UC Santa Barbara
Chase for Big West Championship Spot Resumes Thursday at UCSB
2/25/2025 1:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cal Poly Men's Basketball
Upcoming Matchups
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Looking to take immense stride toward a spot in the Big West Championship field, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program visits UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 27 (7 p.m.) before hosting Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, March 1 (2 p.m.). Both matchups stream on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (11-17, 5-11), which outlasted UC Riverside in overtime, 112-100 (Feb. 22), to move within one game of seventh-place Hawai’i (14-13, 6-10) in the Big West standings and a half-game of eighth place Cal State Bakersfield (12-17, 6-11). With four regular season games remaining, the top eight programs in the Big West standings qualify for the March 12-15 conference championship. Following this week’s pair of games, Cal Poly closes the regular season with matchups against the bottom two programs in the Big West standings, hosting last-place Cal State Fullerton (Thursday, March 6) before visiting 10th-place Long Beach State (Saturday, March 8). UC Santa Barbara (18-10, 10-7), the Big West’s top shooting side with a 47.2 percent field goal mark, retained fifth place in the conference standings with victories last week against Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. Meanwhile, Cal State Bakersfield (12-17, 6-11) – winners of just two of its previous nine – attempts to retain its slim margin over Cal Poly when first visiting Long Beach State Thursday evening.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: The most frequent opponent in Cal Poly’s history, UC Santa Barbara – having utilized a buzzer-beating three-pointer to capture this season’s series opener at Cal Poly, 75-72 (Jan. 11) – takes a 15-game winning streak into Thursday’s 121st all-time matchup. With Cal Poly’s last series win an 80-79 home victory on Jan. 4, 2018, UC Santa Barbara leads both the all-time (85-35) and Division I (51-14) series.
CAL POLY VERSUS CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD: The Mustangs snapped a 12-game slide against Cal State Bakersfield with a 90-81 road victory in this season’s series opener (Jan. 30). The Roadrunners lead both the all-time (42-26) and Division I (16-3) series.
Keep the momentum ????#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/05bfaIilWL
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 25, 2025
MUSTANG OFFENSE IN FOCUS: Having regained the Big West scoring lead and now 40th among 355 NCAA Division I programs at 80.5 points per game, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 18.0 more points per game than at the same stage last season, the most significant turnaround in the nation this season. The Mustangs have scored 90-plus points in a game eight times already this year after hitting the mark just twice during the previous four years combined. Cal Poly’s 112-point effort against UC Riverside (Feb. 22) marked the program’s highest output since a 122-90 victory against Southern (Dec. 15, 1998). Fueling the scoring surge is Cal Poly’s three-point prowess as the Mustangs rank third among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 31.4 three-pointers attempted per game and sixth with 10.8 three-pointers made per game. Additionally, 12 different Mustangs have scored in double digits this season – the fourth highest total of any Division I program.
KOONCE REMAINS CAL POLY’S OFFENSIVE CATALYST: A double-digit scorer in all but five games – two of which 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 at UC Santa Barbara ranked 22nd among NCAA Division I players with a 89.1 (82-for-92) percent free throw mark and, among Big West performers, sixth with a 38.7 (53-for-137) percent three-point mark and 16.9 points per game and seventh with a 51.5 (169-for-328) percent field goal mark. The Dec. 2 Big West Player of the Week selection, Koonce also tops the Mustangs with 5.2 rebounds per outing after grabbing 10 at CSUN (Feb. 15) to secure a second double-double versus the Matadors this season. One of only two Mustangs to start all 28 games, Koonce has also scored 28 points at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 30), 23 against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 11), 21 versus Denver (Dec. 17) and at CSUN (Feb. 15) and 20 at Omaha (Dec. 21), at UC San Diego (Jan. 9) and versus Hawai’i (Feb. 6).
On his head????#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/Jve1FMjqOO
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 24, 2025
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) arriving after a 27-point performance at Arizona State (Nov. 20). Most recently, he added 25 points against UC Riverside (Feb. 22). Hyder, who matched a Cal Poly single game program record with eight three-pointers versus Denver after hitting seven at Arizona State, ranks 56th among NCAA Division I players with 2.8 three-pointers per game and 69th with 73 total threes. Now 11th among Big West performers with 13.7 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 19 double-digit performances. A starter in all 51 appearances as a Mustang dating to last season and third among Big West players at 32.4 minutes per game, Hyder – having distributed a career best seven assists four times this year – is eighth among conference players with 3.2 per game.
JESSUP EMERGES AS ONE OF NATION’S TOP THREE-POINT THREATS: Having reached double-digit scoring figures 14 times, senior guard Isaac Jessup enters Thursday’s contest at UC Santa Barbara ranked 35th among NCAA Division I players with a 41.3 (69-for-167) percent three-point mark and 49th with 2.9 three-pointers per game. Having matched a career best with six three-pointers at CSUN (Feb. 15) and hit five in a game four other times, Jessup’s 21-point effort at Stanford (Nov. 30) was a total one shy of his career scoring high while at Division II Colorado Mesa last season. Jessup also scored 20 points at California in just his second Division I appearance, 18 versus CSUN and 17 at both Arizona State (Nov. 20) and versus Grambling State (Nov. 26).
RISING FRESHMAN: A career best 24-point performance in Cal Poly’s Feb. 22 home victory against UC Riverside marked freshman Peter Bandelj’s 14th double-digit scoring game with the Slovenia native now fourth in the lineup at 10.0 points per game. Averaging 12.3 points per Cal Poly’s last six games, Bandelj enjoyed an 18-point night against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 11). Now eighth among Big West players with an 80.6 (100-for-124) percent free throw mark, Bandelj leads Cal Poly in reserve scoring with 65.0 percent of 279 total points recorded in non-starting appearances.
Four regular season games remaining for Cal Poly as the Mustangs look to keep up their winning ways at UC Santa Barbara (Thursday, Feb. 27; 7 p.m.) before hosting Cal State Bakersfield (Saturday, March 1; 2 p.m.). Both matchups on ESPN+.#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/Wu1QaRCeJ9
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 24, 2025
