CSUN
Mustangs Welcome CSUN Thursday to Open Pivotal Stretch
2/4/2026 2:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – The Cal Poly men’s basketball program plays three of its next four games at home inside Mott Athletics Center, beginning a pivotal stretch Thursday, Feb. 5 against CSUN at 7 p.m. The Mustangs then close the week by visiting UC Davis on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. Winners of back-to-back matchups to climb to sixth in the Big West standings. Cal Poly (9-14, 5-6) trails the two programs occupying fourth – CSUN (13-10, 6-5) and UC Davis (13-9, 6-5) – by a solitary game. Looking ahead, Cal Poly then hosts both Big West leader UC Irvine (Feb. 12) and second place UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 14). Featuring the nation’s 22nd-ranked scorer in sophomore Hamad Mousa (20.6), Cal Poly ranks second among conference programs at 81.5 points per game having scored 90-plus points six times this season. CSUN, also having won consecutive contests, ranks ninth among 361 NCAA Division I programs with 42.1 rebounds per game. UC Davis, meanwhile, hosts UC Santa Barbara Thursday before welcoming Cal Poly.
CAL POLY VERSUS CSUN: The second most frequent opponent in Cal Poly’s program history, Thursday’s matchup marks the 118th meeting between the two programs with CSUN edging ahead in the all-time series, 59-58, following a 95-90 home win on Jan. 8. The Mustangs look to snap a six-game series slide with Cal Poly’s last victory against CSUN a 67-57, Big West-opening win on Dec. 29, 2022.
CAL POLY VERSUS UC DAVIS: The Mustangs attempt to snap a 14-year, 11-game victory drought at UC Davis, having last defeated the Aggies away on Jan. 28, 2012 (67-65). Cal Poly captured this year’s opener at home on Jan. 10 (84-78). The Mustangs lead the all-time series (38-36) while UC Davis holds the Division I edge (29-17).
LONG-RANGE GAME: Cal Poly has once more emerged as one of the nation’s top three-point shooting threats with the Mustangs ranked 10th among 361 NCAA Division I programs with 32.0 attempts per game and 20th with 247 total three-pointers and 10.7 made per game. The Mustangs have knocked down multiple three-pointers in 14 of 23 matchups, topping out with 18 – three shy of the program single game record – during a 94-91 victory at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4). Individually, guard Hamad Mousa ranks 66th nationally with 61 total three-pointers. Fellow sophomore Peter Bandelj, meanwhile, ranks 72nd nationally with a 38.4 (43-for-112) percent mark. Bandelj’s program record nine three-pointers at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 4) rank as the fourth highest single-game total in Division I this season.
Thursday is International Night! ?????
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 3, 2026
Make sure to show out as we honor Cal Poly’s international players, students and opportunities ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/SIbjxaT9A2
GAME ON THE LINE: Buoyed by a program record 20-for-20 performance from the free throw line at Cal State Bakersfield (Jan. 29), Cal Poly now ranks 41st nationally with a Big West best 76.5 percent free throw mark (the program single season record is 78.3). Individually, Hamad Mousa ranks fifth among Big West players with an 86.0 (129-for-150) percent mark while Peter Bandelj is sixth at 85.9 (79-for-92) percent.
MOUSA’S MOMENT: A double-digit scorer in all 22 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 22nd among NCAA Division I players at 20.6 points per game. He’s also 19th nationally with 129 free throws and 66th with 61 total three-pointers. Mousa’s latest highlight scoring endeavor was a 26-point night at UC Riverside (Jan. 31). 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 11 Big West games is 1.8 points higher than the second place scorer. One of just two players from Qatar in Division I this season, Mousa also ranks fifth among Big West players with an 86.0 (129-for-150) percent free throw mark and seventh with 6.0 rebounds per game.
WARD’S SUPERIOR SOPHOMORE EFFORT: Cal Poly’s third leading shooter at 45.1 (106-for-235) percent, sophomore guard Cayden Ward – behind 17 double-digit scoring efforts – enters Thursday’s matchup with CSUN second in the lineup and 12th among Big West players at 14.3 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).
BANDELJ UPS THE SCORING PACE: Cal Poly’s leading returning scorer from last season, sophomore guard Peter Bandelj enters Thursday’s game versus CSUN third in the lineup at 13.7 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 six appearances. Sixth among Big West players with an 85.9 (79-for-92) percent free throw mark, Bandelj – through 57 collegiate appearances – is averaging 11.7 career points per game.
Winners of back-to-back matchups, Cal Poly looks to keep the momentum going ...
— Cal Poly Men’s Basketball (@calpolymbb) February 2, 2026
2?/5? ??@CSUNMBB (7 p.m.)
2?/7? at @ucdavismbb (2 p.m.)#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/7bXeCVTCcO
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.
