Cal Poly Visits UC Irvine Thursday, CSUN Saturday on Spectrum SportsNet

Thursday, February 9

Irvine, CA

7 p.m.

UC Irvine

Photo by: Eyasu Betwos

Cal Poly Visits UC Irvine Thursday, CSUN Saturday on Spectrum SportsNet

2/8/2023 1:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

COMPLETE WEEKLY PREVIEW

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Prior to closing the regular season with four of six games at home, the Cal Poly men's basketball program visits UC Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. and CSUN on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. Both matchups will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Saturday's game at CSUN also televised on Spectrum SportsNet. After opening Big West Conference action with a Dec. 29 home victory against CSUN, Cal Poly (7-17, 1-11) has dropped 11 straight – most recently falling at home to Hawai'i (Feb. 4), 69-56. Ranked 42nd among NCAA Division I programs with a 75.1 percent free throw mark, Cal Poly – following Saturday's setback to Hawai'i and coupled with CSUN's home victory against Big West leader UC Santa Barbara – slipped to 11th place in the Big West standings. The Big West's top scoring program at 77.1 points per night, second place UC Irvine (15-8, 8-3) remained one game behind UC Santa Barbara in the Big West standings following a 93-88 loss at Long Beach State (Feb. 4). Winners of two of its last four after opening Big West play with eight straight defeats, CSUN (5-18, 2-10) is last among conference programs with a 39.6 percent field goal mark.

FOLLOW CAL POLY SATURDAY: Both Thursday's matchup at UC Irvine and Saturday's game at CSUN will be streamed via ESPN+ HERE with the CSUN contest also televised on Spectrum SportsNet … Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer has the audio play-by-play call of both games for ESPN 1280 (San Luis Obispo County) and GoPoly.com HERE … live stats will also be available via GoPoly.com HERE.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: Cal Poly's 65-54 home victory in its last matchup against the Anteaters on March 3, 2022 snapped a 10-game slide versus UC Irvine. The Mustangs, however, have prevailed just once in their last 11 games inside the Bren Events Center, delivering a 79-66 decision on Jan. 26, 2017. UC Irvine leads both the all-time (40-23) and Division I (37-20) series.

CAL POLY VERSUS CSUN: The Mustangs seek their first victory inside the Matadome in the previous five attempts with Cal Poly's last triumph an 85-71 decision on Feb. 15, 2017. With CSUN the second most frequent opponent in Cal Poly's history, the Mustangs lead the all-time series (58-53) while CSUN leads the Division I series (27-23).

MUSTANGS FROM THE LINE: Cal Poly enters Thursday's matchup at UC Irvine ranked 42nd among 352 Division I programs with a Big West leading 75.1 (269-for-358) percent free throw mark. Highlighted by 9-for-9 performances against San Diego Christian (Dec. 22) and at UC Riverside (Jan. 16), a 16-for-17 (94.1 percent) outing versus California Baptist (Dec. 3) and 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) effort against Hawai'i (Feb. 4), Cal Poly has shot better than 81 percent from the free throw line 10 times.

KOROMA REMAINS CAL POLY'S OFFENSIVE CATALYST: One of Cal Poly's top two scorers for a third successive season, forward Alimamy Koroma leads the Mustangs with 10.6 points per game following a 17-point outing at UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 2) and a season high 23-point performance versus Idaho (Nov. 23). Third among Big West players with a 50.5 (94-for-186) percent field goal mark, Koroma – with 50 career double-digit scoring games (including a team leading 14 this season) – is averaging 10.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.3 (395-for-785) percent through 100 collegiate outings and 68 starts. The 25th player in program history to score 1,000 points as a Mustang, Koroma ranks fifth all-time 80 career blocks, 15th with 478 collegiate rebounds and 23rd with 1,056 points.

TAYLOR MADE OUTPUT: Cal Poly's second leading scorer at 9.5 points per game and with a season best 21-point effort at UC Riverside (Jan. 16), senior guard Trevon Taylor completed a second career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 20). Taylor also owns a 20-point night against UC San Diego (Jan. 19) and 13-point efforts at Washington (Dec. 13) and Long Beach State (Jan. 12) while grabbing a career best 11 rebounds versus Long Beach State (Jan. 26). The only Mustang to start all 24 games this season, Taylor – who has produced 11 double-digit scoring games this year – also leads Cal Poly with 5.2 rebounds per game.

