Mustangs Host Long Beach State, UCSB to Start 2024

Thursday, January 4

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 p.m.

Long Beach State

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Photo by: Owen Main

Mustangs Host Long Beach State, UCSB to Start 2024

1/2/2024 1:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

COMPLETE WEEKLY PREVIEW (pdf)

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Three of the Cal Poly men's basketball program's opening four matchups of 2024 occur at home with the Mustangs ringing in the new year by hosting two of the Big West's three highest scoring programs in Long Beach State (Thursday, Jan. 4) and UC Santa Barbara (Saturday, Jan. 6). Tip time from Mott Athletics Center is 7 p.m. both evenings for Cal Poly (4-10, 0-2), which seeks an opening Big West victory after dropping its initial two conference matchups to CSUN (Dec. 28) and UC Davis (Dec. 30). Cal Poly defeated Long Beach State in the opening round of last year's Big West Championship (88-68) before being eliminated by UC Santa Barbara (64-54). Long Beach State (9-5, 1-1), averaging 80.0 points per game, defeated Cal State Fullerton (81-71) in its Dec. 28 Big West opener before falling to CSUN (84-68) on Dec. 30. UC Santa Barbara (7-5, 0-2), shooting a Big West best 51.2 percent from the floor and second among conference programs with 80.5 points per game, began Big West action with successive road setbacks at UC Davis (76-62) and UC Riverside (79-77). The Gauchos host UC San Diego Thursday before heading for Cal Poly.

CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: The Mustangs snapped a six-game slide against Long Beach State with an 88-68 victory during the opening round of the 2023 Big West Championship, but have edged The Beach at home just once in the last five matchups inside Mott Athletics Center. Long Beach State leads both the all-time (57-34) and Division I (38-18) series dating to the first matchup between the two programs on Dec. 19, 1950.

CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: Since handing UC Santa Barbara a 69-38 quarterfinal defeat to open the 2014 Big West Tournament en route to the title, Cal Poly has topped the Gauchos just once in the last 20 matchups – an 80-79 home victory on Jan. 4, 2018. The Mustangs have dropped 12 straight games since. The most frequent opponent in Cal Poly's history, UC Santa Barbara leads both the all-time (82-35) and Division I (48-14) series.

SANDERS UPS THE SCORING PACE: The first Mustang in five years with multiple 30-point games in one season, senior guard Kobe Sanders followed a 30-point effort against Omaha (Dec. 21) with a career best 33-point performance versus CSUN (Dec. 28). After missing Cal Poly's final six games last season through injury, Sanders has scored in double digits in all 14 games this year – including a 22-point night against San Jose State (Nov. 29) and 20-point showings at Portland State (Nov. 18) and Idaho (Dec. 2) – and ranks fourth among Big West players with a team leading 18.9 points per game. Having led Cal Poly in scoring 10 times this season, Sanders – now with 30 career double-digit scoring games – is averaging 8.3 points per 85 collegiate outings. Equally proficient from the free throw line as the floor, Sanders – entering Thursday's matchup against Long Beach State having converted 23 of his last 24 attempts – ranks 26th among NCAA Division I players with an 90.6 (87-for-96) percent free throw mark.

MORE PERFECT: With his 17-for-17 performance from the free throw line against CSUN (Dec. 28), guard Kobe Sanders eclipsed the Cal Poly single game record of 16 conversions, equaled twice by guard Lorenzo Keeler during the 2009-10 season and established by forward Gabe Stephenson in the 2005-06 campaign. Sanders also enjoyed the top free throw shooting game by any Division I player this season (four previous players finished 14-for-14 earlier this year). His 17 conversions are the second highest total in the nation this season.

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 nine times this year – ranks second in the lineup with 11.1 points per game. Second in the Big West averaging a team leading 33.6 minutes per game, Hyder most recently scored 13 points at UC Davis (Dec. 30) after finishing with 15 against CSUN (Dec. 28) and 14 versus Omaha (Dec. 21). His Cal Poly best 25-point effort at Wyoming (Nov. 9) was a performance one 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 14 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 11 outings. A starter in 13 of 14 matchups, Jones remains third in Cal Poly's lineup with 8.5 points per game while ranking sixth among Big West performers with 32.0 minutes played per game and eighth at 1.5 steals per outing.

BACK IN THE GREEN: A 49.6 (202-for-407) percent career shooter and ranked 10th in program history with 60 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 13 of 14 matchups this year with six starts, 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. He also grabbed a season best nine rebounds against both Eastern Washington (Dec. 18) and Omaha (Dec. 21). With 117 career games played for Cal Poly, Jaakkola needs just 12 more appearances to surpass guard Jamal Johnson's program record of 128 (2010-14).

FROM LONDON WITH BLOCKS: Recording a second five-block game this season against CSUN (Dec. 28), junior center Joel Armotrading now ranks third among Big West players in total blocks (18) and blocks per game (1.3). An offseason transfer from two-year College of Southern Idaho, Armotrading also leads Cal Poly with 5.1 rebounds per game after grabbing a career best nine at Oregon State (Dec. 4).

LOOKING AHEAD (JAN. 11/13): Cal Poly plays just its second Big West road game during the opening five matchups when visiting UC Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 11. The Mustangs then return home to host UC San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 13. Both matchups tip at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

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).