Cal Poly Hosts Omaha Thursday in Final Big West Tuneup

Thursday, December 21

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 p.m.

Omaha

Tickets

Photo by: Owen Main

Cal Poly Hosts Omaha Thursday in Final Big West Tuneup

12/19/2023 4:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

COMPLETE GAME PREVIEW (pdf)

SAN LUIS OBISPO – One week out from its Big West opening game, the Cal Poly men's basketball program completes conference preparations when hosting Omaha inside Mott Athletics Center on Thursday, Dec. 21. Tip time on ESPN+ is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (3-8), which squares off with Omaha (6-6) for just the second time in program history and first since Nov. 30, 1990. Facing its third Summit League opponent this season, Cal Poly looks to stem a four-game slide following Monday's 62-53 setback to Eastern Washington. Omaha, also wrapping up non-conference action Thursday, returns to the court after prevailing at home against Stetson (Dec. 17), 88-80 – just the second victory by the Mavericks against a Division I opponent this season.

CAL POLY VERSUS OMAHA: The Mavericks prevailed in the only previous meeting between the two sides at Cal Poly on Nov. 30, 1990 (93-83).

SANDERS KEEPS UP THE SCORING PACE: After missing Cal Poly's final six games last season through injury, senior guard Kobe Sanders has scored in double digits in all 11 games this year – including matching a career high with 22 points to fuel Cal Poly's Nov. 29 overtime home victory against San Jose State – and ranks fifth among Big West players with a team leading 17.4 points per game. Having also scored 20 points against both Portland State (Nov. 18) and Idaho (Dec. 2) and 19 at Oregon State (Dec. 4), Sanders also ranks 50th among NCAA Division I players with an 89.2 (58-for-65) percent free throw mark. Having led Cal Poly in scoring eight times this season, his latest offensive performance was a 17-point effort against Eastern Washington (Dec. 18). Now with 27 career double-digit scoring games, Sanders is averaging 7.7 points per 82 collegiate outings.

THE GRADUATE: Playing for the first time in two years after missing last season through injury, graduate guard Jarred Hyder – having scored in double digits six times this year – ranks second in the lineup with 10.4 points per game. Fourth in the Big West averaging a team leading 33.1 minutes per game, Hyder most recently scored 10 points against Eastern Washington (Dec. 18) and enjoyed a 25-point effort at Wyoming (Nov. 9) – a performance one point shy of his career best 26 while a freshman at Fresno State on Nov. 10, 2019. An offseason transfer from California, Hyder – a starter in all 11 games – also scored 15 points at Denver.

Q-BALL: A career best 21-point performance at Oregon State (Dec. 4) marked the fourth double-digit scoring performance for freshman guard Quentin Jones in Cal Poly's last eight outings. A starter in 10 of 11 matchups, Jones remains third in Cal Poly's lineup with 9.9 points per game while leading the Mustangs with 1.6 steals per game.

BACK IN THE GREEN: A 49.4 (196-for-397) percent career shooter and ranked 10th in program history with 57 career blocks, graduate forward Tuukka Jaakkola – after performing for Cal Poly from 2018-22, earning his bachelors degree and departing the university – has returned to utilize his renewable 2020-21 season. As one of a handful, if not the only Division I player in this situation, Jaakkola appeared in all 28 of Cal Poly's games during his 2021-22 senior season. Having appeared in 10 of 11 matchups this year, Jaakkola scored a season best 11 points against Eastern Washington (Dec. 18) to chalk up his first double-digit scoring performance since a 10-point outing against Cal State Fullerton on March 9, 2021. With 114 career games played for Cal Poly, Jaakkola needs just 15 more appearances to surpass guard Jamal Johnson's program record of 128 (2010-14).

LOOKING AHEAD (DEC. 28/30): Cal Poly begins its 28th season of Big West action when hosting CSUN on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. and visiting UC Davis on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. Both matchups will be broadcast on ESPN+ for Cal Poly, which looks to open Big West play with a victory against CSUN for the second successive season.

ETC.: Cal Poly is its 30th Division I season this year and 80th as a four-year program … Cal Poly improved to 48-1 all-time against non-Division I opposition with an 80-62 home victory against Division III La Verne (Nov. 6) … against La Verne, Cal Poly also prevailed in a season opener for the fourth straight year … Cal Poly's Nov. 9 matchup at Denver marked the programs first all-time matchup with the Pioneers with the Mustangs having now faced all nine current Summit League members … Cal Poly played the program's first all-time game in the state of Wyoming and the first game ever against Wyoming while having now faced all 11 current Mountain West Conference programs during a Nov. 11 visit to Laramie … Cal Poly has now faced all nine current Summit League members in its program history following a 61-60 victory against first-time opponent St. Thomas (Nov. 17) … senior guard Kobe Sanders was named to California Baptist's Lancer Joust all-tournament team (Nov. 17-19) after averaging 16.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and shooting 51.3 percent in three matchups … Cal Poly's double-overtime matchup at Oregon State (Dec. 4) marked the program's lengthiest game since a two-overtime setback versus CSUN (Feb. 10, 2022).