USC
Mustangs Open 2025-26 Season Monday at USC; Host Pacific Lutheran Wednesday
11/1/2025 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Returning seven letterwinners from last year’s squad that reached the Big West Championship semifinals and welcoming eight newcomers, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program begins its 32nd Division I season and 82nd as a four-year program when visiting USC Monday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. on B1G+. The Mustangs, directed by second-year head coach Mike DeGeorge, then return home to welcome Division III Pacific Lutheran Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. Monday’s matchup with the Trojans marks the earliest start date in Cal Poly program history. Cal Poly has won five of its last seven season openers, but seeks its first victory in a season opener against a Division I opponent since delivering a 79-52 home decision against San Jose State on Nov. 12, 2011.
CAL POLY VERSUS USC: The Mustangs hold a 2-2 all-time mark against USC, defeating the Trojans in the first matchup between the two sides on Dec. 22, 2003 (93-78) before delivering one of the most notable results in program history, a 42-36 triumph on Nov. 19, 2011. USC prevailed in the last matchup between the two sides on Dec. 17, 2015 (101-82).
CAL POLY VERSUS PACIFIC LUTHERAN, THE NORTHWEST CONFERENCE AND NON-DIVISION I OPPONENTS: The Mustangs have never previously faced Pacific Lutheran. Cal Poly’s last matchup against a Northwest Conference opponent was an 85-79 loss against George Fox on Dec. 29, 1986. Since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season, Cal Poly is 49-1 against non-Division I programs.
We are ?????????? for our first official game day. #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/oowSu8EhFh
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) October 30, 2025
MUSTANGS LOOK TO BUILD OFF OF HISTORIC 2024-25 SEASON: In addition to reaching the Big West Championship semifinals for the first time in 11 years last spring during head coach Mike DeGeorge’s first season, the 2024-25 Mustangs:
- Recorded the most overall wins (16) and Big West wins (eight) since the 2012-13 season;
- Finished third among 355 Division I programs in three-pointers made (11.5) and attempted (31.8) per game, 19th with 82.1 points per game and 30th in effective field goal percentage (55.4);
- Averaged 18.4 more points per game than the 2023-24 season – the most significant turnaround in the nation and;
- Enjoyed a 12-win improvement from previous season marking the fourth most dramatic reversal among Division I programs.
UNITED NATIONS: Cal Poly’s 2025-26 roster features players from nine different countries – a figure eclipsed by only UT Martin (13). Cal Poly, however, is the only Division I program this year with a roster that canvasses all six habitable continents/regions.
CLOSED PORTAL DOORS: Alongside Duke, Tennessee, American and Boston University, Cal Poly was just one of just five Division I programs not to lose a player to the transfer portal during the offseason.
SANDERS DEBUT MAKES NBA MUSTANGS TWO: Cal Poly saw a second Mustang alum make his NBA debut on Oct. 22 when guard Kobe Sanders (2020-24) – drafted 50th overall by the New York Knicks in June before being traded to the Clippers – appeared for Los Angeles. Cal Poly’s first and only NBA Draft selection since 1978, Sanders joined guard David Nwaba (2013-16) – who appeared for the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago, Cleveland, Brooklyn and Houston between 2017 and 2022 – as the only former Mustangs to play in the NBA.
LOOKING AHEAD: Cal Poly opens a six-game road trip when visiting Seattle on Saturday, Nov. 8. Tip time is 7 p.m. for the Mustangs, whose road swing continues at defending Mountain West Tournament champion Colorado State on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
???????????????? is GAME DAY??
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) November 2, 2025
Our first official game of the season is in ONE DAY @ USC. Let’s go Mustangs!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/EzoTLrRwoW
