Cal Poly Basketball: What we learned over the weekend

Cal Poly likes playing at Mott. A lot.

After losing three straight Big West Conference games (all on the road), Cal Poly managed home victories over Hawai’i and Cal State Northridge. The weekend home sweep put the Mustangs alone in 3rd place in the Big West behind Long Beach State and Pacific.

The friendly confines of Mott Athletic Center – Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero’s team has really established a home court advantage. After winning their first four home conference games this season, the Mustangs have now won nine consecutive Big West home games.

Chris Eversley averaged 24.5 points and 12 rebounds as Cal Poly swept the weekend against Hawai’i and Cal State Northridge. By David Livingston

Chris Eversley is REALLY good – Eversley was really good once again this weekend. The junior from Illinois dropped 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the Mustangs’ 88-59 drubbing of Hawai’i on Thursday and followed it up with a career-high 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Mustangs’ victory over Cal State Northridge. It was the first time a Cal Poly player has scored 30 points since Lorenzo Keeler scored 30 at UC Davis on Feb. 4, 2010 (#Givo). Eversley averaged 24.5 points and 11 rebounds per game over the weekend and is averaging 16.5 points and 8 rebounds per game in Big West play.

“Other guys” continue to emerge – Reese Morgan continues to impress. On Thursday night vs. Hawai’i, Morgan scored 16 points, scoring in double-digits for the third time in Big West play. Morgan’s improvement cannot be overstated. Without his contribution during the first seven games of conference play, it’s safe to say that Cal Poly would not have had the winning record they did. Dylan Royer had a very good pre-conference season, averaging in double digits in scoring, but he hasn’t shot or scored the same way in conference play. Morgan’s play and especially his scoring have offset Royer’s slow conference start.

On Saturday, Morgan went cold too. He and Royer combined to shoot 0-10 from the field (each 0-4 from three-point range). Enter Joel Awich and Drake U’u. Awich, a redshirt freshman who didn’t see the court during Cal Poly’s first four conference games, impressed with aggressive offensive moves. His eight points and three rebounds helped to offset the lack of production from two of Cal Poly’s sharpshooters and his defensive length helped to counteract a very athletic Matador team. Senior Drake U’u has emerged too, starting at point guard for the past two games. U’u averaged 11 points, 3 rebounds and 5.5 assists over the weekend. If Awich and U’u can maintain consistent and solid contributions, then cold shooting nights become less of an issue for the three-point shooters on the team. Despite scoring zero points on Saturday night, Morgan is averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in Big West play. Not bad for a freshman who had a really slow start.

Cal State Northridge is really athletic, but it takes more than athleticism to win games consistently in the Big West. By David Livingston

The Big West is coming better into focus – There are only a few givens this year in the Big West conference. Long Beach is very good. Pacific is going to be formidable. Beyond that, any of the other 8 teams could be between the third and eighth seed in the tournament. The bottom line about halfway into conference play is that any team who is not Long Beach State or Pacific will have to go through at least one and probably both of those teams to have a shot at the Big West Tournament championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

While Long Beach State and Pacific have emerged early, there are other teams like UC Irvine, Hawai’i, Cal State Fullerton, and UC Davis all sit within a game of the third place Mustangs.

Brian Bennett continues to stabilize the inside – Freshman center Brian Bennett continues to be an equalizer for teams with very good post players. Bennett is averaging double-figure scoring on the season (10.6 ppg in Big West play) and improved his rebounding numbers over the weekend as well, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game over the past two games. In the UCSB game, Cal Poly seemed most in-control with Bennett matching-up inside against the Gauchos’ Alan Williams. While Williams was getting some points, Bennett gave Cal Poly an inside presence on both ends. Cal Poly plays three freshmen at the “5” position, but Bennett is clearly the most polished and continues to play beyond his years.

Photos by David Livingston

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