UC Riverside
Cal Poly Faces UC Riverside in Big West Championship Quarterfinals Thursday
3/13/2025 1:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cal Poly Men's Basketball
Upcoming Matchups
HENDERSON, Nev. – Trailing sixth-seeded UC Davis by nine points at halftime in Wednesday’s Big West Championship opening round, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program – shooting 66.7 percent in the second half – turned the deficit into an 86-76 victory to reach Thursday’s quarterfinal round matchup against third-seeded UC Riverside. Tip time from Lee’s Family Forum (Henderson, Nev.) on ESPN+ is 8:30 p.m. for seventh-seeded Cal Poly (15-18), which can reach the semifinals for the first time since winning the 2014 Big West Championship with as victory against UC Riverside (21-11). The Big West’s top scoring side at 81.8 points per game, Cal Poly enters Thursday’s matchup having won four straight and six of its last seven.
MEDIA ADVISORY, WE ARE CAL POLY: When referring to any Cal Poly athletics program, please use only “Cal Poly” to denote the school. Please refrain from using names such as “Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo,” “Cal Poly-SLO,” “CPSU,” “Cal Poly State” and “Polytechnic State University.” Cal Poly is a separate institution from Division II Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly Humboldt.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC RIVERISDE: The third most frequent opponent in Cal Poly’s history (behind UC Santa Barbara and CSUN), Thursday’s matchup marks the 113th all-time series meeting between the two programs dating to the first encounter on Dec. 22, 1968. Cal Poly snapped an 11-game slide against the Highlanders with a 112-100 overtime home victory on Feb. 22. UC Riverside leads the all-time series (60-52) while Cal Poly leads the Division I (29-25) series.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC RIVERSIDE AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP: Thursday’s contest marks the fifth postseason meeting between Cal Poly and UC Riverside with the Mustangs having prevailed just once, eliminating the Highlanders from the 2012 Big West Championship at the quarterfinal stage, 66-54, in the last meeting between the programs. Previously, UC Riverside eliminated Cal Poly in 2011, 2008 and 2004.
The stampede is coming ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/9IwwT4xVI1
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 13, 2025
CAL POLY AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Cal Poly is 13-18 in 20 Big West Championship appearances and, aside from capturing the 2014 title, the Mustangs have advanced to the championship game in 2003 and 2007. Cal Poly, however, has won just three times since capturing its 2014 title, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2023 after winning opening-round matchups as a No. 10 seed and the 2025 quarterfinals as a seven. Cal Poly has reached the semifinals in six of 20 Big West Tournament appearances (2003, 2006-07, 2012-14). Cal Poly's three semifinal losses occurred in 2006, when the fourth-seeded Mustangs fell versus No. 1 Pacific (68-57); 2012, when fourth-seeded Cal Poly dropped a 64-52 decision against No. 2 UC Santa Barbara, and in 2013, when a last-second Pacific shot eliminated third-seeded Cal Poly, 55-53. Overall, Cal Poly is 10-10 during its first tournament game, 3-3 in semifinal matchups and 1-2 in championship games.
NO BETTER TIME THAN THE PRESENT: The lowest seed to have ever won the Big West Championships was … Cal Poly, which, seventh in 2014, knocked out No. 2 UC Santa Barbara, No. 1 UC Irvine and No. 5 CSUN to capture the title.
BIG WEST SEEDING: Thursday’s Big West Championship opening-round matchup marks the 15th consecutive postseason game where Cal Poly will play as a lower seed. Seeded 10th for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 championships, Cal Poly lost quarterfinal matchups as a lower seed from 2015-2018, played as the lower seed during all three games during the 2014 title run and was eliminated as a lower seed by Pacific in the 2013 semifinals. Cal Poly last played as a higher seed in 2013, eliminating sixth-seeded UC Davis in the quarterfinals, 64-41.
THE TURNAROUND: Cal Poly began Big West play this season 0-8 and as the only conference side without a win before prevailing in eight of its last 12 to clinch a Big West Championship spot. The Mustangs were never in the top eight of the Big West standings until the final day.
Five Mustangs scored in double figures Wednesday as Cal Poly surged past UC Davis, 86-76, to advance to the Big West Championship quarterfinals Thursday. Mustangs will face third-seeded UC Riverside at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+.#RideHighhttps://t.co/hzIAAMUvtZ
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 13, 2025
MUSTANG OFFENSE IN FOCUS: Having retained the Big West scoring lead and now 23rd among 355 NCAA Division I programs at 81.8 points per game, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 18.1 points per game more than at the close of the 2023-24 regular season, the most significant turnaround in the nation this year. The Mustangs have scored 90-plus points in a game 10 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 31.8 three-pointers attempted per game and 11.3 three-pointers made per game. Cal Poly's 20 three-pointers against Cal State Fullerton (March 6) marked a new program record against Division I opposition and the highest total since the Mustangs hit 21 against then-Division III California Baptist on Dec. 3, 1996. Additionally, 12 different Mustangs have scored in double digits this season – the fourth highest total of any Division I program.
MAKING STRIDES IN 2024-25: Cal Poly’s 11-win improvement between this year and last season marks the program’s most dramatic turnaround since the 1995-96 Mustangs enjoyed a 15-win improvement (finishing 16-13 after a 1-26 showing during the program initial 1994-95 Division I season). A 15-win season marks the program’s highest win total since the 2012-13 Mustangs – who reached the Big West championship semifinals – finished 18-14. Meanwhile, Cal Poly’s eight Big West wins during the regular season were the highest since the 2012-13 Mustangs posted a 12-6 conference mark. Head coach Mike DeGeorge is the winningest first-year Cal Poly head coach since Kevin Bromley’s 2001-02 Cal Poly squad finished 15-12.
