Santa Clara eager to prevail in final WCC meeting with No. 12 Gonzaga

Santa Clara is enjoying a memorable season, but it can boost its success to another level when it hosts No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday night in a battle for first place in the West Coast Conference.

The Broncos have won nine straight games since losing 89-77 to the Bulldogs on Jan. 8 in Spokane, Wash. This contest also marks the last regular-season battle between programs that have been in the same conference for the past 46 seasons and first met in 1959.

"We'll keep it straightforward," Santa Clara guard Sash Gavalyugov said.