After two tough losses in Big West Conference play, Cal Poly Men’s Basketball re-enters the non-conference realm as they head north to take on San Jose State on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Credit Union Event Center.
The Mustangs (5-6, 0-2 Big West) will look to shake off back-to-back losses against the Spartans (5-6, 0-1 Mountain West).
Cal Poly will follow that contest up against Denver at home and Omaha in an away game before resuming Big West play.
Road Woes
Cal Poly’s road record this season is 2-5. Despite that mark, they have had impressive showings at Arizona State, San Francisco and Stanford.
The offense especially struggles on the road compared to playing at home, as they average 86.8 points at home and 78.7 on the road.
In their matchup against UC Davis last Thursday, Cal Poly scored only 66 points while turning the ball over 20 times in the first half.
The Mustangs were without senior guard Isaac Jessup and graduate guard Jarred Hyder in their conference matchups. Both average double digits in points per game, while Jessup is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation.
In their absences, freshman guard Guzman Vascilic had a career night with 16 points, and freshman guard Peter Bandelj had 15 points.
If Jessup and Hyder were to miss another game, the Mustangs would need both to step up big again.
A look at the Spartans
The Spartans started their season 1-5, with a particularly bad home loss to Western Illinois of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Since that stretch, San Jose State has rallied and boasts a 4-1 record since then, with the only loss being their conference opener in New Mexico.
San Jose State is led by Josh Uduje, a scorer who can hurt you at the rim or from behind the arc. With back-to-back double-doubles, Robert Vaihola has recently been a major factor in the Spartans’ success.
While Cal Poly is still awaiting the return of Hyder and Jessup, San Jose State could be without second-leading scorer and sharpshooter Will McClendon.
McClendon is the only other Spartans scorer in double figures. If he misses his second straight game, graduate guard Mac Riniker will draw the lone assignment of hounding Uduje.