MOVING ON??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/Ika6jRjMt0
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 13, 2025
MUSTANG 1K CLUB: Graduate Owen Koonce (1,378) became the first Mustang this season to reach 1,000 collegiate points at San Jose State (Dec. 14) and fellow guard Jarred Hyder (1,082) surpassed the mark during Cal Poly’s Feb. 27 visit to UC Santa Barbara. Senior guard Isaac Jessup (1,023) became the most recent member of the club during Cal Poly’s regular season finale win at Long Beach State (March 8). Previously, graduate guard Mac Riniker (1,377) surpassed the mark prior to his transfer from Colorado Mesa.
MUSTANGS IN THE RECORD BOOK: A handful of Mustangs are scoring their way up the program’s single season record book listings, notably:
- Graduate guard Owen Koonce, who ranks third in single season history with 569 points, fifth with an 88.1 (89-for-101) percent free throw mark and sixth with 207 field goals;
- Fellow graduate guard Jarred Hyder became Cal Poly’s single season leader for three-point attempts at Long Beach State (March 8) and now sits on 263. His 92 conversions now rank second all-time;
- Senior guard Isaac Jessup, who now ranks third with 91 three-pointers and fourth with 208 attempts.
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 Big West Championship quarterfinal versus UC Riverside ranked 37th among NCAA Division I players with a 88.1 (89-for-101) percent three-point mark and, among Big West performers, fifth with a 39.8 (66-for-165) percent three-point mark, sixth with 17.2 points per game and seventh behind a 52.4 (207-for-395) percent field goal mark. The Dec. 2 Big West Player of the Week selection, Koonce also tops the Mustangs with 4.9 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 33 games, Koonce has also scored 28 points at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 30), 23 twice against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 11, Feb. 27), 21 versus Denver (Dec. 17), at CSUN (Feb. 15) and versus Cal State Fullerton (March 6) and 20 at Omaha (Dec. 21), at UC San Diego (Jan. 9), versus Hawai’i (Feb. 6) and at Long Beach State (March 8).
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) and at Long Beach State (March 8). 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 a school-record 263 three-point attempts, 39th with 3.0 three-pointers per game and 40th with 92 total threes. Still 11th among Big West performers with 14.4 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 24 double-digit performances. A starter in all 56 appearances as a Mustang dating to last season and third among Big West players at 32.9 minutes per game, Hyder – having distributed a career best seven assists four times this year – is 11th among conference players with 3.0 per game.
JESSUP EMERGES AS ONE OF NATION’S TOP THREE-POINT THREATS: Having reached double-digit scoring figures 18 times – recently knocking down a career high seven three-pointers in a 21-point effort versus Cal State Bakersfield (March 1) – senior guard Isaac Jessup enters Thursday’s contest with UC Riverside ranked 11th among NCAA Division I players with a 43.8 (91-for-208) percent three-point mark and 24th with 3.14 three-pointers per game. Having also hit six three-pointers at CSUN (Feb. 15) and five in a game six other times, Jessup’s initial 21-point outing of the season at Stanford (Nov. 30) marked 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: An 11-point performance at Long Beach State (March 8) marked freshman guard Peter Bandelj’s 18th double-digit scoring game of the season with the Slovenia native remaining fourth in the lineup at 10.2 points per game. Averaging 13.1 points per Cal Poly’s last seven games, Bandelj enjoyed a career best 24-point performance against UC Riverside (Feb. 22) while scoring 18 against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 11). Bandelj ranks seventh among Big West players with an 81.0 (115-for-142) percent free throw mark after a 10-for-10 performance versus Cal State Bakersfield.
RINIKER’S PERCENTAGE POINTS: A year after shooting 63.8 percent for Division II Colorado Mesa, graduate guard Mac Riniker remains sixth among Big West players with a 52.9 (117-for-221) percent mark. One of two Mustangs to start all 33 games alongside Owen Koonce, Riniker also ranks second in the lineup with 4.5 rebounds per game and fifth with 9.2 points per night after notching a Cal Poly-best 18 points against UC Davis (Jan. 16), 16 versus Long Beach State (Jan. 25) and 15 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 17), Saint Mary’s (Nov. 23) and Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 13) among 14 double-digit scoring outings.
FROM REDSHIRT TO ROTATION: Scheduled to redshirt during his first season on campus at the start of the year, freshman guard Cayden Ward made his Mustang debut with seven points at UC Davis (Dec. 5), recorded his first career double-digit scoring outing with 15 points at UC Irvine (Jan. 18) and produced a career best 19 points at Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 13). Most recently, Ward scored 14 points during a home victory against Cal State Bakersfield (March 1) after enjoying a 17-point night versus Big West leader UC San Diego (Feb. 20) and 16-point effort against UC Riverside (Feb. 22). He enters Thursday’s matchup versus UC Riverside averaging 10.7 points per Cal Poly’s last nine games and sits sixth in the lineup with 7.1 per night in 21 appearances.
DEGEORGE TAKES THE MUSTANG REINS: Named Cal Poly’s sixth head coach at the Division I level on March 26, 2024, 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 … Cal Poly’s Jan. 18 setback at UC Irvine marked the program’s 900th game at the Division I level … Cal Poly 112-100 overtime home victory against UC Riverside (Feb. 22) marked the program’s highest scoring output since a 122-90 home win versus Southern (Dec. 15, 1998) … Cal Poly’s 20-for-21 performance and 95.2 percent figure from the free throw line against Cal State Bakersfield (March 1) was the third highest single game mark in program history … Cal Poly's 20 three-pointers against Cal State Fullerton (March 6) marked a new program record against Division I opposition and the highest total since the Mustangs hit 21 against then-Division III California Baptist on Dec. 3, 1996.
