Cal Poly Faces UC Irvine Thursday in Big West Tournament Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 11

Las Vegas, Nev.

5 p.m.

No. 2 UC Irvine

Photo by: Big West Conference

Cal Poly Faces UC Irvine Thursday in Big West Tournament Quarterfinals

3/10/2021 12:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

UC IRVINE GAME PREVIEW - MARCH 10
BIG WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

LAS VEGAS – Two days after winning its first Big West Conference Tournament game in seven years, the 10th-seeded Cal Poly men's basketball program faces No. 2 UC Irvine in a Thursday, March 11 quarterfinal matchup. Tip time from the Michelob ULTRA Arena inside Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is 5 p.m. with action streamed via ESPN3. Thursday's winner advances to face either No. 3 UC Riverside or No. 6 Hawai'i on Friday, March 12 in a 9 p.m. semifinal contest. Cal Poly, returning to the postseason after a three-year hiatus, advanced to the quarterfinals by eliminating No. 7 Cal State Fullerton in Tuesday's opening round, 87-82. The win marked the first time since 1994 that a No. 10 seed had won a Big West Tournament game. Cal Poly (4-19) looks to reach the Big West Tournament semifinals for the first time since capturing the 2014 title while UC Irvine (16-8) – champions in 2015 and 2019 – seeks its ninth successive semifinal appearance (the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

MEDIA ADVISORY, WE ARE CAL POLY: When referring to any Cal Poly athletics program, please use only "Cal Poly" to denote the school. Please refrain from using names such as "Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo," "Cal Poly-SLO," "CPSU," "Cal Poly State" and "Polytechnic State University." Cal Poly is a separate institution from Division II Cal Poly Pomona.

FOLLOW CAL POLY AT THE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT: Chris Sylvester provides play-by-play for each of Cal Poly's Big West Tournament games for ESPN 1280 in San Luis Obispo County and on GoPoly.com HERE … live stats and streaming video via ESPN3 will also be available through GoPoly.com HERE.

A NOTABLE TUESDAY: With its 87-82, opening-round victory against Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, Cal Poly …
- Became the first No. 10 seed to win a Big West Tournament game since UC Irvine defeated No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on March 10, 1994;
- Remained undefeated against Cal State Fullerton at the Big West Tournament in two all-time meetings;
- Won the program's first Big West Tournament game since edging CSUN for the 2014 title;
- Helped second-year head coach John Smith win his first postseason game in charge of the Mustangs.

CAL POLY AT THE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT: Cal Poly is 11-15 in 17 Big West Tournament appearances and, aside from capturing the 2014 title, the Mustangs have advanced to the championship game in 2003 and 2007. Cal Poly has reached the semifinals in six of 16 previous Big West Tournament appearances (2003, 2006-07, 2012-14). Cal Poly's three semifinal losses occurred in 2006, when the fourth-seeded Mustangs fell versus No. 1 Pacific (68-57); 2012, when fourth-seeded Cal Poly dropped a 64-52 decision against No. 2 UC Santa Barbara, and in 2013, when a last-second Pacific shot eliminated third-seeded Cal Poly, 55-53. Overall, Cal Poly is 8-9 during its first tournament game, 3-3 in semifinal matchups and 1-2 in championship games.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: After dropping both series games at UC Irvine (Jan. 22-23), Cal Poly looks to overturn an eight-game slide versus the Anteaters dating to the 2017-18 season. Overall, UC Irvine has won 14 of the last 15 matchups against Cal Poly. The Anteaters lead both the all-time (38-22) and Division I (35-19) series.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE AT THE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT: Cal Poly holds a 2-2 record versus UC Irvine at the Big West Tournament with the Anteaters prevailing in the last meeting on March 10, 2016, securing an 84-64 quarterfinal victory. Cal Poly's most notable postseason win against UC Irvine came on March 14, 2014 as the seventh-seeded Mustangs eliminated top-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals, 61-58. Cal Poly also defeated UC Irvine to open the 2010 tournament (73-69) while the Anteaters topped the Mustangs in the 2001 opening round (71-66).

BIG WEST SEEDING: Thursday's Big West Tournament quarterfinal matchup marks the 10th consecutive game where Cal Poly will play as a lower seed. After playing as the lower seed in Tuesday's opening-round victory against Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly lost quarterfinal games as a lower seed from 2015-2018, played as the lower seed during all three matchups during the 2014 title run and was eliminated as a lower seed by Pacific in the 2013 semifinals. Cal Poly last played as a higher seed in 2013, eliminating sixth-seeded UC Davis in the quarterfinals, 64-41.

KOROMA'S SUPERB SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Cal Poly's leader with 15 double-digit scoring games this season after recording just three in 26 appearances last winter, sophomore forward Alimamy Koroma enters the program's March 11 Big West Tournament semifinal matchup versus UC Irvine leading the Mustangs in points (13.2), rebounds (5.6) and blocks (1.0) per game while ranking second in the lineup with a 49.0 (97-for-198) percent field goal mark. Averaging 15.8 points per Cal Poly's last five outings, Koroma most recently secured his first collegiate double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds at Long Beach State (Feb. 19). One day later, he added a career high 22 points against The Beach. Koroma's scoring exploits this season also include a 20-point effort to fuel Cal Poly's Jan. 29 home victory against CSUN and 18-point games at Hawai'i (Feb. 6) and versus Cal State Fullerton (March 9). Through 47 collegiate games, Koroma is averaging 8.9 points per outing while shooting 51.7 (150-for-290) percent from the floor. Defensively, Koroma's six-block performance versus UC Davis (Feb. 26) was one block shy of the program single game record.

AS THE CROWE LETS IT FLY: The Big West's leader with 46 three-pointers and the co-owner of Cal Poly's second highest scoring effort of the year after sinking six three-pointers in a 21-point victory against CSUN (Jan. 29), senior wing Mark Crowe remains third in the lineup at 7.3 points per night. A 37.2 (148-for-398) percent career three-point shooter, Crowe ranks ninth in Cal Poly history with 113 appearances. He requires just six more three-pointers to match current Mustang assistant coach and former forward David Hanson (2008-12) and former guard Reese Morgan (2011-16) for 10th place all-time (154).

ROGERS RESUMES IMPACT: Having set a new career scoring high with 21 points at UC Santa Barbara (March 5) and matching it versus Cal State Fullerton (March 9) – shortly after notching 19 versus UC Davis (Feb. 26) – sophomore guard Colby Rogers enters Cal Poly's March 11 Big West Tournament semifinal matchup versus UC Irvine second in the lineup with 12.2 points per matchup and with 11 double-digit scoring games. 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). He then added an 18-point game at CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 8) and a 17-point performance versus UC Davis (Feb. 27). Rogers is averaging 17.6 points per Cal Poly's last five games. For his career, Rogers is averaging 10.0 points per 48 career games.

FRESHMEN IN THE FOLD: Two members of Cal Poly's six-player freshman class are enjoying an immediate impact for the program during their first seasons on campus. Forward Brantly Stevenson, with a pair of career best 17-points efforts against San Jose State (Dec. 13) and at Long Beach State (Feb. 20) and a 15-point performance versus UC Davis (Feb. 27), ranks fourth in the lineup at 6.8 points per outing. Cal Poly's second leading rebounder is forward Dyson Koehler, who has grabbed at least six boards eight times and is averaging 4.2 per night.