Last night I went to watch a Cal Poly game at one of the only places I could catch it. With the game being at TCU, there were two places in San Luis Obispo (Firestone and Woodstocks) and one place in Arroyo Grande (Rooster Creek Tavern) that was showing the game on Fox Sports Southwest Plus. The channel was basically “The Ocho”.

Members of the Cal Poly basketball family watch Friday’s game on the big screen at Firestone.

I thought I’d go to Firestone, get an ABC Burger, and see what the atmosphere was like. Knowing San Luis Obispo, I wasn’t sure whether there would be a lot of people there or whether the game would just kind of incidentally be on.

It turned out to be a nice little… well…. turnout.

There were a number of people in the bar and at the tables with their Cal Poly gear on. I shared a table with a pretty cool Cal Poly fan, and at the table next to us were members of the Cal Poly team that did not make the trip, including redshirts Zach Allmon, Max Betkowski, and Joshua Hall, medical redshirt Maliik Love, and senior from last year Jordan Lewis. Even Athletic Director Don Oberhelman was making the rounds along with several members of Cal Poly’s athletic department.

Overall, it was about as cool a “sports bar atmosphere” as I think you’ll find in San Luis Obispo. Firestone’s food never disappoints and neither did the atmosphere.

The Game

Oh, yeah. Cal Poly did play their game at TCU. I was impressed by the performances of the freshmen big men. Brian Bennett and Zach Gordon looked great down low while Reese Morgan was still finding his way. Joel Awich will have to, as Joe Callero says, “slow down” a little to be able to significantly contribute this year.

Chris Eversley had a subpar offensive game for him and Drake U’u got caught in some awkward spots. Dylan Royer had a hard time finding any open looks and, while Chis O’Brien and Jamal Johnson had OK games, the Mustangs offense looked like they needed more time. Callero said in the postgame show that they had to “loosen up” on offense, and I think that’s a pretty good way to put it.

Bennett had 11 points and 10 rebounds in his first game as a Mustang. Having watched him for one whole game, I think expecting something like 8-10 points and 7-8 rebounds per game is not outside of the realm of possibility. If Cal Poly can shore up their rotation at guard and wing, the Mustangs have to feel like they can once again be very competitive in the Big West.