1951–52 Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1951–52 Santa Clara Broncos Basketball Independent 17–12 Bob Feerick 2nd San Jose Civic Auditorium NCAA tournament Fourth Place The 1951–52 Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team represented Santa Clara University as an Independent during the 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season. They finished the season with a 17–12 record and made the NCAA tournament Final Four for the first time school history. They were led by second-year head coach Bob Feerick. Coming into the 1951–52 season off of a 9–15 record the year before, the Broncos remained under the radar. Even during the 1952 Final Four season they were inconsistent: through the first 14 games the Broncos went 7–7, including a three-game losing streak.https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/z/1/xla5jb1xkcf0z4/history_and_records.pdf Santa Clara Men's Basketball Media Guide: 2018–19 History and Records 2018 SantaClaraBroncos.com Presto Sports December 17, 2020 They found their rhythm on February 1 against San Francisco State. The Broncos' 67–51 victory began a streak in which Santa Clara won eight of their final 11 games, capped by an improbable deep NCAA Tournament run. In the NCAA West Regional they won their opening match against UCLA, 68–59. The next day, the Broncos topped 1951 men Wyoming Cowboys Wyoming, 56–53, to advance to the national semifinals.ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 652–653 2009 978-0-345-51392-2https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/seasons/1952-polls.html 1951-52 College Basketball Polls Sports Reference December 17, 2020 Santa Clara would go on to lose to Kansas in the Final Four by a score of 55–74. They then lost again in the third-place game, falling 64–67 to Illinois, ending the NCAA tournament in fourth place – Santa Clara's best ever finish. Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=Santa Clara Broncos| Regular Season December 1, 1951 yes w yes 1951 men Sacramento State Hornets Sacramento State Santa Clara High School Santa Clara, California 62–50 1–0 December 4 yes w 1951 men Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State Seifert Gymnasium Santa Clara, California 63–50 2–0 December 7 yes l yes 1951 men California Golden Bears California Berkeley, California 51–69 2–1 December 14 yes w yes San Francisco YMI Santa Clara High School Santa Clara, California 76–59 3–1 December 21 yes l yes 1951 men BYU Cougars BYU Smith Fieldhouse Provo, Utah 59–64 3–2 December 22 yes l yes BYU Smith Fieldhouse Provo, Utah 61–66 3–3 December 27 yes l yes 1951 men Denver Pioneers Denver Denver, Colorado 59–65 3–4 December 29 yes w yes 1951 men Utah State Aggies Utah State George Nelson Fieldhouse Logan, Utah 63–62 4–4 January 2, 1952 yes l yes 1951 men Saint Mary's Gaels Saint Mary's Richmond Auditorium Richmond, California 53–54 4–5 January 4 yes w yes Fresno State College Gym Fresno, California 69–63 5–5 January 5 yes w yes 1951 men Pacific Tigers Pacific Pacific Pavilion Stockton, California 75–51 6–5 January 11 yes l yes 1951 men Loyola Marymount Lions Loyola Marymount Archbishop Riordan High School San Francisco, California 54–61 6–6 January 15 yes w Saint Mary's San Jose Civic Auditorium Santa Clara, California 65–51 7–6 January 26 yes l 1951 men San Francisco Dons San Francisco Winterland San Francisco, California 38–44 7–7 February 1 yes w yes 1951 men San Francisco State Gators San Francisco State Cow Palace Daly City, California 67–51 8–7 February 2 yes w yes UCLA Cow Palace Daly City, California 66–59 9–7 February 8 yes l yes 1951 men USC Trojans USC Cow Palace Daly City, California 57–59 9–8 February 9 yes l 1951 men Stanford Cardinal Stanford San Jose Civic Auditorium Santa Clara, California 64–70 9–9 February 12 yes w Pacific San Jose Civic Auditorium Santa Clara, California 61–49 10–9 February 18 yes w San Francisco San Jose Civic Auditorium Santa Clara, California 59–58 11–9 February 21 yes w yes 1951 men San Jose State Spartans San Jose State Cow Palace Daly City, California 66–55 12–9 February 22 yes w yes San Francisco Cow Palace Daly City, California 51–50 13–9 February 27 yes w yes 1951 men Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii 71–52 14–9 February 29 yes w yes Universal Motors Honolulu, Hawaii 72–59 15–9 March 1 yes l yes Hickam Field Honolulu, Hawaii 56–57 15–10 |- !colspan=9 style=Santa Clara Broncos| NCAA Tournament March 21 yes w yes UCLA 19 Oregon State Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon West Regional first round 68–59 16–10 March 22 yes w yes 1951 men Wyoming Cowboys Wyoming 16 Oregon State Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon West regional final 56–53 17–10 March 25 yes l yes Kansas 8 Bank of America Arena Seattle, Washington National semifinal – Final Four 55–74 17–11 March 26 yes l yes Illinois 2 Bank of America Arena Seattle, Washington Third-place game 64–67 17–12 AP Poll Pacific Time W West References Category:Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball seasons Santa Clara Santa Clara Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Santa Clara Broncos Men's Basketball Santa Clara Broncos Men's Basketball