Arizona State
Mustangs Take Winning Form to Arizona State, Saint Mary’s
11/19/2024 10:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cal Poly Men's Basketball
Upcoming Games
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men’s basketball program places its three-game winning streak on the line when visiting Arizona State on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. PT before heading to Saint Mary’s for a Saturday, Nov. 23 matchup at 5 p.m. Both games stream on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (3-2), which has defeated in succession Division II Menlo College (Nov. 10), Seattle (Nov. 14) and Eastern Washington (Nov. 17) – the latter two by four points apiece. At 81.4 points per five outings, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 13.4 more points per game than at the same stage last season. Arizona State (4-1), which sustained its lone loss at No. 3/4 Gonzaga, 88-80 (Nov. 10), completes a three-game home stand Wednesday following victories against Grand Canyon (Nov. 14) and St. Thomas (Nov. 17). Saint Mary’s (4-0), meanwhile, hosts Division II Stanislaus State Wednesday after a 77-74 home victory against Nebraska (Nov. 17). Arizona State earned two points in the Week 3 edition of the AP Top 25 poll while Saint Mary’s picked up 18 in this week’s Top 25 Coaches Poll.
CAL POLY VERSUS ARIZONA STATE: Visiting Arizona State for just the third time in the previous 64 years, Cal Poly’s last trip to Tempe resulted in a 96-74 setback on Nov. 13, 2016. As Division I opponents, Arizona State also bested Cal Poly on Nov. 26, 2007 (75-41) and Dec. 20, 1994 (98-43). Dating to the first matchup on Dec. 2, 1949 – a 64-37 Cal Poly home win – Arizona State leads the all-time series, 6-1.
CAL POLY VERSUS SAINT MARY’S: The Mustangs look to snap a six-game slide against the Gaels, having last defeated Saint Mary’s at home, 72-59, on Nov. 26, 2006. The then-No. 18 Gaels prevailed in the last matchup between the two sides in Moraga, 79-48 (Nov. 17, 2019). Dating to the first matchup between the two programs on Jan. 28, 1961, Saint Mary’s leads the all-time series, 10-6.
KOONCE, JESSUP TRANSFER SCORING PROWESS: With senior guard Isaac Jessup a double-digit scorer in all four appearances and graduate guard Owen Koonce a double-digit scorer in all but one – and that one was a nine-point outing – the backcourt duo enter Wednesday’s matchup at Arizona State co-leading Cal Poly with 14.0 points per night. Two of head coach Mike DeGeorge’s four transfers from Division II Colorado Mesa, Koonce is shooting 52.0 (26-for-50) percent from the floor while Jessup has fired 43.8 (14-for-32) percent from three-point range. Koonce has already posted a pair of 19-point efforts while Jessup’s 20-point evening at California (Nov. 7) is top single-game effort by a Mustang this season.
Winners of three straight, Cal Poly wraps a three-game road trip this week at Arizona State and Saint Mary's. Both matchups on ESPN+.#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/sCwnZfi2Qq
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) November 18, 2024
RINIKER’S PERCENTAGE POINTS: A year after shooting 63.8 percent for Division II Colorado Mesa, graduate guard Mac Riniker ranks fifth among Big West players with a 61.1 (22-for-36) percent mark. The program’s leader with 5.8 rebounds per game, Riniker – a starter in all five matchups – also sits fourth in the lineup with 10.4 points per outing after notching a Cal Poly-best 15 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 17).
THE GRADUATE: Having started all 30 games he’s appeared in for Cal Poly since the start of last season, graduate guard Jarred Hyder – already with a pair of 19-point performances – is third in the lineup with 13.2 points per outing.
DEGEORGE TAKES THE MUSTANG REINS: Named Cal Poly’s sixth head coach at the Division I level on March 26, Mike DeGeorge arrived in San Luis Obispo from Division II Colorado Mesa after directing the Mavericks to 141 wins in six seasons, three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances – including Sweet 16 trips in 2022 and 2024. Bringing more than two decades of head coaching experience to Cal Poly, DeGeorge’s squads at Colorado Mesa were known for their offensive prowess. During the 2023-24 season, Colorado Mesa led Division II in effective field goal percentage (.596), finished third in three-pointers per game (11.4) and 15th in points per game (11.4). Both of DeGeorge’s assistant coaches from Colorado Mesa – Kyle Bossier and BJ Andrews – joined Cal Poly in the offseason, as well as four transfers from Colorado Mesa.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly plays twice more before opening Big West action in early December, first hosting defending SWAC regular season and tournament champion Grambling State on Tuesday, Nov. 26 before visiting Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 30. Both matchups tip at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
ETC.: Cal Poly is in its 31st Division I season and 81st as a four-year program … Cal Poly’s Nov. 5 matchup at San Francisco marked the earliest opening date to a season in program history … Cal Poly’s 93.3 (14-for-15) percent free throw mark at San Francisco (Nov. 5) marked the fourth highest single game figure in program history … since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season, Cal Poly is 49-1 against non-Division I programs following a 99-66 home victory against Division II Menlo College (Nov. 10) … Cal Poly’s 99-66 home win against Menlo College (Nov. 10) marked head coach Mike DeGeorge’s first victory in charge of Cal Poly while the program’s 75-71 win versus Seattle (Nov. 14) was the first against a Division I opponent.
