Tuesday, January 7, 2020

UCSB vs. Cal Poly Men's Basketball Game Preview, by Gaucho Freg

UCSB @ Cal Poly Preview
Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 7 PM PST
 
Quick Bite:  Gauchos ease into conference play by taking on the two worst rated teams in Cal Poly and Long Beach in the opening week.  The Mustangs, under first year coach John Smith, struggled to beat NAIA Vanguard in their last game and have just one D1 victory on their resume.

By the Numbers                                                              
 
 
                                  Quadrant 4
 
Cal_Poly_Mustangs, small.jpg (4.06KiB)
UCSB logo small.png (7.12KiB)
Record (D1 only) 1-11 9-4
Home/Away vs D1 1-2 (H)  4-3 (A)
Composite National Rankings
DCI 1&2, BPI, KP, Massey, NET, RPI, Sagarin 323 132
NET 322 150
SOS 33 322
Preseason Poll Pick 9th 2nd
Efficiency Rankings (Pomeroy) 
Offense 326 59
Defense 303 249
Scoring 63.7 74.4
FG% 42% 47%
3 PT Makes/Attempts 6.2/21.7 6.4/19.2
3Pt % 35% 33%
FT Makes/Attempts 10.2/23.6 15.3/20.3
FT% 69% 75%
Defense:           PPG Allowed 73.0 67.7
FG % Defense 45% 44.3
3Pt % Defense 37% 35.5
Steals PG 6.0 4.4
Blocks PG 1.6 2.9
Rebounding Margin -4.3 +7.4
Assists/Turnovers PG 10/14.1 14.3/12.1
Best win (NET) Siena (173) UT Arlington (115)
Worst loss (NET) Long Island (271) Rice (237)
Trend (D1 only)
 
Lost 4 Won 4

CP-UCSB History/Last season summary
This will be the 116th meeting between the schools; UCSB holds an 81-35 advantage over its central coast rival.  The Gauchos have won four in a row, winning last season’s two games by 9 & 10 points, respectively.

Mott Gym:  Built in 1960, renovated in 1998, has a capacity of 3,032.  The aging facility is considered a detriment to recruiting but is a fun & loud place when the fans show up. Averaging 1,633 in attendance this year, will be more for the rivalry game.

Head Coach:   John Smith.  The long-time assistant and associate head coach at Fullerton took over for the fired Joe Callero at the helm of the Mustangs and, with the cupboard left bare, is off to predictably slow start.

Roster 
Poly experienced a lot of turnover from last year’s team and, as expected with a new coach in a transition year, the roster is a hodgepodge of inexperienced new players and transfers.  Coach Smith seems to be trying different things with a variety of starting lineups the past few games.

Possible Starters
Guard Junior Ballard  #24  6’3”, 200 lb. Sophomore  11.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 33% from deep, 25 mpg.
Leads team in scoring, made FTs (32/43) and is second in made three pointers
Guard Colby Rogers #3  6’5”, 190 lb. Freshman  8.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 23 mpg
Guard Job Alexander  #1  6’4”, 200 lb. JC Transfer Senior  3.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 13 mpg
Seems to be a starter in name only, limited minutes & production.
Forward Alimany Koroma  #15  6’8”, 220 lb, Freshman 6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 17 mpg.
Forward Tuuka Jaakola  #14  6’10”, 240 lb, Sophomore  7.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg,  24 mpg
Leads team in FT attempts, making 61%.   55% FG shooting leads team. From Finland

Possible Key Reserves
Point Guard Keith Smith #0  6’0”, 170 lb. RS Junior (Fullerton) 3.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 22 mpg
Has started 7 games.  Leads team in assists.
Forward Kyle Colvin   #33  6’6”, 200lb RS Freshman  8.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 32% from deep.
Leads team in minutes played, 27 mpg
Guard Jamal Smith #3  6’3”, 170 lb. GT (Fullerton) 5.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 23 mpg
Has started 8 games.  1.4 apg is second on team.  8/25 from deep.  Leads team in turnovers.
Wing Malek Harwell   #5  6’5”, 188lb GT (Boise St) 8.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 13/30 (43%) from deep, 22 mpg
Second on team in scoring, has started 5 games.
Wing Mark Crowe   #5  6’5”, 205lb RS Junior
Top 3 point shooter from last season has been quiet this year.

Injured/Not Available:
Forward Hank Hollingsworth  #30  6’10”, 235 lb, Senior 

Overview & Match-Up:  Poly, simply put, is not a good team and the Gauchos, if they play to their normal level, should win easily.  The Mustangs are a decent three point shooting team so the perimeter defense needs to be on point.

Keys to the game for the Gauchos:
·        Remember January 4, 2018
·        Don’t let Poly get good perimeter looks
·        Own the boards

Prediction:  UCSB 80 CP 65

Official Site:    http://www.calpolymustangs.com/sports/mbkb/index
Hey Guys! (two boards now, both active)   https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/calpoly ... board-f66/
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/calpolymustangs/
How to Watch:  https://bigwest.org/watch/default.aspx? ... th=calpoly

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