SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (17-3, 8-1 Big West) are back in The Thunderdome after securing a one-point victory over Hawai'i on their home court. Now, the Gauchos will continue Big West play as they take on the Cal Poly Mustangs in the Blue-Green Rivalry. The last time these two teams faced each other was on Cal Poly's home court in San Luis Obispo earlier this season, where the Gauchos won 62-57.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos took the court at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawai'i. The early lead belonged to UC Santa Barbara as they were up by as much as 12 points in the first half before the Rainbow Warriors battled back into the game. Hawai'i closed the gap between them and the Gauchos, resulting in the Rainbow Warriors taking the lead late in the second. However, Ajay Mitchell came up big for his team, making a layup with just 1.5 seconds left on the clock to give the Gauchos a one-point advantage and, ultimately, the 65-64 win.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly has only secured one win so far during conference play against CSUN, taking losses to the rest of the teams along the way. Most recently, the Mustangs faced Cal State Fullerton, dropping the game 65-36 on their home court.
The Mustangs have one of the best benches in The Big West when it comes to scoring points. Cal Poly's bench scores 21.05 points per game, which puts them just behind UC Irvine. They are also second in the conference with one of the best free throw percentages, sitting at 74.3 percent from the charity stripe.
Cal Poly is led by a par of seniors in Alimamy Koroma and Trevon Taylor. They are the only two Mustangs to register more than 200 points in this season so far. Koroma leads the team in scoring with 224 points, averaging 10.8 a game. Along with that, he has one of the best shots on the team with a 51.57 field goal percentage. Taylor currently has 219 which equates to 9.95 a game. Taylor is also the only player for the Mustangs to start every game this season. Not only does he create offensive opportunities for himself, but he knows how to grab the ball on defense. Taylor leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 114 to average 5.18 per game.
This team is known for its elite free throw shooting, and Brantly Stevenson is a big part of that. The junior who started in 16 games this season is shooting from the free throw line at 88.57 percent.
Kobe Sanders is a key player for this team when it comes to assists and steals. He leads the team in both of these categories as he snatches the ball on one end of the court to create offensive opportunities for his team. At this point in the season, he leads the team in steals (25) and assists (43).
The Mustangs are led by John Smith, who is in his fourth season with the team. Since taking over in 2019, Smith holds a record of 25-79 with Cal Poly. This is his first head coaching job after serving as the associate head coach at Cal State Fullerton for seven seasons.
WHEREABOUTS
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. in The Thunderdome on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. The first 3,000 fans will all receive rally towels for this game. For fans who can't make it to The Thunderdome, a live stream will be available through ESPN+ with live stats.
