Cal Poly faces their first repeat opponent in Big West Conference play as they host UC Davis on Thursday, Jan. 16, at Mott Athletics Center.
The Aggies (9-8, 3-3 Big West) opened up Big West play with a win against the Mustangs (6-12, 0-6 Big West) 77-66.
Cal Poly’s regular season conference losing streak has extended out to 44 games, the third longest in Division-I history behind Colgate (47, 1984-1987) and Chicago (60, 1940-1946), according to the NCAA Elias Sports archives.
Mustangs fall at the buzzer
Inside Mott Gym, the Mustangs took Blue-Green rivals UC Santa Barbara down to the wire.
The difference was a dagger launched by Stephan Swenson, sending the Cal Poly faithful home empty-handed.
Cal Poly operated a line change-esque substitution pattern, rotating all five players at a time.
This served the team well in the second half, and fresher legs led to yet another second-half surge. The team shot 54% from the field and tied the game with 16 seconds left before Swenson hit the game-winner.
While the team is still searching for that first win in conference play, Cal Poly has been competitive in almost every single game this year.
What Cal Poly Needs to fix against UC Davis
When the Mustangs traveled north to Davis to open the Big West season, they did so without suiting up senior guard Isaac Jessup or graduate guard Jarred Hyder.
It showed when the team turned the ball over 33 times, nine times more than any other game this season.
Cal Poly needs better ball security in this matchup to prevent UC Davis from getting out in transition.
Having Hyder and Jessup in the rotation should help the offense flow, eliminate those turnovers and create higher-quality shots from behind the arc.
Cal Poly hosts the Aggies on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Mott Athletics Center at 7 p.m.