Cal Poly Men’s Basketball heads up to Moraga to take on an undefeated Saint Mary’s squad that received votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Gaels (5-0) are the reigning West Coast Conference regular season and tournament champs, outlasting longtime rivals Gonzaga in both.
Saint Mary’s is the type of program mid-majors like the Mustangs (3-3) strive to become. A team that consistently punches above its weight and consistently makes postseason tournaments.
The Sun almost goes down
Against an Arizona State squad that also received votes in the AP poll, Cal Poly took them down to the wire despite never holding a lead. Graduate guard Jarred Hyder shot the leather off the basketball, going 7-for-14 from three and leading the game with 27 points.
After falling behind 13 points with 15 minutes to play, Cal Poly cut the lead to a single point three times in the final five minutes.
Joson Sanon’s and-one with a minute to play felt like it could have been the end, but Cal Poly refused to go quietly with a couple of scores before finally falling to the free throw game down the stretch.
It would have been their first win against a Power 4 opponent since they downed No. 11 UCLA in an upset during the 2012-13 season.
Arizona State dominated the rebound battle, collecting 20 more rebounds than the 24 that Cal Poly hauled in.
On the season, Cal Poly has only lost the rebound battle twice and actually has a positive rebounding margin, but that is inflated with a 58-29 advantage against Menlo College on Nov. 10. Take that game out, and they have a -24 differential.
The Mustangs handled the basketball better than they had all season, with 12 turnovers, and it showed, as the Sun Devils scored only nine points off turnovers.
Offensively, Cal Poly got out in transition and scored in the paint over the taller Arizona State frontcourt.
A look at Saint Mary’s
Much like Cal Poly, Saint Mary’s scoring ability runs deep. Four players are in double digits, and three more are averaging seven points.
Mikey Lewis is one of those double-digit scorers. He provides scoring punch off the bench and won WCC Freshman and Player of the Week last week.
Led by Paulius Murauskas’ 17 points and 11 rebounds a night, Saint Mary’s has outrebounded teams 43-29 on average a night.
If Murauskas has free reign to clean the glass like Arizona State did, and the Sun Devils do not have anyone who rebounds as well as Murauskas, it will be a long night for Cal Poly.
The lack of size will once again be a key theme. Murauskas is 6 feet 8 inches tall, while Mitchell Saxen and Harry Wessels are both seven feet tall.
Between the three, they average 20 rebounds, and that does not mention Luke Barrett, who grabs the second most on the team with seven rebounds a game.
Unlike Cal Poly, the Gaels grind the game down to a halt. As of Nov. 22, Cal Poly is No. 17 in the nation in adjusted tempo, or how many possessions a game a team would have against an average tempo team. Saint Mary’s is all the way down at No. 352.
Saint Mary’s hasn’t faced a team in the top 100 in tempo, so the Gaels have an interesting puzzle to solve.
If the Mustangs can get ahead of Saint Mary’s in transition and drag them into deep waters, Cal Poly could have another shock performance against a top school.
The Mustangs get their shot at Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 5 p.m. at the UCU Pavilion.
