Schedule
Game No. 20
Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 PM
UC Santa Barbara (11-9, 3-4) vs Cal State Fullerton (14-8, 7-3)
at The Thunderdome — Santa Barbara, Calif.
ESPN+ | Live Stats

Game No. 21
Saturday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 PM (BLACKOUT GAME)
UC Santa Barbara (11-9, 3-4) vs Long Beach State (14-9, 9-1)
at The Thunderdome — Santa Barbara, Calif.
ESPN+ | Live Stats

Spectator Policy
Tickets for this week's games against the top two teams in the Big West are on sale to the public and available at our online ticket office. UCSB has moved to a completely mobile/digital ticketing platform. For more information, click here.

Students who want to reserve their tickets must do so 48 hours in advance in the Gaucho Gameday App or on the following AXS pages:

Thursday, February 16^th vs Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, February 18^th vs Long Beach State

See vaccination and testing requirements for pre-entry at all indoor events HERE. Spectators must wear a face covering at all times. No food or beverages will be allowed in the facility and concessions will not be available.

Gaucho Gameday App
Install the new UCSB Gaucho Gameday app on your smartphone for exclusive UCSB coverage all season long. Our new app gives you a one stop shop where you can secure tickets and parking as well. Now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Blackout Night!
When The Beach comes to the Thunderdome this Saturday, the UCSB Men's Basketball Team wants every Gaucho fan to dress in black as the Gauchos dawn their all-black jerseys. First 1,000 students in attendance will receive a free black UCSB Basketball shirt!

Gauchos on the Air
Both games will be aired lived on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Max Kelton and Gaucho legend Jerry Pimm on the call for UCSB. Additionally, live stats are also available there.

Best in the (Big) West
UCSB ranks atop the Big West Conference in several statistical categories this season

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio – 1.15
Assists Per Game – 15.9 apg (32^nd in NCAA DI)
Field Goal Percentage – 49.1% (8th in NCAA DI)
Scoring Margin – 9.3 ppg (47^th in NCAA DI)
Total Assists – 318

The Gauchos also rank top three in defensive field goal percentage, total blocks, blocks per game, rebound margin, scoring defense, and three-point defense.

Mitchell Breaks Back-to-Back Career-Highs
This past week, freshman guard Ajay Mitchell led the Gauchos to a pair of wins over CSUB and Cal Poly scoring a career-high 21 points on the Roadrunners and following that performance up with 25 more over the rival Mustangs. Over the two-game span Mitchell averaged 33 mpg, 23 ppg, 3.5 rpg, and shot 60.8% from the field and 88.8% from the free-throw line. Against Cal Poly he made 11 straight free-throws, drawing nine fouls in the game, and missed just his final attempt.

Milestone Watch
Head Coach Joe Pasternack reached the milestone of 150 wins in his career after defeating CSUN on the road on January 25th, and is now one win away from reaching 100 wins at UCSB. He would become sixth Gaucho head coach to do so.

Norris Etches His Name
In the team's road win over CSUN on Tuesday, January 25, senior forward Miles Norris tied the all-time three-point record, hitting nine in a row to lift his team over the Matadors. Norris went an almost perfect 1.000 from deep hitting 9-of-10 and only missing his final attempt. He notched a career-high 31 points in the effort as well. He followed that up a few games later with a 32-point performance over UCSD where he went 13-for-16 from the field and 5-for-7 from deep to go with five boards.

1300-700 Club
In the Gauchos' 73-62 win over Florida A&M senior center Amadou Sow notched a nine-point, 10-rebound performance that put him over the 700-rebound mark in his career. He became just the fourth Gaucho in school history to hit 1300 points and 700 rebounds in a career joining Alan Williams, Doug Rex, and Chris Devine in that club. He joined the 1400-700 club on the road at Cal State Fullerton and now boasts 1,483 career points (9^th all-time) and 788 rebounds (5^th all-time).

Rejected by Robinson
Veteran center Robinson Idehen, often referred to as the 'soul of the team' by Pasternack, has proved to be one of the top shot blockers in the conference ranking third with 1.16 blocks per game. His career-high five blocks against Chicago State are tied for the best performance by any Big West player this season and his 77 career blocks rank 10^th all-time in program history.

On the offensive end, Idehen is on track to be the most efficient scorer in Gaucho history currently boasting a 67% field goal percentage for his career.

