No. 4/5 Arizona
11/4/2026 2:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Three days after opening the 2026-27 season with a home victory, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program begins a four-game road trip on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 2026 Final Four participant and No. 4/5 Arizona. Tip time from McKale Center at ALKEME Arena is 7:30 p.m. PT on truTV and HBO Max for Cal Poly (1-0), which featured five double-digit scorers in a 78-62 Monday home win against Division II Cal State San Marcos. After finishing 10th nationally last season with 10.8 three-pointers per game, Cal Poly knocked down 12 in its season-opening victory. Arizona (0-1), meanwhile, began its season with an 84-75 setback to No. 22-UCLA in Las Vegas. Thursday’s matchup features the highest ranked opponent in Cal Poly’s history and highest since a 73-62, season-opening loss at then-No. 5 Arizona on Nov. 8, 2013.
CAL POLY VERSUS ARIZONA: The Mustangs make their fifth all-time visit to Tucson and first since an 82-61 setback on Nov. 11, 2018. The Wildcats have won all four previous matchups dating to the first on Dec. 13, 1949. The Mustangs also opened the 2013-14 season at then-No. 5 Arizona, falling 73-62 in a matchup that featured five future NBA players – including Cal Poly’s David Nwaba.
MOUSA RETURNS TO FORM SUPPERIOR FORM: An All-Big West first team honoree last season after finishing 25th nationally with 20.4 points per game, junior Hamad Mousa recorded his 32nd double-digit scoring game in 33 outings for Cal Poly with an 18-point performance against Cal State San Marcos (Nov. 2). A 2025 transfer from Dayton after scoring just 26 points in 20 appearances, Mousa scored 652 points in debut Cal Poly season – the second highest total in program history. Mousa needs just 330 more points this year to become the 27th player in program history to reach 1,000 in a career.
BACK IN THE GREEN: With Cal Poly returning 13 players from its 2025-26 roster, only Navy (18) – among more than 360 Division I programs – brings back more rostered competitors from a year ago. Among programs who return double-digit numbers from their 2025-26 rosters, only Air Force (98.0 percent) returns more scoring than Cal Poly (83.2). The Mustangs feature just one player who competed in high school last year.
PORTAL DOORS REMAIN CLOSED: During the previous two offseasons under third-year head coach Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly has lost just one total player to the transfer portal. With Cal Poly one of only five programs to lose a single player to the portal this past offseason, only Navy – with no players lost in two years – has lost less talent than the Mustangs.
UNITED NATIONS: Cal Poly’s 2026-27 roster features players from seven countries (United States, Canada, France, Uruguay, Qatar, Egypt, New Zealand) with the Mustangs remaining the only Division I program to represent all six of the Earth’s habitable regions/continents. Only UT Martin (11), Siena (8), Pepperdine (8) and Utah (8) welcome more international players.
LOOKING AHEAD (9-15): Opening a four-game road stretch Thursday at Arizona, Cal Poly’s upcoming trip extends to Grand Canyon (Wednesday, Nov. 11), defending Big Sky Tournament champion Idaho (Friday, Nov. 13) and Montana State (Sunday, Nov. 15).
ETC.: Cal Poly is in its 33rd Division I season and 83rd as a four-year program … Cal Poly improved to 52-1 against non-Division I programs (since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season) with a 78-62 home win against Division II Cal State San Marcos … Cal Poly’s Nov. 2 season opener marked the earliest start date in program history.
