HENDERSON, Nev. (March 8, 2023) – The No. 2 UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (24-7, 15-5) are ready to kick off The Big West Championships in Henderson, Nevada as the Gauchos will take on the No. 10 Cal Poly Mustangs in the opening round of competition. The last time these two teams played each other was in The Thunderdome back on Feb. 2, when UC Santa Barbara secured the second leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry with a 68-62 win.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos rounded out the regular season in The Thunderdome as they hosted the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors with The Big West Regular Season Title on the line. UC Santa Barbara played some of their best basketball of the season as they took down Hawai'i 81-61, securing their share of The Big West Regular Season Title.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly has made it to The Big West Quarterfinals after coming in as the No. 10 seed in the tournament. To make it here, the Mustangs defeated the reigning champions, Long Beach State 88-68. Brantly Stevenson was on fire in the opening round, scoring a game-high 28 points. This was his second-best performance of the season behind his 32-point game against UC Riverside, when the Mustangs lost by one in overtime. Nick Fleming, Cameron Pierce and Alimamy Koroma also finished with double-digit points, putting up 16 points, 14 points and 10 points, respectively.
The Mustangs continue to have one of the strongest benches in the league as their players come off the bench to average 19.5 points per game, the second highest number in The Big West.
All season long, the Mustangs were led by Stevenson and Koroma, who were the only two players on this team to average double-digit points. Stevenson is averaging 11 points per game, putting up 352 this season as a junior while Koroma has 338 and is averaging 10.56 points per game as a senior.
On the boards, Trevon Taylor is the biggest threat for the Mustangs. He leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 4.78 a game with Chance Hunter close behind him with 4.38 a game.
Pierce is not only one of the team's leaders when it comes to points, but he helps distribute the ball on offense as well. The junior guard leads the team in assists, securing 54 this season.
Nick Fleming has the most steals on this team out of active players, grabbing 27 throughout the season. Stevenson is right behind him as he has 25 on the year.
The Mustangs are coached by John Smith. He began his head coaching career with Cal Poly in 2019 and currently boasts an overall record of 26-88. Prior to his time in San Luis Obispo, Smith was the associate head coach at rival Big West institution Cal State Fullerton, where he led the recruiting efforts for the Titans.
WHEREABOUTS
The Gauchos and the Mustangs will face off in this postseason game beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 9 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. For fans who can't make it to the arena, they can watch from home through ESPN+ while also following along with live stats provided by The Big West. The Gauchos will also have a radio broadcast available through ucsbgauchos.com.
