Cal Poly Hosts Rival UC Santa Barbara Saturday on ESPN+

Saturday, January 6

San Luis Obispo, CA

7 p.m.

UC Santa Barbara

Tickets

Photo by: Owen Main

Cal Poly Hosts Rival UC Santa Barbara Saturday on ESPN+

1/5/2024 1:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

COMPLETE GAME PREVIEW (pdf)

SAN LUIS OBISPO – One program will earn its first Big West victory of the season Saturday evening while the other stays rooted to the bottom of the conference standings as the Cal Poly men's basketball program closes a two-game home stand when hosting rival UC Santa Barbara inside Mott Athletics Center. Tip time on ESPN+ is 7 p.m. for Cal Poly (4-11, 0-3), which began 2024 on Thursday evening with an 89-82 setback to Long Beach State. UC Santa Barbara (7-6, 0-3), meanwhile, remained winless in Big West action following a Thursday home loss to UC San Diego. The Big West's top shooting program at 51.4 percent, UC Santa Barbara also concedes 75.4 points per game – the second highest total among conference programs.

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 KEEPS UP 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 15 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 remains fourth among Big West players with a team leading 18.5 points per game. Having led Cal Poly in scoring 10 times this season, Sanders – now with 31 career double-digit scoring games – is averaging 8.4 points per 86 collegiate outings. Equally proficient from the free throw line as the floor, Sanders – entering Saturday's matchup against Long Beach State having converted 28 of his last 30 attempts – ranks 26th among NCAA Division I players with an 90.2 (92-for-102) 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 14 of 15 games – also scored 15 points at Denver.

Q-BALL: A career best 22-point performance versus Long Beach State (Jan. 4) marked the fifth double-digit scoring performance for freshman guard Quentin Jones this season. Third in Cal Poly's lineup with 9.4 points per games, Jones also owns a 21-point effort at Oregon State (Dec. 4) and a 17-point performance versus St. Thomas (Nov. 17). A starter in 14 of 15 matchups, Jones ranks fifth among Big West performers with 32.4 minutes played per game and eighth at 1.5 steals per outing.

BACK IN THE GREEN: A 50.0 (205-for-410) 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 14 of 15 matchups this year with seven 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 118 career games played for Cal Poly, Jaakkola needs just 11 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 fifth in blocks per game (1.2). An offseason transfer from two-year College of Southern Idaho, Armotrading also leads Cal Poly with 5.0 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).