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Lyle Sutton
Greg Siller

Men's Basketball

No. 9/10 CSUSM Travels to No. 4/5 Chico State for Top-10 Showdown

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A national top-10 showdown awaits the No. 9/10 Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (11-0, 7-0 CCAA) as the Cougars travel to No. 4/5 Chico State (10-0, 6-0 CCAA) for a 7:30 p.m. matchup on Thursday.

LAST TIME OUT

  • CSUSM secured its best start in program history last Saturday with an 88-55 win over Sonoma State at The Sports Center.
  • Tyrone Nesby IV led the way with a career-high 27 points and seven 3-pointers.
  • The Cougars’ winning streak moved to 11 games – the second longest in program history and tied for the fifth-longest active winning streak in Division II.
  • This was CSUSM’s fourth 30-plus point win of the season, and it was the sixth time they’ve held an opponent to 60 points or less.

COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

  • CSUSM stayed steady in the national rankings on Tuesday as it remained at No. 9 in the NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll while moving up one spot to No. 10 in the D2SIDA Top 25 National Media Poll.
  • The Cougars remained at No. 2 in the D2SIDA West Region Poll – a spot they’ve been in since Dec. 6.
  • CSUSM is still one of five teams in Division II without a loss this season, including Thursday night’s opponent Chico State.
  • CSUSM is one win shy of matching both its overall and conference win totals for the entire 2019-20 season.
  • Of the 12 teams in the CCAA, the Cougars have the toughest schedule remaining with future opponents tallying a winning percentage of .611.
  • CSUSM has nation’s second-toughest 3-point field-goal defense as opponents are only shooting 26.3%. Chico State ranks first at 26.1%.
  • When it comes to turnovers, the Cougars are recording the third-lowest per-game average in Division II at 9.5
  • CSUSM’s turnover margin also ranks third nationally at 8.0.
  • Sporting the nation’s fourth-best scoring defense, the Cougars are only allowing opponents to score 60.5 points per game.
  • CSUSM is outscoring opponents by 19.2 points per game – the seventh-highest total in Division II.
  • The Cougars are tallying the 10th-most steals per game in the country at 10.1 while forcing the 18th-most turnovers per game at 17.45.
  • CSUSM’s assist-turnover ratio of 1.50 ranks 19th nationally.
  • Consistent at the charity stripe this season, the Cougars’ free-throw percentage of 77.4 ranks 21st nationally.
  • Scoring 79.7 points per game, CSUSM has the second-best scoring offense in the CCAA.
  • The Cougars have the third-best field-goal percentage in the conference at 46.4%.
  • CSUSM is holding opponents to 40.5% from the field this season – the 36th-best average in Division II.
  • Hitting 96.7% of his free throws, Jayce McCain has the nation’s best free-throw percentage.
  • Blake Seits is the CCAA’s fifth-best scorer at 16.6 points per game while McCain ranks 11th at 14.5 per game.
  • Shooting 51.3% from the field, McCain is the CCAA’s third-best shooter.
GAME 12 | NO. 4/5 CHICO STATE
DateThursday, Jan. 13, 2022
Time7:30 p.m.
LocationChico, Calif.
VenueAcker Gymnasium
RecordsCSUSM (11-0, 7-0 CCAA)
CHICO (10-0, 6-0 CCAA)
Live StatsSIDEARM Stats
Live Video ($)CCAA Network
COVID-19 Policy2021-22 CCAA Universities Spectator Policies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NATIONAL SHOWDOWN AT CHICO STATE

  • Thursday will mark CSUSM’s first time in Division II playing another ranked team while also being ranked.
  • Chico is CSUSM’s highest-ranked opponent since facing No. 4/3 UC San Diego at the end of the 2019-20 season.
  • The Cougars already have one win against a ranked opponent this season in then-No. 24/9 Point Loma on Nov. 20 at home.
  • Chico has the seventh-toughest scoring defense at 61.2 points allowed per game.
  • The Wildcats have the nation’s ninth-best field-goal percentage defense at 39.3%.
  • Chico ranks 11th nationally for 3-point field-goal percentage at 40.7%.
  • The Wildcats are posting the most blocked shots in the CCAA at 4.3 per game and rank 31st nationally.
  • With only 59 steals this season, the Wildcats have the second fewest in the CCAA and rank 272nd nationally.
  • Chico is struggling at the foul line this season at 67.6% – 10th in the CCAA and 219th nationally.
  • The Wildcats have four players averaging double figures in scoring this season in Kevin Warren (14.8), Malik Duffy (14.2), Isaiah Brooks (11.4) and Joshua Hamilton (10.9).
  • Brooks leads the conference and ranks ninth nationally with a 3.64 assist-turnover ratio.
  • Duffy is the 14th-best 3-point shooter in Division II at 48.1%.
  • CSUSM is 3-6 in the all-time series against Chico and is 1-4 when playing in Chico.
  • The Cougars’ lone win in Chico occurred on Feb. 11, 2017 as CSUSM squeeked out a 59-58 victory.
  • Thursday will mark the third consecutive game against the Wildcats to take place in Chico.
  • CSUSM last defeated Chico on Jan. 5, 2019 as the Cougars came away with a 67-61 win at The Sports Center.
  • In their last meeting, the Cougars fell to the then-No. 24/NR Wildcats in Chico by a score of 79-73.
  • CSUSM and Chico is one of two top-10 games to take place in Division II this week. On Wednesday, No. 7/9 Mercyhurst will host No. 10/8 Indiana (PA).
  • A win against the Wildcats would move the Cougars into sole possession of first place in the CCAA standings and would put CSUSM at the top of the West Region rankings.
  • With no wins against a top-5 team in the Division II era, Chico would also be the highest-ranked team CSUSM has ever defeated since becoming an NCAA member.
  • The Cougars’ next scheduled game at Stanislaus State on Saturday was canceled due to COVID health and safety measures within the Warriors’ program.

SUSPENSION OF SPECTATORS / WATCH ON CCAA NETWORK

  • CSUSM temporarily suspended spectator attendance for men's and women's basketball games due to the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases in San Diego County. This temporary suspension will impact the following games:
    • Thursday, Jan. 27 vs. San Francisco State
    • Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay
  • All contests will continue to be streamed live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com/csusm. 
  • Fans may also download the CCAA Network app on your iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku or Apple TV.  
  • On January 1st, the CCAA Network moved to a subscription-based model at just $9.95 per month.  Subscribers will have access to all CCAA broadcasts, both live and on-demand, for one low monthly price.
Ethan Barnella

COUGAR OUTLOOK

  • After sitting out the 2020-21 season, CSUSM returns five student-athletes from the 2019-20 season in Jayce McCain, Blake Seits, Alex Gil-Fernandez, Chase Bowsher and Sean Dunn.
  • Nine Cougars will be hitting the court in Cougar blue for the first time, including Division-I transfers Lyle Sutton (Idaho State), Tyrone Nesby IV (Wagner), Joel Mensah (James Madison and San Diego State) and Greg Milton III (Wyoming).
  • Joining the team in 2020-21, redshirt freshmen Ethan Barnella, Jack Schultz and Garrett Hall will finally get the opportunity to suit up for CSUSM this season while true freshmen Max Lonneker and Donovan Watkins joined the roster this season.
  • CSUSM was picked to finished seventh in the 2021-22 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE FOSTER FILE

  • Head coach B.J. Foster enters his sixth season in charge of the CSUSM Men's Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
  • Under his leadership, the Cougars advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the first time in 2017-18 after finishing the season with a 15-7 conference record and a 20-9 overall record.
  • Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
  • Foster has tallied a career record of 70-54 (.565).