Ike said of winning the tournament.
Speaking just before the start of the Santa Clara-Saint Mary game, Few said he was very impressed with the Broncos.
“They have a really, really good style,” he said. “They will come at you and chase you for defensive purposes.”
–Field level media
