SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 13/18 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team will begin its 2022-23 season this weekend as it travels to Lacey, Washington, to face RV/NR Saint Martin's on Friday at 4 p.m. before going up against Montana State Billings on Saturday at 10 a.m. inside Marcus Pavilion.
 
LAST SEASON

• The Cougars had a magical 2021-22 season that saw them hoist their first-ever CCAA Tournament Championship and make their first NCAA Tournament appearance as the No. 1 seed in the West Regional.
• CSUSM ended its best season as an NCAA member at 20-5 (.800) overall while going 13-4 (.765) in CCAA play.
• The Cougars were ranked as high as No. 4 in the NABC Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll.
• Outgoing Cougar Blake Seits was named to the D2CCA All-West Region first team and participated in the NCAA Division II All-Star Game.
• Seits was named the Most Value Player of the CCAA Tournament and was joined by Jayce McCain and Alex Gil-Fernandez on the All-Tournament Team.
• McCain and Seits earned All-CCAA first-team honors while Gil-Fernandez and Greg Milton III took home second-team honors.
• The Cougars had the nation's best 3-point field-goal defense last season at 28%.
• CSUSM allowed the fifth-fewest turnovers in Division II last season with 265, averaging 10.6 per game.
• The Cougars posted the nation's fifth-best turnover margin at 6.0 per game while forcing the 16th-most per game at 16.64.
• Shooting 79.4% from the charity stripe, CSUSM had the fifth-best free-throw percentage in the nation.
• McCain led the league and ranked 19th nationally at 88.7% from the foul line.
• CSUSM had Division II's 10th-best scoring defense at 63.5 points allowed per game.
• At 9.3 steals per game, the Cougars ranked 11th nationally.
• CSUSM tallied the 16th-best scoring margin in the nation last season at 12.4 points per game.
• The Cougars led the CCAA with an assist-turnover ratio of 1.24 while McCann ranked second in the league and 19th nationally at 2.72.

 
A NEW CAMPAIGN

• CSUSM will begin the new season ranked No. 13 in the NABC Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and No. 18 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll.
• The Cougars were voted to finish second in the 2022-23 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Nine Cougars return from the 2021-22 team, including All-CCAA first-teamer Jayce McCain and second-teamer Greg Milton III.
• CSUSM is joined this year by five transfers, including sophomore Quinn Denker (West Valley College), redshirt junior Edwyn Collins (Riverside City College), graduate Zack Perlstein (Cal State East Bay), redshirt junior Bing Huang (Johnson County CC) and redshirt junior Chris Howard (Palomar College).
• Rounding out the Cougars' roster of 15 is lone freshman Jermaine Rogers II (Ruben S. Ayala HS).

 

GAME 1 | RV/NR SAINT MARTIN'S
Date	Friday, Nov. 11, 2022
Time	4 p.m.
Location	Lacey, Wash.
Venue	Marcus Pavilion
Records	CSUSM (0-0) SMU (0-0)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video	YouTube

SEASON OPENER AT SAINT MARTIN'S

• CSUSM will begin its season on the road facing Saint Martin's on Friday in Lacey, Washington.
• The Cougars and Saints faced each other in the opening weekend of action last season at The Sports Center and saw CSUSM come away with a 76-60 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
• The Saints won the GNAC Regular-Season Championship in 2021-22 season with an 11-6 record in league play while going 18-9 overall.
• Kyle Greeley is the top Saint to return in 2022-23 as he finished the previous season averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steal, a 52.3 field-goal percentage and a 45.9 3-point field-goal percentage while earning All-GNAC second-team honors.
• The Saints had the fourth-best 3-point field-goal percentage in the nation last season at 42.5% while the team's field-goal percentage of 48.4% ranked 26th.
• Greeley and Jaden Nielsen-Skinner were named to the 2022-23 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team.
• SMU was the narrow favorite to win the conference in the 2022-23 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Saints were one of 32 teams to receive votes in the NABC Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll.

 

GAME 2 | MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
Date	Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022
Time	10 a.m.
Location	Lacey, Wash.
Venue	Marcus Pavilion
Records	CSUSM (0-0) MSUB (0-0)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video	YouTube

 

NEUTRAL CONTEST AGAINST MSUB

• The Cougars will wrap up the opening weekend of action by facing Montana State Billings on Saturday morning.
• CSUSM faced MSUB twice last season at The Sports Center, winning 69-55 in the first-ever meeting between the two squads and 80-72 in the second game.
• The Yellowjackets finished fourth in GNAC play last season with a 9-8 record in league play while going 13-15 overall.
• MSUB was picked to finish third in the 2022-23 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll and took three first-place votes.
• Billings allowed a GNAC-low 66.8 points per game last year.
• The Yellowjackets return eight players and four starters from last year's team, including All-GNAC first teamer Carrington Wiggins.
• Wiggins and Zharon Richmond were named to the 2022-23 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Wiggins finished sixth in the league with 17.2 points per game in 2021-22.

 

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 earned their first CCAA Tournament Championship in 2022 and made their first NCAA West Regional appearance.
• 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 79-59 (.572).