CSUN
Cal Poly Visits CSUN Thursday, Hosts UC Davis Saturday Afternoon
1/6/2026 11:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Featuring three of the Big West’s top eight scorers, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program completes a two-game road trip when visiting CSUN Thursday, Jan. 8 (7 p.m.) before hosting UC Davis on Saturday, Jan. 10 (2 p.m.). Both matchups stream live on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (6-10, 2-2), which slipped into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Big West standings alongside CSUN (9-7, 2-2) and UC Santa Barbara (9-6, 2-2) following a 74-66 setback at Long Beach State (Jan. 3). Buoyed by the Big West’s leading scorer – Hamad Mousa (20.9 points per game) – Cal Poly ranks third among conference programs at 80.7 points per game. CSUN, the Big West’s top rebounding side at 41.3 boards per game, takes a 7-0 home mark into Thursday’s matchup with the Mustangs. Seventh-place UC Davis (8-6, 1-2), meanwhile, visits UC Santa Barbara Thursday before Cal Poly.
CAL POLY VERSUS CSUN: The second most frequent opponent in Cal Poly’s program history, Thursday’s matchup at CSUN marks the 117th all-time meeting between the two programs with the series drawn, 58-58, dating to the first encounter on Feb. 5, 1960. The Mustangs look to snap a five-game series slide with Cal Poly’s last victory against CSUN at 67-57, Big West-opening win on Dec. 29, 2022. Cal Poly has also dropped its last seven road matchups to the Matadors.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC DAVIS: Cal Poly ended a seven-game winless run against the Aggies with an 86-76 Big West Championship opening-round win on March 12, 2025. The Mustangs, however, have topped UC Davis just twice in the last 18 meetings. Cal Poly leads the all-time series (37-36) while UC Davis holds the Division I edge (29-16).
LONG-RANGE GAME: Cal Poly has once more emerged as one of the nation’s top three-point shooting threats with the Mustangs ranked seventh among 361 NCAA Division I programs with 172 total three-pointers, 13th with 31.6 attempts per game and 21st with 10.8 three-pointers made per game. The Mustangs have knocked down multiple three-pointers in 10 of 16 matchups, topping out with 18 during a 94-91 victory at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). Individually, guard Peter Bandelj ranks 39th among NCAA Division I players with a 42.5 (34-for-80) percent three-point mark after sinking a program record nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). Fellow sophomore Hamad Mousa is 45th nationally with 44 total three-pointers and 51st with a 41.5 (44-for-106) percent mark.
MOUSA’S MOMENT: A double-digit scorer in all 15 appearances, sophomore guard Hamad Mousa – who finished with 26 total points in 20 games at Dayton last season – leads the Big West and ranks 22nd among NCAA Division I players at 20.9 points per game. He’s also 45th nationally with 44 total three-pointers and 51st with a 41.5 (44-for-106) percent three-point mark. With a career high 33 points against Idaho (Dec. 21) and 31 versus UC Riverside (Dec. 6), Mousa is averaging 23.7 points per the last seven matchups. One of just two players from Qatar in Division I this season, Mousa also leads Cal Poly at 6.2 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 at CSUN second in the lineup and seventh among Big West players at 15.2 points per game following a career high 37-point effort at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). A double-digit scorer in all but three appearances, Bandelj ranks 39th among NCAA Division I players with a 42.5 (34-for-08) percent three-point mark after sinking a program record nine at Cal State Fullerton. Also fifth among Big West players with an 85.7 (54-for-63) percent free throw mark, Bandelj – through 50 collegiate appearances – is averaging 11.8 career points per game.
WARD’S SUPERIOR SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Cal Poly’s leading shooter at 46.2 (78-for-169) percent, sophomore guard Cayden Ward – behind 12 double-digit scoring efforts – enters Thursday’s matchup at CSUN third in the lineup and eighth among Big West players at 15.1 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).
