Like deja vu all over again? Mustang fans hope so

Joel Awich shoots a jump shot in the first half of Saturday’s game. By Owen Main

At some point, this season’s trajectory is going to have to deviate from last season’s, right?

Here’s what’s the same this year as last year:

* Cal Poly earned a 6-10 record in the Big West Conference.

* Cal Poly will be the seventh-seed in the Big West Tournament, starting Thursday

* As the seventh seed, Cal Poly will once again face UCSB less than one week after the regular season finale. The Gauchos earned the second seed with their win and a UC Irvine loss in Davis on Saturday night.

* Last season, Cal Poly finished the regular season losing five of their final six games. This year, they’re not exactly a fireball going into the tournament either, losing their last four games.

Last year, Cal Poly finished with a 10-19 record going into the postseason. This season, it’s a little better than that (13-15 overall).

In their final regular season game last year, Cal Poly lost to UCSB in San Luis Obispo. This season, the Gauchos won the regular season finale on their home floor in the Thunderdome.

What might be different this season is the will that Chris Eversley brought to the floor. I believe that sometimes “leadership” from seniors can be overblown, but Eversley might have been an exception. After the UCSB blowout loss at Mott, Eversley was calm, confident, and relaxed as I’ve ever seen a college player in a situation like that.

His response about how nobody on the Cal Poly team was giving up or hanging their head until they rip the jersey off their backs resonated a week later, when he and the Mustangs were holding the Big West Tournament trophy over their heads in Anaheim.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like that kind of leadership was a big reason Cal Poly’s run last year made some sense in hindsight. With that context, I wonder who is going to be that guy this year, if the Mustangs are to make a run.

Could Reese Morgan’s knees hold up long enough for him to play consistently for three days and be that catalyst? Could a sophomore like Ridge Shipley make the next step when Cal Poly needs it most? Players like Brian Bennett, David Nwaba, and Joel Awich have all been pretty consistent with on-court production.

This time of the year can be about a lot more than making a few buckets, though.

Big Al’s last home game?

Alan Williams played his final regular-season home game with UCSB on Saturday night. He dominated both ends of the floor, scoring 26 points and pulling down 19 rebounds — all defensive. To put that in context, as a team, Cal Poly only managed 22 defensive rebounds.

Williams has been a force in the conference since his sophomore season and should get some serious looks in the professional ranks. Maybe a slightly more active Glen Davis comparison might be apt? At any rate, he’s one of the best big men in the history of the Big West conference.

I suppose UCSB could play again at the Thunderdome. A win or two in the conference tournament could put UCSB (18-12 overall) into a lesser tournament. For now, I’ll just say that the best player in the conference over the last three years is done with his home games.

Believe me, no other team in the Big West is disappointed.

UCSB toward the top again

Some team is going to have to play a great tournament game to upend UCSB. After a sluggish start to the season, Bob Williams has his team playing pretty well. They beat UC Irvine and UC Davis last week and have given themselves a chance at a two-seed in the tournament. I talk a lot about how Long Beach State is always in the mix in the Big West, but perhaps I don’t give Bob Williams and the Gauchos enough love. Since 2010, UCSB has won the conference tournament twice and finished outside of the top-three in the regular season conference standings just once.

That said, the last time they won in Anaheim was 2011. This year’s tournament field is as deep as any in recent memory, and UCSB is once again right in the thick of things as the two-seed.

Ben Howland, an assistant coach for the 1990 UCSB team, later took UCLA to three consecutive Final Four appearances. During his final season in Westwood, he suffered a defeat at the hands of Joe Callero’s Cal Poly team, who lost to UCSB on Saturday afternoon. By Owen Main

When the Thunderdome’s a rockin’

Props to UCSB students for nearly filling up the Thunderdome on Saturday afternoon. Their student section was loud, mostly into the game, and provided a pretty solid college basketball atmosphere. At halftime of the game, the 1990 UCSB squad, which one a game in the NCAA Tournament, was honored. That team included Lucius Davis and had Ben Howland as an assistant coach. Both were in attendance Saturday.

Big West Tournament Schedule

Cal Poly, the 7th seed in the upcoming Big West Tournament will play Thursday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim. If UC Irvine is their opponent, the game will be at 6:00pm. If UCSB is their opponent, the game will be the late (8:30pm) game. All games should be available on TV or streaming somewhere. I’ll post that later this week.

Photos by Owen Main