Picked to finish last in a preseason media poll, Cal Poly is defying the prognosticators in winning five of its first seven Big West games. The Mustangs and Central Coast rival UC Santa Barbara are tied for second place with 5-2 league records, and the two schools face each other this Thursday.
NOTEWORTHY
Keep An Eye On
Orlando Johnson, UC Santa Barbara
Johnson strengthened his candidacy for Big West Player of the Year honors with a clutch performance in UC Santa Barbara’s thrilling 85-80 overtime win against Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. The sophomore guard drained a 28-foot three-pointer with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 72-72, and finished the game with a season-high 27 points. Johnson, who is second in the Big West in scoring (17.2 ppg), has provided double figure scoring in all 17 games.
MORE NOTABLES
Pacific Remains In The Catbird Seat
Pacific defeated Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis last week to improve to 5-1 in Big West play and maintain its grip on first place in the league standings. The Tigers hold a one-half game lead on second place co-occupants Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. Pacific, which has won five of its last six games, travels to UC Irvine and UC Riverside this week. The latter game against the Highlanders will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 5:00 p.m. (PST) on Saturday.
Central Coast Rendezvous Part One
The rivalry is revisited on Thursday when Central Coast cohorts Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara hook up for a key Big West battle at The Thunderdome. Both teams own 5-2 league records and the winner of this game will take over first place in the event Pacific loses at UC Irvine. As far as preseason predictions go, the Gauchos aren’t surprising anyone with their 10-7 overall mark and second place seat. UCSB was picked to finish second in the preseason media poll. What may be surprising to some is the emergence of Cal Poly as a championship contender at the midway point of conference play. The Mustangs were picked to finish last in the preseason poll. After an 0-5 start, Cal Poly has rebounded to win eight of its last 13 contests.
More On The Gaucho-Mustang Rivalry
UC Santa Barbara has won the last four meetings against Cal Poly, including a 68-66 triumph on Valentine’s Day last season. The Gauchos have defeated the Mustangs 10 of the last 11 times in The Thunderdome, with the only setback coming in the 2006-07 season. The game is part of the Blue-Green Rivalry Series for Sustainability, in which the two schools compete across 16 sports while promoting the recycling efforts of both universities.
Clutch Opportunities
If regular season outcomes foretell what’s in store for the Big West Tournament in March, then expect there to be plenty of closely contested games at the league’s annual showcase event. Of the 30 league games that have been played, 40 percent have been decided by five points or less. Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have each won three such “close” games. Three of last week’s seven encounters went down to the wire, including CP’s wins over UC Riverside (67-65) and Cal State Northridge (73-72).
CLOSE OUTCOMES IN BIG WEST PLAY
Through Jan. 24 • 30 total games played
Teams Result Margin
Cal State Fullerton@UC Davis UCD, 67-63 4 points
Long Beach State@UC Riverside UCR, 69-67 2 points
UC Santa Barbara@UC Irvine UCI, 57-55 2 points
UC Santa Barbara@UC Riverside UCSB, 57-53 4 points
UC Irvine@Cal State Northridge UCI, 65-62 3 points
UC Irvine@Long Beach State LBSU, 55-53 2 points
UC Davis@Cal Poly CP, 72-69 3 points
Pacific@UC Santa Barbara UCSB, 68-67 1 point
UC Irvine@UC Davis UCD, 79-77 2 points
UC Riverside@Cal Poly CP, 67-65 2 points
Cal State Fullerton@UC Santa Barbara UCSB, 85-80 5 points
Cal State Northridge@Cal Poly CP, 73-72 1 point
Home Cooking - Recipe For Success
Big West teams are upholding home court advantage so far in league play as the home team sports a 22-8 (.733) record. UC Santa Barbara (4-0), Pacific (4-0) and UC Davis (3-0) are all undefeated at home in conference play. While the overall numbers suggest that road wins are a rarity, seven of the nine league members have recorded at least one road win. Only Long Beach State (0-3) and UC Davis (0-3) have been unsuccessful in capturing a league road victory.
Wise Doing More Than Just Scoring
UC Irvine forward Eric Wise is having a solid sophomore campaign. He’s fifth in the Big West in scoring (16.1 ppg), and ranks in the conference top 10 in field goal percentage and free throw percentage as well. He’s also developed into an effective passer as teams focus more of their defensive attention on him. Wise leads the Anteaters with 66 assists and his 3.3 assists per game is currently fifth in the Big West. Wise is the only non-guard among the league’s top 10 in that category.
Peltier’s Long Distance Plan
Cal State Fullerton’s Devon Peltier may not be making Titan fans forget about Josh Akognon, but if he continues to make three-pointers at his current rate, Akognon may eventually fade into a distant memory. Akognon set the Fullerton single-season record with 136 threes in 2008-09. Peltier, a junior college transfer, has hit a team-high 45 threes this season and has made at least five treys on three occasions. Peltier is No. 3 in the Big West with 2.5 threes per game.
Douglass Poised To Enter Top Five In Wins
UC Irvine’s Pat Douglass is aiming at joining select company, as he’s just two wins away from the Big West’s top five all-time wins list. Douglass is 192-184 in his 13th season at the school. Former Fresno State head coach Boyd Grant is No. 5 on that list with 194 victories. Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara head coach Bob Williams is creeping up the charts as well. He’s three wins behind Douglass at 189, which ranks No. 7 all-time.
ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk. Coach, School No.
1. Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV 405
2. Bob Thomason, Pacific 376
3. Neil McCarthy, New Mexico State 248
4. Jerry Pimm, UC Santa Barbara 222
5. Boyd Grant, Fresno State 194
6. Pat Douglass, UC Irvine 192
7. Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara 189
8. Stew Morrill, Utah State 167
9. Bill Mulligan, UC Irvine 163
10. Rod Tueller, Utah State 158
Bold denotes active Big West head coach
Monson Looking For 200th Career Win
Long Beach State’s Dan Monson is one win away from collecting 200 for his career. Monson is 199-174 in 12-plus seasons that has also included stops at Gonzaga and Minnesota. Monson has two opportunities this week to reach the milestone number - at Cal State Northridge or at home versus UC Davis.
Follow Your Team On BigWest.TV
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring you exclusive coverage of Big West sports, press conferences, interviews, and features to your home via the Internet! Now in its fifth year, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in men’s basketball as well as women’s basketball and volleyball. Also covered are select contests in men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. If you can’t make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!