Sow Leads the Way
Senior center Amadou Sow is currently ranked top-10 in the Big West in several categories:

Field Goal Percentage – 54.1 % (1^st – 49^th in NCAA DI)
Rebounds Per Game – 8.2 (2^nd)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game – 2.95 (3^rd – 50^th in NCAA DI)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game – 5.2 (4^th)
Double-Doubles – 3 (5^th)
Points Per Game – 15.1 (6^th)
Blocked Shots Per Game – 0.90 (7^th)
Free-Throw Percentage – 79.1% (8^th)

Freshman on Fire
Freshman guard Ajay Mitchell has emerged as one of the top guards in the Big West Conference and the country through the first year of his young career. He currently leads the conference and is 38^th in the country with a 2.60 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is also third in assists per game with 3.8. Mitchell set an early career-high in the team's win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff dropping 10 dimes and committing zero turnovers, and followed that up with an eight assist-one turnover performance against Cal Lutheran. His 10-assist performance is the best by any Big West player this season.

SWishart
Junior guard Calvin Wishart had a remarkable first half performance off the bench in the team's victory over Pepperdine that ultimately helped the Gauchos keep pace with the Waves going into the locker room. Wishart scored a career-high 23 points, all in the first period, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, 4-for-4 from three, and 9-for-9 from the free throw line. He took and missed just one shot in the second half and totaled two rebounds, three assists, and two steals in the game.

Cerebro Sports Cali Jam All-Tournament Team
UCSB's games with Chicago State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff were a part of the Cerebro Sports Cali Jam tournament and at the contest's conclusion two Gauchos were named to the All-Tournament Team. Amadu Sow, who averaged 16.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and shot 77.8% from the field in the two games was named the Tournament MVP. Freshman Ajay Mitchell, who averaged 8.5 ppg and 7.0 apg while also leading the team in minutes, was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Dome Sweet Dome
The Gauchos win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff marked the 20^th straight home win for the Gauchos, who were perfect in the Thunderdome from January 25, 2020 to November 24^th 2021. It is the longest streak in UCSB history.

History Made
UCSB's 119-65 win over San Francisco State on opening night broke several top-ten marks in the Gaucho record book:

- 29 assists, 3^rd most in program history
- 119 points, 4^th most in program history
- 65 rebounds, T-5^th most in program history
- 60 first half points, T-7^th most in program history
- 59 second half points, T-8^th most in program history
- 32 free throws made, T-10^th most in program history

Run it Back
The reigning Big West champions return to the court with a new goal this season and it's becoming the first Big West team to repeat since the Gauchos did 10 years ago and get back to the NCAA Tournament.

Last season, UCSB went 22-5 overall and 13-3 in Big West Conference play on its way to a Big West regular season title, a Big West Tournament Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. In addition to Norris and Sow, their key returners include Big West Sixth Man of the Year Ajare Sanni, senior forward Robinson Idehen, and junior guard Calvin Wishart, who will be making his Gaucho debut after redshirting last season.

Sow Named to Lou Henson Watch List
Just one day after being named to the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team, senior center Amadou Sow earned another preseason nod being named to the 2021-22 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award watch list. The award is presented to the best mid-major men's basketball player of the year. He is one of just two Big West players to be named joining UC Irvine's Collin Welp.

UCSB Picked to Repeat in Preseason Polls
UCSB was picked as the unanimous regular season champion of the Big West in the annual preseason coaches' and media polls. The Gauchos accumulated 69 points and five first place votes in the coaches' poll beating out second-seeded UC Irvine by a narrow margin of just one point and one first place vote. The two teams spilt the nine first place nods.

In the media poll the Gauchos garnered 103 points and six first place votes to the Anteater's 100 points and two first place votes. Rounding out the top-four in both polls are UC Riverside and UC Davis finishing third and fourth, respectively.

Sow and Norris named to Preseason All-Conference Team
Along with the preseason polls came two different Preseason All-Conference teams. Senior center Amadou Sow picked up his third straight preseason nod as a unanimous preseason pick on both the coaches' and media poll. The Gaucho big averaged 13.0 points per game and 7.5 rebounds while shooting a potent 56.9% from the field last season.

Senior Forward Miles Norris was named to preseason team on the coaches' poll after exploding on to the scene in his first season with UCSB proving to be one of the most exciting players in conference. The 6-10 forward brought length, excellent shooting, and electric dunks to the Thunderdome on his way to averaging 9.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 39.4% from three and 49.2% from the field. He also led the team with 22 blocks.

Coming in at No. 14
College Insider's preseason Men's Mid Major Top 25 list named the Gauchos as the 14^th best mid major program in DI basketball. They were the only Big West team in the rankings and were the fourth highest ranked west coast team in the first edition of the poll.