The North Texas Mean Green will travel to Santa Cruz to take on the Santa Clara Broncos on Wednesday night in a non-conference college basketball contest between two teams that play very different styles of basketball. Both teams enter with identical 8-3 records, with North Texas relying on its defense and Santa Clara having a potent offense. Here, I take a closer look at this matchup in college basketball and bring you my North Texas vs Santa Clara prediction.
Our North Texas vs Santa Clara Pick
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: North Texas Mean Green vs Santa Clara Broncos
- Date & Time: December 17, 2025, 9:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz, California
- Broadcast: BallerTV
Key Storylines
Santa Clara has emerged as a strong offensive team this season, averaging just over 80 points per contest and executing well on both ends of the floor. The Broncos rely on senior guard Christian Hammond as their primary scoring threat. Hammond is averaging 17.7 points per game and the Broncos extend possessions by crashing the offensive glass at one of the highest rates in the WCC.
Meanwhile, North Texas plays at a slower tempo and relies on its defense to dictate play, holding opponents to 64.4 points per game and defending the three-point line better than most teams in college basketball. Je’Shawn Stevenson leads the Mean Green in scoring with 16.5 points per game, though the team often struggles to maintain offensive rhythm against high-quality defenses.
North Texas has won four of its last five games going into this matchup, with their lone loss during that span coming to a quality TCU team. The Broncos have dropped two straight games to New Mexico and Arizona State. Both teams will need to raise their level of play in this game that is being played at a neutral site, though it is much closer to Santa Clara from a geographic standpoint.
Betting Trends
- North Texas is 5-5 against the spread going into this matchup.
- Santa Clara enters Wednesday night at 5-4-1 against the spread this season.
- The Mean Green have stayed under the total in 7 of their first 10 games.
- Santa Clara has seen 6 of its first 10 games go over their totals.

