Cal Poly Hosts CSUN for Two-Game, Jan. 29-30 Series

Friday, January 29

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

4 p.m.

CSUN

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly Hosts CSUN for Two-Game, Jan. 29-30 Series

1/28/2021 11:11:00 AM | Men's Basketball

MUSTANG HOOPS WEEKLY GAME PROGRAM
CAL POLY UPDATED PLAYER GAME HIGHS

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Playing three of its next four Big West Conference series at home inside Mott Athletics Center, the Cal Poly men's basketball program hosts CSUN for a pair of games on Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30. Tip time is 4 p.m. both afternoons for Cal Poly (2-10, 0-6), which enters the series trailing eighth-place CSUN (5-6, 1-3) by just two games in the Big West standings. Seeking its fourth home win against the Matadors in CSUN's last five visits, Cal Poly also looks to snap a six-game slide on Friday. CSUN, which saw its first three Big West series of the year abandoned, split its eventual Jan. 16-17 conference openers at Cal State Fullerton. The Matadors, who rank second from bottom among Big West programs allowing 80.1 points per game, dropped both of their Jan. 22-23 Big West home openers against UC Santa Barbara.

FOLLOW CAL POLY THIS WEEK: Chris Sylvester provides play-by-play for Cal Poly's Jan. 29-30 series versus CSUN for ESPN 1280 in San Luis Obispo County and on GoPoly.com HERE … live stats and streaming video of both matchups will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

A REVISED BIG WEST SCHEDULE FOR 2020-21: This season's Big West schedule was expanded from 16 games to 18 following the offseason additions of CSU Bakersfield (joining from the Western Athletic Conference) and UC San Diego (making its Division I debut and playing Big West programs with results not counted in the standings). Modified to reduce travel and emphasize safety, the Big West schedule has been altered so that teams play the same opponent on consecutive days at one site. Each Big West program will play its conference schedule over an 11-week period with one bye week. Games will not be rescheduled should a program need to quarantine during the season. Tie-breaking procedures shall be utilized at the end of the regular season.

CAL POLY VERSUS CSUN: Including a 74-56 victory last season – a Jan. 11 decision that marked Mustang head coach John Smith's first Big West victory – Cal Poly has defeated CSUN in three of its last four home meetings and nine of the previous 11. With CSUN the second most frequent opponent in program history following UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly leads the all-time series (56-50) while CSUN leads the Division I (24-21) series.

KOROMA'S SUPERB SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Cal Poly's leader with six double-digit scoring games this season after recording just three in 26 appearances last winter, sophomore forward Alimamy Koroma enters the program's Jan. 29-30 series versus CSUN first in the lineup with 11.0 points per game. After scoring 16 points against Santa Clara (Dec. 9), Koroma notched a career best 17 points to power a Dec. 13 home win against San Jose State. Averaging 11.8 points per Cal Poly's last four outings, Koroma, most recently, scored 10 points at UC Irvine (Jan. 23). After grabbing a season best eight rebounds versus UC Riverside (Jan. 15), Koroma ranks second in the lineup with 5.2 rebounds per game.

ROGERS RESUMES IMPACT: Helped by an 18-point performance at CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 8), sophomore guard Colby Rogers enters Cal Poly's Jan. 29-30 series versus CSUN second in the lineup with 8.9 points per matchup. After missing Cal Poly's opening five games through injury, Rogers – Cal Poly's top returning scorer from last season – made his sophomore debut with eight points at Loyola Marymount (Dec. 19). Rogers, who also scored 11 points at UC Riverside (Jan. 9), is averaging 8.7 points per 37 career games.

FRESHMEN IN THE FOLD: Four members of Cal Poly's seven-player freshman class are enjoying an immediate impact for the program during their first seasons on campus. Cal Poly's third leading free throw shooter at 77.8 (14-for-18) percent, point guard Camren Pierce is fourth in the lineup at 5.8 points per game. Guard Kobe Sanders leads the freshman class with eight starts while averaging 5.2 points per outing. Forward Brantly Stevenson (above), whose 17-point effort during a Dec. 13 home victory against San Jose State marks the second highest scoring output by a Mustang this season, is averaging 5.4 points per outing. Cal Poly's leading rebounder is forward Dyson Koehler, who has grabbed at least six boards in seven of nine appearances and is averaging 5.8 per night.

LOOKING AHEAD (FEB. 5-6, FEB. 12-13): Cal Poly enjoys a scheduled bye week during the Big West's Feb. 5-6 competition dates before resuming play and the first of its final four conference series when hosting Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Feb. 12 and Saturday, Feb. 13. Both matchups tip at 4 p.m. for Cal Poly, which edged the Titans in overtime at home last season, 101-100. The two programs then played out a four-overtime matchup at Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 15) with the Titans prevailing, 105-101.