UC Irvine
Mustangs Host UC Irvine Thursday at 5 p.m. to Open 2025
12/30/2024 1:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cal Poly Men's Basketball
Upcoming Matchups
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men’s basketball program rings in the new year and resumes Big West action when hosting UC Irvine on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. before visiting Hawai’i on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. PT (7 p.m. HT). Both matchups stream on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (6-8, 0-2), which returns to the court from a 12-day holiday break after completing non-conference play at Omaha (Dec. 21). The Big West’s top scoring program at 83.9 points per game, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 19.6 more points per game than at the same stage last season. The Mustangs have scored 90-plus points in a game five times already this year after hitting the mark just twice during the previous four years combined. Fueling the scoring surge is Cal Poly’s three-point prowess as the Mustangs rank 12th among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 30.8 three-pointers attempted per game and 16th with 10.8 three-pointers made per game. After winning nine straight to begin the season, UC Irvine (10-2, 1-0) has faltered in two of its last three outings, most recently falling at Duquesne (Dec. 21). Hawai’i (8-4, 0-1), which secured third place at the program’s own Diamond Head Classic with a 73-70, overtime Christmas Day victory against Oakland, hosts UC Santa Barbara Thursday before welcoming Cal Poly.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: The Mustangs look to snap a four-game slide against the Anteaters with Cal Poly last delivering a series win at home on March 3, 2022 (65-54). UC Irvine leads both the all-time (44-23) and Division I (41-20) series.
CAL POLY VERSUS HAWAI’I: The Rainbow Warriors have prevailed in the previous eight series matchups with Cal Poly’s last win a 79-75 overtime home triumph (Feb. 8, 2020). Cal Poly’s last road win against Hawai’i also came in overtime with the Mustangs prevailing on Jan. 7, 2015 (61-57). Overall, Hawai’i leads the all-time series, 19-8.
THE STAN SHERIFF CONNECTION: With Cal Poly making its 14th all-time visit to Hawai’i, Cal Poly shares an historic link with the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center’s namesake. An All-America selection in football at Cal Poly, Sheriff (1950-54) was a charter member of the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame. An NFL standout with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, Sheriff was the head coach at Northern Iowa for 23 years before becoming Hawai’i’s Director of Athletics in 1983.
KOONCE UPS THE SCORING LEAD: A double-digit scorer in all but two games – and those two were nine-point outings – graduate guard Owen Koonce, following a career high 32-point effort at San Jose State (Dec. 14) and 30-point night in Cal Poly’s Nov. 30 victory at Stanford, enters Thursday’s matchup with UC Irvine leading the Mustangs and ranked second among Big West players with a 89.8 (44-for-49) percent free throw mark, third with 18.5 points per game and fifth with a 54.7 (93-for-170) percent field goal figure. The Dec. 2 Big West Player of the Week selection, Koonce – averaging 24.5 points per Cal Poly’s last six games – also tops the Mustangs with 5.4 rebounds per outing. One of only two Mustangs to start all 14 games, Koonce has also scored 21 points against Denver (Dec. 17), 20 at Omaha (Dec. 21), 19 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 17) and UC Davis (Dec. 5) and 18 in his Mustang debut at San Francisco (Nov. 5).
Mustangs back to Big West action this week, ringing in 2025 by hosting UC Irvine on Thursday, Jan. 2 (5 p.m.) before visiting Hawai'i on Saturday, Jan. 4 (9 p.m. PT). Both games stream on ESPN+.#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/jswk6kmm46
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) December 30, 2024
THE GRADUATE: Five years after establishing his initial collegiate scoring high while a freshman at Fresno State, guard Jarred Hyder has twice smashed the mark during his graduate season with a 29-point effort against Denver (Dec. 17) after a 27-point performance at Arizona State (Nov. 20). Hyder, who matched a Cal Poly single game program record with eight three-pointers versus Denver after hitting seven at Arizona State, ranks 16th among NCAA Division I players with 3.4 three-pointers per game and 29th with 41 total threes. Now seventh among Big West performers with 16.1 points per game, Hyder has also scored 22 points at Omaha (Dec. 21) and 19 against both San Francisco (Nov. 5) and Menlo College (Nov. 10) among nine double-digit performances. A starter in all 37 appearances as a Mustang dating to last season, Hyder remains second among Big West players with 33.7 minutes per game.
JESSUP EMERGES AS ONE OF NATION’S TOP THREE-POINT THREATS: Having reached double-digit scoring figures in all but two outings, senior guard Isaac Jessup enters Thursday’s contest with UC Irvine ranked 12th among NCAA Division I players with 3.5 three-pointers per game, 20th with a Big West leading 46.1 (35-for-76) percent three-point mark and 82nd with 35 three-pointers. Having already knocked down five three-pointers in a game three times, Jessup’s most recent standout scoring performance was a 21-point effort at Stanford (Nov. 30) that was one shy of his career high. Jessup also scored 20 points at California in just his second Division I appearance and enjoyed 17-point efforts at Arizona State (Nov. 20) and versus Grambling State (Nov. 26).
RINIKER’S PERCENTAGE POINTS: A year after shooting 63.8 percent for Division II Colorado Mesa, graduate guard Mac Riniker ranks sixth among Big West players with a 53.0 (61-for-115) percent mark. One of two Mustangs to start all 14 games alongside Owen Koonce, Riniker also ranks second in the lineup with 5.3 rebounds per game and fourth with 10.9 points per night after notching a Cal Poly-best 15 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 17) and matching the total at Saint Mary’s (Nov. 23) among nine double-digit scoring outings.
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.
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) … Cal Poly’s Nov. 26 home victory against Grambling State marked the program’s first all-time matchup with the Tigers … Cal Poly’s Dec. 5 Big West opener at UC Davis marked the earliest conference start date in program history … Jarred Hyder’s eight three-pointers against Denver (Dec. 17) tied a single-game program record previously accomplished by three Mustangs and most recently by guard Dawin Whiten against UC Irvine (Feb. 10, 2007) … Cal Poly’s 95-94 overtime home win against Denver marked the program’s first all-time victory against the Pioneers.
