FULLERTON, Calif. (Dec. 28, 2022) – Big West play is upon us as UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball travels to Cal State Fullerton to open up the conference schedule. The Titans are currently on a two-game winning streak over the Gauchos despite UC Santa Barbara having the better overall record, sitting at a 50-42 record in this series.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos competed at the Jerry Colangelo Classic before taking a break for Christmas as they took on the Appalachian State Mountaineers. UC Santa Barbara grabbed the first basket of the game, taking an early lead over their Sun Belt competitor. However, the Mountaineers fought back and had the lead at the half. Once the second half began, the Gauchos fought for the lead, and they got it. UC Santa Barbara came back and won by 11 points, winning the game 61-50.
Miles Norris ended the night with his second double-double in as many games, earning 17 points and 10 rebounds to earn him MVP honors. Ajay Mitchell continues to be a standout for the Gauchos as he rounded out the non-conference schedule with 22 points, three assists and two steals.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton comes into Big West play with a 6-6 record against non-conference opponents. They played tough teams like San Diego State, USC and Utah Tech along the way. The Titans secured back-to-back overtime wins against Vermont and Pacific this season while also defeating Pepperdine, Westcliff, San Diego Christian and, most recently, Sacramento State.
The Titans are known by their opponents for their three-point shooting. With the help from Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Cal State Fullerton is second in The Big West in three pointers per game with 7.8 and three-point field goal percentage as they shoot at a 36.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Wrightsell not only leads the team in threes, but he is the team's leading scorer. The junior played in all but one game for the Titans as he racked up 171 points in those 11 games as he averages 15.5 points per game. He also leads the team in steals with 13 and is tied for the most assists with 32.
Following up close behind him in points is senior teammate Jalen Harris. He is one of two people to start in all 12 games this season as he has 153 points on the season. He is second on the team in points per game, averaging 12.75. He also sets up the offense when he isn't scoring as he currently is tied for the most assists on the team with 32.
Lee Vincent is also a major player for this team. The senior forward is shooting at 62.5 percent, making 50 of 80 field goals with no shots attempted from three. He is also the team's leading rebounder, snatching 61 on the season. With all of this, he averages 10.27 points per game along with 5.5 rebounds per game. He also leads the team in blocks with eight through 11 games.
The Titans are coached by Dedrique Taylor, who is in his 10th season with the program. Over his time as a head coach, he has amassed a 127-154 record. Taylor is no stranger to The Big West as he played for UC Davis, helping them to two NCAA Regional tournaments. Prior to the Titans, Taylor was an associate head coach at Arizona State.
WHEREABOUTS
This game between the Gauchos and Titans will take place in Fullerton, California at Titan Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. with this game being selected as the Wild Card game by ESPN. With that, the Gauchos will be on ESPNU with ESPN+ members having access to watch the game through the app. Along with that, there will be live stats and radio available through ucsbgauchos.com.
