UC Irvine
Cal Poly, UC Irvine Square Off Friday in Big West Semifinal on ESPN2
3/14/2025 3:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HENDERSON, Nev. – Eleven years to the day that the Cal Poly men’s basketball program eliminated top-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals en route the capturing the 2014 Big West Championship title, the seventh-seeded Mustangs once again face the now No. 2 Anteaters in the conference tournament semifinals on Friday, March 14. Tip time on ESPN2 and ESPN+ is 8:30 p.m. from Lee’s Family Forum for Cal Poly (16-18), which makes its first Big West Championship semifinal appearance since that 2014 matchup and eventual tournament title. Playing its third game in 72 hours after eliminating sixth-seeded UC Davis (86-76) in Wednesday’s opening round and No. 3 UC Riverside (96-83) in Thursday’s quarterfinal, Cal Poly – following an 0-8 Big West start – has won five straight, six of its last seven and 10 of 14 since Jan. 25. Ranked third among NCAA Division I programs with 11.5 three-pointers per game and 18th at 82.2 points per game, Cal Poly has drained 67 three-pointers in its last four outings. UC Irvine (27-5), having received a double bye to the semifinals following its second-place finish in the Big West standings, features the second stingiest defense in the conference at just 65.6 points allowed per game.
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.
HISTORY (POTENTIALLY) IN THE MAKING: The last program to reach the Big West Championship title game playing its fourth game in four days was UC Irvine, seeded fifth in 2008. CSUN also made the 2004 final in the same circumstance. Both programs fell in the title game.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: The Mustangs attempt to snap a six-game slide against UC Irvine after falling during the regular season at home (98-89/OT; Jan. 2) and on the road (101-71; Jan. 18). Cal Poly last delivered a series win versus UC Irvine on March 3, 2022 (65-54). UC Irvine leads both the all-time (46-23) and Division I (43-20) series.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP: UC Irvine holds a 3-2 record versus Cal Poly at the Big West Championship with the Anteaters prevailing in the last meeting on March 11, 2021, securing a 58-51 quarterfinal victory after the Mustangs nearly overturned a 22-point first-half deficit. UC Irvine also eliminated Cal Poly at the quarterfinal stage in 2016. Cal Poly’s most notable win against UC Irvine came on March 14, 2014 as the seventh-seeded Mustangs eliminated top-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals, 61-58. Cal Poly also defeated UC Irvine to open the 2010 tournament (73-69) while the Anteaters topped the Mustangs in the 2001 opening round (71-66).
Gameday! Big West Championship semifinal! Cal Poly squares off with UC Irvine for a spot in Saturday's title game at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2.#RideHigh
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 14, 2025
??@UCImbb
??Henderson, NV
??8:30 p.m.
??https://t.co/yEsFHKcNMO
??https://t.co/dtJfzG5U4b
??https://t.co/TBi2ArepeW pic.twitter.com/YgkjdkJ7XD
CAL POLY AT THE BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS: Cal Poly is 14-18 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 four times since capturing its 2014 title – twice this season and opening-round victories in 2021 and 2023. Cal Poly has reached the semifinals in seven of 20 Big West Tournament appearances (2003, 2006-07, 2012-14, 2025). 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: Friday’s Big West Championship semifinal matchup marks the 16th 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 defeating Cal State Fullerton (March 6) in the penultimate game of the regular season.
MUSTANG OFFENSE IN FOCUS: Having retained the Big West scoring lead and now 18th among 355 NCAA Division I programs at 82.2 points per game, Cal Poly – under first-year head coach Mike DeGeorge – is averaging 19.1 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 11 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). Additionally, 12 different Mustangs have scored in double digits this season – the fourth highest total of any Division I program.
STAMP THAT THING ON THERE ????#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/iXjP0mBxYK
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 14, 2025
THREE-POINTERS IN FOCUS: Fueling the program’s scoring surge is Cal Poly’s three-point prowess as the Mustangs rank third among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 31.9 three-pointers attempted per game and 11.5 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. With 390 total three-pointers, Cal Poly has already smashed the previous program single season record by 100.
MAKING STRIDES IN 2024-25: Cal Poly’s 12-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 16-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 Jeff Schneider’s 1995-96 Cal Poly squad finished 16-13.
MUSTANG 1K CLUB: Graduate Owen Koonce (1,398) became the first Mustang this season to reach 1,000 collegiate points at San Jose State (Dec. 14) and fellow guard Jarred Hyder (1,100) surpassed the mark during Cal Poly’s Feb. 27 visit to UC Santa Barbara. Senior guard Isaac Jessup (1,037) 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 (1,379) 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 second in single season history with 589 points, fifth with an 88.1 (89-for-101) percent free throw mark and sixth with 212 field goals;
- Fellow graduate guard Jarred Hyder is Cal Poly’s single season leader with 271 three-point attempts and set a new record for total three-pointers in Thursday’s semifinal victory against UC Riverside (now with 96);
- Senior guard Isaac Jessup, who ranks third with 93 three-pointers and third with 216 attempts.
THREE THREE’S IN A ROW LAST NIGHT #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/XUWRECHbOb
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) March 14, 2025
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 Friday’s Big West Championship semifinal versus UC Irvine ranked 36th among NCAA Division I players with a 88.1 (89-for-101) percent three-point mark and, among Big West performers, fourth with a 40.8 (69-for-169) percent three-point mark, sixth with 17.3 points per game and seventh behind a 52.3 (212-for-405) 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 34 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), at Long Beach State (March 8) and versus UC Riverside (March 13).
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 14th among NCAA Division I players with 271 three-point attempts, 40th with 96 total three-pointers (both school records) and 35th with 3.0 three-pointers per game. Still 11th among Big West performers with 14.5 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 25 double-digit performances. A starter in all 57 appearances as a Mustang dating to last season and third among Big West players at 32.8 minutes per game, Hyder – having distributed a career high nine assists versus UC Riverside (March 13) and seven four other times this year – is ninth 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 19 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 Friday’s contest with UC Irvine ranked 15th among NCAA Division I players with a 43.1 (93-for-216) percent three-point mark and 26th with 3.1 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: A 17-point performance versus UC Riverside (March 13) marked freshman guard Peter Bandelj’s 19th double-digit scoring game of the season with the Slovenia native remaining fourth in the lineup at 10.4 points per game. Averaging 14.0 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 80.1 (117-for-146) percent free throw mark after a 10-for-10 performance versus Cal State Bakersfield (March 1).
RINIKER’S PERCENTAGE POINTS: A year after shooting 63.8 percent for Division II Colorado Mesa, graduate guard Mac Riniker ranks eighth among Big West players with a 51.8 (117-for-221) percent mark. One of two Mustangs to start all 34 games alongside Owen Koonce, Riniker also ranks second in the lineup with 4.5 rebounds per game and fifth with 9.0 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 against UC Riverside (March 13) 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 Friday’s matchup versus UC Irvine averaging 11.0 points per Cal Poly’s last 10 games and sits sixth in the lineup with 7.4 per night in 22 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.
