UC San Diego
Mustangs Host UCSD on New Year’s Day, Visit Long Beach State Jan. 3
12/29/2025 3:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men’s basketball program’s return to Big West play coincides with its first New Year’s Day matchup since 1966 as the Mustangs ring in 2026 on Thursday by hosting defending conference champion UC San Diego at 7 p.m. Cal Poly’s resumption of Big West action continues Saturday, Jan. 3 at Long Beach State. Looking to snap a four-game slide dating to a Dec. 4 Big West-opening win at Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly (5-9, 1-1) features three of the conference’s top seven scorers to rank third among Big West programs at 82.7 points per game – narrowly behind UC San Diego (82.8). The Tritons (11-2, 1-0), winners of four of their last five, lead the Big West and rank 39th nationally with a 49.5 percent field goal mark. Long Beach State (3-10, 0-2), having prevailed just once in its last five, hosts Lincoln University Tuesday evening before welcoming Cal Poly.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO: The Mustangs attempt to end a five-game series slide against UC San Diego, last defeating the Tritons at home on March 5, 2022 (80-76). Cal Poly leads the all-time series (9-6) dating to the first matchup on Dec. 20, 1969, but UC San Diego leads the Division I series (5-4).
CAL POLY VERSUS LONG BEACH STATE: One of three Big West programs Cal Poly swept last year’s season series from, the Mustangs seek back-to-back road wins at Long Beach State for the first time as a Big West opponent and first time since the 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons. Long Beach State leads both the all-time (59-36) and Division I (40-20) series.
LONG-RANGE GAME: Cal Poly has once more emerged as one of the nation’s top three-point shooting sides with the Mustangs ranked seventh among 361 NCAA Division I programs with 151 total three-pointers, 16th with 30.9 attempts per game and 28th with 10.8 three-pointers made per game. The Mustangs have knocked down multiple three-pointers in eight of 14 matchups, topping out with 18 during a 94-91 victory at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). Individually, guard Peter Bandelj ranks 28th among NCAA Division I players with a 45.6 (31-for-68) percent three-point mark after sinking a program record nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). Fellow sophomore Hamad Mousa is 69th nationally with a 40.7 (35-for-86) percent mark.
MOUSA’S MOMENT: A double-digit scorer in all 13 appearances, sophomore guard Hamad Mousa – who finished with 26 total points in 20 games at Dayton last season – leads the Big West and ranks 25th among NCAA Division I players at 20.6 points per game. Also 69th nationally with a 40.7 (35-for-86) percent three-point mark and eighth in the Big West with an 85.0 (85-for-100) percent free throw figure, Mousa scored a career high 33 points against Idaho (Dec. 21) after finishing with 31 against UC Riverside (Dec. 6) and 27 in the program’s Big West-opening victory at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). Since Dec. 4, Mousa is averaging 24.2 points per five matchups. One of just two players from Qatar in Division I this season, Mousa also leads Cal Poly at 5.8 rebounds per game.
BANDELJ UPS THE SCORING PACE: Cal Poly’s leading returning scorer from last season, sophomore guard Peter Bandelj enters Thursday’s game with UC San Diego second in the lineup and sixth among Big West players at 16.2 points per game following a career high 37-point effort at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). A double-digit scorer in all but two appearances, Bandelj ranks 28th among NCAA Division I players with a 45.6 (31-for-68) percent three-point mark after sinking a program record nine at Cal State Fullerton. Also sixth among Big West players with an 86.7 (52-for-60) percent free throw mark, Bandelj – through 48 collegiate appearances – is averaging 12.0 career points per game.
WARD’S SUPERIOR SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Cal Poly’s leading shooter and ranked eighth among Big West players with a 49.7 (71-for-151) percent mark, sophomore guard Cayden Ward – behind 12 double-digit scoring efforts – enters Thursday’s matchup with UC San Diego third in the lineup and seventh among Big West players at 16.1 points per game. Earning Big West Player of the Week praise following a career high 28-point effort at Utah (Nov. 20), Ward – who averaged 7.4 points per game as a freshman – also owns a 25-point night against Montana State (Dec. 16).
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.
ETC.: The Mustangs are in their 32nd Division I season and 82nd as a four-year program … Cal Poly’s Nov. 3 season opener at USC marked the earliest start date in program history … Cal Poly’s 92-85 victory at Utah (Nov. 20) marked the program’s first and only win against a current Big 12 program since defeating Arizona State on Dec. 2, 1949 … Cal Poly’s Nov. 25 matchup with Southeast Missouri marked the first all-time matchup between the two programs … the Mustangs improved to 51-1 against non-Division I opposition with an 87-81 home victory against Division III Redlands on Nov. 29 (Cal Poly transitioned to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season) … Peter Bandelj’s nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4) set a new program record, surpassing the previous mark of eight by four different Mustangs and last accomplished by graduate guard Jarred Hyder (Dec. 17, 2024).
