UC Irvine
Mustangs Host Big West Leader UC Irvine Thursday, Rival UCSB Saturday
2/10/2026 11:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Playing three of its next four games at home inside Mott Athletics Center, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program hosts Big West leader UC Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 12 (7 p.m.) before welcoming third place UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Feb. 14 (4 p.m.). Both matchups stream live on ESPN+ for Cal Poly (9-16, 5-8), which enters play this week eighth in the Big West standings with the top eight programs qualifying for the March 11-14 Big West Championship. Featuring the nation’s 20th-ranked scorer in sophomore Hamad Mousa (20.8), Cal Poly ranks third among conference programs at 81.1 points per game having scored 90-plus points seven times this season. UC Irvine (16-8, 9-3), sharing first place alongside Hawai’i, saw a four-game winning streak snapped Saturday at UC Santa Barbara, 84-79. UC Santa Barbara (16-8, 9-4), winners of seven of its last eight to climb a half-game out of first place, leads the Big West with a 48.3 percent field goal mark and 38.2 percent three-point mark.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC IRVINE: The Mustangs look to snap a seven-game slide against UC Irvine dating to a 65-54 home victory on March 3, 2022. Sweeping all three matchups last season, UC Irvine eliminated Cal Poly from the 2025 Big West Championship semifinals, 96-78. The Anteaters lead both the all-time (47-23) and Division I (44-20) series.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC SANTA BARBARA: The most frequent opponent in Cal Poly program history, UC Santa Barbara has won 17 straight matchups versus the Mustangs. Cal Poly’s last series win occurred Jan. 4, 2018 with the Mustangs overturning a 21-2 first-half deficit to prevail at home, 80-79. The Gauchos lead both the all-time (87-35) and Division I (53-14) series since the first meeting between the two sides on Jan. 10, 1947.
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 32.4 attempts per game and 13th with 272 total three-pointers and 10.9 made per game. The Mustangs have knocked down multiple three-pointers in 15 of 25 matchups, topping out with 18 – three shy of the program single game record – during a 94-91 victory at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4) and 17 against CSUN (Feb. 5). Individually, guard Hamad Mousa ranks 57th nationally with 68 total three-pointers and 84th with a 37.6 (68-for-181) percent three-point mark.
GAME ON THE LINE: Shooting 92.8 (64-for-69) percent from the free throw line during the last four games – including a program record 20-for-20 performance at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 29) – Cal Poly now ranks 18th nationally with a 77.5 percent mark this season (the program single season record is 78.3). Individually, Hamad Mousa ranks third among Big West players with an 87.2 (143-for-164) percent mark while Peter Bandelj is fifth at 86.0 (86-for-100) percent.
MOUSA’S MOMENT: A double-digit scorer in all 24 appearances, sophomore guard Hamad Mousa – who finished with 26 total points in 20 games at Dayton last season – continues to lead the Big West and ranks 20th among NCAA Division I players at 20.8 points per game. He’s also 15th nationally with 143 total free throws and 57th with 68 total three-pointers. Mousa’s latest highlight scoring endeavor was a 33-point night against CSUN (Feb. 5). His career best performance was a 34-point effort at CSUN (Jan. 8) while also recording 33 against Idaho (Dec. 21) and 31 versus UC Riverside (Dec. 6). Mousa’s 22.2 point-per-game average in 13 Big West games is 2.8 points higher than the second place scorer. One of just two players from Qatar in Division I this season, Mousa also ranks third among Big West players with an 87.2 (143-for-164) percent free throw mark and eighth with 5.9 rebounds per game.
WARD’S SUPERIOR SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Behind 18 double-digit scoring games, sophomore guard Cayden Ward enters Thursday’s matchup with UC Irvine second in the lineup and 12th among Big West players at 13.9 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). On the boards, Ward is second in Cal Poly’s lineup at 5.7 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 versus UC Irvine third in the lineup at 13.8 points per game. Highlighted by a career high 37-point performance that included a program record nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4), Bandelj is a double-digit scorer in all but seven appearances. Fifth among Big West players with an 86.0 (86-for-100) percent free throw mark, Bandelj – through 57 collegiate appearances – is averaging 11.8 career points per game.
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) … Cal Poly’s 95.5 (21-for-22) percent free throw performance at UCLA (21-for-22) marked the fourth highest single game figure in program history and the highest total with one miss … a 20-for-20 free throw effort at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 29) established a new program record for most conversions without a miss, besting a 17-for-17 performance at UC Irvine on March 3, 2022.
