Saint Mary's
Cal Poly Closes Road Trip Saturday at Saint Mary’s on ESPN+
11/21/2024 10:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cal Poly Men's Basketball
Upcoming Matchups
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Three days after nearly upending Arizona State, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program completes a three-game road trip when visiting Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Nov. 23. Tip time on ESPN+ is 5 p.m. for Cal Poly (3-3), which saw a three-game winning snapped with a 93-89 Wednesday setback at Arizona State – a matchup in which the Mustangs trailed by 13 points early in the second half, cut the deficit to one three times down the stretch, but never led. At 82.7 points per six outings, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 16.4 more points per game than at the same stage last season. Fueling the surge is Cal Poly’s three-point prowess as the Mustangs rank 22nd among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 30.8 three-pointers attempted per game and 37th with 10.7 three-pointers made per game. Saint Mary’s (5-0), meanwhile, remained perfect with a 78-38 Wednesday home victory against Division II Stanislaus State. The Gaels earned 18 points in this week’s Top 25 Coaches Poll – 783 behind No. 25 Wisconsin.
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.
HYDER TAKES OVER THE SCORING LEAD: It took more than five years to better his career scoring high but a 27-point performance at Arizona State that included seven three-pointers allowed graduate guard Jarred Hyder a new collegiate best – and the top spot in Cal Poly’s lineup at 15.5 points per game. Hyder, whose previous scoring best was a 26-point effort while at freshman at Fresno State early in the 2019-20 season, has also scored 19 points this season against both San Francisco (Nov. 5) and Menlo College (Nov. 10). A starter in all 31 appearances as a Mustang dating to last season, Hyder also leads Cal Poly and ranks fourth among Big West players at 32.7 minutes per game.
KOONCE, JESSUP TRANSFER SCORING PROWESS: With senior guard Isaac Jessup (14.6 points per game) a double-digit scorer in all five appearances and graduate guard Owen Koonce (13.2) a double-digit scorer in all but two – and those two were nine-point outings – the backcourt duo enter Saturday’s matchup at Saint Mary’s sitting second and third on the Mustang scoring chart. Comprising two of head coach Mike DeGeorge’s four transfers from Division II Colorado Mesa, Koonce is fifth among Big West players with a 46.2 (18-for-39) percent three-point mark while Koonce is shooting 49.2 (29-for-59) percent from the floor. Koonce has already posted a pair of 19-point efforts while Jessup’s 20-point evening at California (Nov. 7) marks the second highest scoring effort by a Mustang this season.
Graduate guard Jarred Hyder enjoyed a career scoring night, but Cal Poly was edged Wednesday at Arizona State, 93-89. Mustangs close a three-game road trip Saturday at Saint Mary's at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.#RideHighhttps://t.co/ewwzxAQSVU
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) November 21, 2024
RINIKER’S PERCENTAGE POINTS: A year after shooting 63.8 percent for Division II Colorado Mesa, graduate guard Mac Riniker ranks 10th among Big West players with a 55.6 (25-for-45) percent mark. A starter in all six matchups, Riniker is second in the lineup with 5.0 rebounds per game and fourth with 10.0 points per night after notching a Cal Poly-best 15 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 17).
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 … Jarred Hyder’s seven three-pointers at Arizona State (Nov. 20) were one shy of the program single game record recorded three previous times and most recently by Dawin Whiten (Feb. 10, 2007).
