Tuesday, December 27, 2022

UCSB vs CSF Game Preview, by gauchodan

Game 12 (BW Game 1)
UCSB at Cal State Fullerton
Thursday, December 29, 2022, 6:00 pm PST
Fullerton, Calif.
 
Quick Bite
The Gauchos (9-2) ride a 5-game winning streak into Big West Conference play as the prohibitive favorite.  Three of those wins came away from home: an overtime victory at Pepperdine, a 12-point decision at Portland State and a neutral-site win over Appalachian State.  For all the talk of UCSB's weak scheduling, some of this year's opponents are performing well enough to elevate out of Quad 4 territory.  Pepperdine is now a Quad 2 victory while the Fresno and PSU wins land in the Quad 3 column.  The Gauchos are 1-1 vs. Q2 (loss at Duquesne) and 2-0 vs. Q3.

As long as the Titans (6-6) maintain a NET at 240 or better (currently 206), this will slot as a Q3 game as well.  Fullerton has been streaky, which correlates with their home/away profile.  The Titans are 5-0 at home and 1-6 on the road or at neutral sites.  CSUF has three opponents in common with the Gauchos:

UCSBCSUF
Pepperdine67-64 A74-71 H
Pacific82-7194-91 A
SD Christian81-68 H87-35 H

 

UCSB-Cal State Fullerton History
UCSB leads the series 50-42.
The Gauchos were 0-2 vs. the Titans in 2021-22.  A 79-73 loss at Fullerton was a 3rd-straight loss for the then-reeling Gauchos in mid-January.  A mid-February 67-58 loss was the only blemish in a 9-1 run by the then-streaking Gauchos.

The Arena
Titan Gym
Capacity: 4,000
Titan Gym has served as the home court advantage for the Titans' men's and women's basketball programs since the 1964-65 season.  Historically one of the most difficult places to play because of the proximity of the bleachers to the playing floor, Titan Gym has been upgraded over the past few years to make it more fan friendly while still intimate.  Chairback seats have replaced most of the bleachers, portable basket supports have replaced fold-down backboards, new paint and championship banners now adorn the walls, and the floor was redesigned and resurfaced during the summer of 2013.  The 2012-13 season introduced a video board at the east end and scoreboards at each end that feature in-game individual player statistical updates.

Head Coach
Dedrique Taylor
overall/Cal State Fullerton: 127-154 (.452)
Former Arizona State associate head men's basketball coach and long-time college assistant Dedrique Taylor was appointed the 11th men's basketball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on April 3, 2013. The 2022-23 season marks his 10th season at the helm of the program.  During the 2021-22 season, Taylor did what no other Cal State Fullerton head coach has accomplished during their tenure, leading the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances.  Taylor is the first coach in program history to lead the Titans to the NCAA Tournament on two separate occasions.  Furthermore, he is the first coach to have two 20+ win seasons and is the first coach to have 10+ conference wins in four different seasons.  Taylor played for Bob Williams at Division II UC Davis and then came back in 2000-01 to start his coaching career as an assistant under Williams after earning a master's degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy in 2000.

Cal State Fullerton Roster
Latrell Wrightsell #3 JR G, 6-3 189, Omaha, NE -- 15.5 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 2.9 Ast
Jalen Harris #0 SR G, 6-1 180, Los Angeles, CA -- 12.8 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 2.7 Ast
Max Jones #2 JR G, 6-5 206, Clearwater, FL -- 10.4 Pts, 4.7 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Vincent Lee #13 SR F, 6-8 230, Midlothian, TX -- 10.3 Pts, 5.5 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Tory San Antonio #23 SR G, 6-3 165, Moreno Valley, CA -- 5.8 Pts, 4.6 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Garrison Wade #22 SR F, 6-6 200, Madison, MS -- 6.3 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Lathaniel Bastian #14 SO G, 6-8 225, Nassau, Bahamas -- 3.3 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Grayson Carper #21 SR G, 6-6 190, Fresno, CA -- 3.5 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Daeshawn Eaton #1 JR G, 6-2 160, Columbia, MD -- 3.3 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.2 Ast
Victor Panov #5 FR F, 6-7 230, Saint Petersburg, Russia -- 2.2 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Ibrahim Famouke Doumbia #10 SR F, 6-7 205, Bamako, Mali -- 3.3 Pts, 0.3 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Cameron Carter #35 SR G, 6-2 180, Reno, NV -- 2.0 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Trey Blackmore #11 FR G, 6-2 165, San Antonio, TX - 0.8 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast
John Mikey Square #32 JR F, 6-6 210, North Bethesda, MD -- 0.5 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Jayden White #12 FR F, 6-7 200, San Marcos, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast

UCSB Roster
Ajay Mitchell #13 SO G, 6-4 180, Sainte Marie Namur (Belgium) -- 15.4 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 4.6 Ast
Miles Norris #5 SR F, 6-10 220, San Diego, CA -- 13.5 Pts, 6,8 Reb, 1.7 Ast
Andre Kelly #2 SR F, 6-8 255, Stockton, CA -- 9.3 Pts, 7.4 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Josh Pierre-Louis #1 SR G, 6-4 185, Plainfield, NJ -- 10.0 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 2.4 Ast
Calvin Wishart #10 SR G, 6-1 180, Delano, MN -- 7.2 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 2.8 Ast
Cole Anderson #4 SO G, 6-4 185, Fresno, CA -- 6.9 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Ajare Sanni #3 SR G, 6-3 170, Houston, TX -- 7.4 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Jakov Kukic #14 JR F, 6-10 230, Split, Croatia -- 2.0 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Zach Harvey #11 SO G, 6-5 195, Topeka, KS -- 2.2 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Koat Keat Tong #00 FR F, 6-9 215, Bentiu, South Sudan -- 0.9 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Evans Kipruto #12 JR F, 6-8 250, Nairobi, Kenya -- 1.0 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Matija Belic #32 FR G, 6-7 205, Belgrade, Serbia -- 0.3 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Gage Gomez #50 JR G, 6-3 190, Arroyo Grande, CA -- 1.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
David Pickles #40 SO F, 6-10 235, Seattle, WA -- 1.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Ariel Bland #23 SO F, 6-7 215, Eden Prairie, MN -- 0.0 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Henry Hartwell #51 FR G, 6-5 180, Oceanside, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Max Sheldon #53 SO G, 5-11 180, Santa Barbara, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
 
Cal State Fullerton National Ranking Outliers
Team
Assists per game: 306 (11.6)
Field Goal Percentage: 280 (.423)
Free Throw Percentage: 325 (.642)
Three-Point Percentage: 71 (.366)
Player
Vincent Lee -- Rebounds (offensive) per game: 82 (2.82)

UCSB National Ranking Outliers
Team
Bench Points per game: 278 (16.73)
Field Goal percentage: 51 (.479)
Rebound margin: 20 (+8.3)
Rebounds (defensive) per game: 51 (27.82)
Rebounds per game: 75 (38.36)
Three Point attempts per game: 333 (16.5)
Three Pointers per game: 328 (5.4)
Winning percentage: 35 (.818)
Players
Ajay Mitchell -- Assists per game: 73 (4.6), Steals per game: 89 (1.91)
Andre Kelly -- Rebounds (defensive) per game: 79 (5.82)

Prediction
The Gauchos clearly had a better non-conference season than the Titans.  Fullerton's prowess at home is somewhat muted by UCSB's ability to win away from the Thunderdome (4-2).  The Gauchos need to run the Titans off the 3-point line and yet prevent penetrating drives, a usual CSUF specialty.  UCSB 65, Cal State Fullerton 63

Official Site:  https://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/m-baskbl/index
Hey Guys!:  https://247sports.com/college/cal-state ... rt-103523/
How to Watch:  https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ ... ef74250fcd
Live stats:  https://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/ ... 9_bqmr.xml

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