STEVENSON'S CAREER DAYS: Forward Brantly Stevenson had never scored more than 17 points in a collegiate game entering his junior season, but has bettered the total three times this year with a career best 23 points at Pacific (Nov. 28), 20 versus Portland State (Dec. 10) and 18 against UC San Diego (Jan. 19). With six straight double-digit scoring games entering Thursday's matchup at UC Irvine, Stevenson's most recent offensive efforts include 13-point performances against Long Beach State (Jan. 26) and Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 28) and 12-point outputs at UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 2) and versus Hawai'i (Feb. 4). The Dec. 5 Big West Player of the Week honoree, Stevenson leads Cal Poly with an 87.5 (35-for-40) percent free throw mark while ranking second with a 46.6 (81-for-174) percent field goal mark and third with 9.0 points per game.

SANDERS IN THE SCORING COLUMN: Junior guard Kobe Sanders has twice led Cal Poly in scoring through 12 Big West matchups, first finishing with a season best 17 points in a Dec. 29 conference-opening victory versus CSUN before recording 14 at CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 5). Sanders remains Cal Poly's fifth overall leading scorer at 8.0 points per game following a 10-point effort versus Hawai'i (Feb. 4), but ranks first in the lineup in Big West play at 9.8 points per 12 conference games. With 17 starts in 21 appearances, Sanders also ranks second in the lineup with a 79.2 (42-for-53) percent free throw mark.

CHANCE THE SCORER: A 12-point performance during Cal Poly's Feb. 2 matchup at UC Santa Barbara marked graduate guard Chance Hunter's eighth double-digit scoring game as a Mustang. Hunter has also scored a Cal Poly best 19 points against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 7) and 18 versus Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 20). A starter in 15 of 24 matchups following an offseason transfer from California Baptist, Hunter ranks fourth in Cal Poly's lineup with 8.3 points per game.

THE SMITHS: With the addition of Jamal Smith – son of fourth-year head coach John Smith – as director of operations, Cal Poly is one of only three Division I programs with that familial distinction. Louisiana Monroe features head coach Keith Richard and director of operations Luke while North Florida counts head coach Matthew Driscoll alongside operations director and son, Chase.

ETC.: Cal Poly is in its 79th season as a four-year program and 29th at the Division I level … since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season, Cal Poly improved to 47-1 against non-Division I programs with a 72-59 home victory against NAIA San Diego Christian (Dec. 22) … Cal Poly's 73-68 home setback versus Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 18) marked the program's first all-time matchup versus The Mount and just the fourth all-time game against a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent … forward Alimamy Koroma and guard Trevon Taylor earned spots on the California Thanksgiving Jam all-tournament team (Nov. 20, 23) … Cal Poly's 58.3 (30-for-51) percent field goal mark in an 82-71 home victory against Idaho (Nov. 23) marked the highest single game total under fourth-year head coach John Smith … Cal Poly's seven turnovers versus Idaho were the fewest amount since finishing with seven against UC Riverside on Jan. 16, 2021 … due to health and safety protocols with Pepperdine, Cal Poly's Nov. 30 road matchup with the Waves was cancelled … Cal Poly held Portland State to its lowest scoring output in eight seasons during a 72-49 victory (Dec. 10) … Cal Poly's four-game win streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 10 marked the program's lengthiest since November 2015 … Cal Poly's 67-57 home win against CSUN (Dec. 29) marked the program's first Big West opening-night victory since the 2017-18 season … Cal Poly's Dec. 31 matchup at Hawai'i marked the final Division I men's game of the 2022 calendar year and the program's only scheduled game outside of the Pacific Time Zone this season … transferring to Cal Poly with 854 combined points between Long Beach State (2019-21) and California Baptist (2021-22), graduate guard Chance Hunter recorded his 1,000th career point at Long Beach State (Jan. 12) … senior forward Alimamy Koroma became the 25th player in program history to reach 1,000 points as a Mustang after finishing with seven points against UC San Diego (Jan. 19) … Cal Poly's Jan. 26 home matchup with Long Beach State marked fourth year head coach John Smith's 100th regular season game in charge of the Mustangs … Cal Poly's 36-point output versus Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 28) marked the program's lowest total since a 43-36 loss at Cal State Los Angeles (Jan. 19, 1985).