| San José State (8-4, 0-0 MW) vs. Cal Poly (5-5) | |
| When | Tuesday, December 20 | 7 p.m. PT |
| Location | Provident Credit Union Event Center, San Jose, Calif. |
| Broadcast & Statistics | Mountain West Network KTRB 860 AM Live Stats |
| Game Notes | San José State | Cal Poly |
| Rosters | San José State | Cal Poly |
After Saturday's loss, @CoachMiles talks about what the team needs to get better at as the Spartans prepare to host Cal Poly Tuesday night in the final non-conference game of the season. #AllSpartans | #RunToTheFight pic.twitter.com/Zn4zZMa14e
— San Jose State Men's Basketball (@SanJoseStateMBB) December 20, 2022
As the Mountain West season looms next week, the San Jose State men's basketball team hosts the final non-conference game of the season this Tuesday night as Cal Poly comes to the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The Spartans are looking to win the most non-conference games in a season since the 2010-11 team won 10 non-conference contests. The last team to win nine non-conference games was the 1999-2000 team who finished the season 15-15.
San José State enters Tuesday night's game with an 8-4 record after falling at Pacific this past Saturday afternoon, 59-58. Alvaro Cardenas scored a season-high 17 points for the third time this season. He and Omari Moore each dished four assists in the game. Sage Tolbert III and Ibrahima Diallo each grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.
TIME CHANGE: The January 7th game between the Spartans and Nevada will now tip at 1 p.m.
ABOUT CAL POLY: The Mustangs enter Tuesday night's game with a 5-5 overall record after falling at home to Weber State, 74-45, this past Friday night. The team's five wins came against Bethesda (94-59), Idaho (82-71), Pacific (62-58), California Baptist (64-53) and Portland State (72-49). Head coach John Smith is in his fourth year at the helm of the program. His eldest daughter, Kianna, played at Louisville and was drafted in 2022 by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Cal Poly's Leaders
Points/Game 126, 12.6 pg Alimamy Koroma
Reb./Game 55, 5.5 pg Trevon Taylor
3pt Made 18 Chance Hunter
Assists 26 Camren Pierce
Blocks 8 Alimamy Koroma
Steals 17 Kobe Sanders
Field Goal % .549 (45-82) Alimamy Koroma
3PT % .400 (18-45) Chance Hunter
Free Throw % .750 (30-40) Alimamy Koroma
Series Record - 24-5 The two schools first faced each other in 1923.
Last SJSU Win - 80-63, Dec. 3, 2006, San Jose
In the team's home opener and first win of the season, Darion Goins comes off the bench to score a team-best 16 points as four Spartans scored in double figures.
Last Meeting - L, 73-71, Dec. 13, 2020, San Luis Obispo
In one of the team's final road games before relocating to Phoenix, Richard Washington and Seneca Wallace combined for 42 points in the loss.
Last 10 Series Meetings
2/6/1953 L 69-67 San Luis Obispo
12/29/1953 W 47-46 San Jose
1/26/1955 W 73-66 San Jose
11/29/2003 L 70-62 San Luis Obispo
12/4/2004 W 69-50 San Jose
11/20/2005 W 72-57 San Luis Obispo
12/3/2006 W 80-63 San Jose
11/12/2011 L 79-52 San Luis Obispo
12/10/2011 L 47-40 San Jose
12/13/2020 L 73-71 San Luis Obispo
NET RANKINGS (as of 12/18): The Spartans are still in the top-150 of the NET rankings, checking in at 145 after games played on December 18. After the win at Santa Clara, the Spartans jumped up for 191 to 132, with a Quadrant 2 win over the Broncos. The team has two Quadrant 3 wins (Ball State & Northern Colorado) and four Quadrant 4 wins.
RECENT 8-WIN (OR MORE) NON-CONFERENCE SEASONS: With one non-conference game remaining, San José State exceeded last year's total non-conference wins. Since 1996-97, seven Spartan teams (including this year) have won eight or more non-conference games. The 2010-11 team won 10 games, followed by the 1999-2000 team who won 9.
8 or more non-conference wins (final overall, conf. records)
2011-12 - 8 (9-22, 1-13) 2000-01 - 8 (14-14, 6-10)
2010-11 - 10 (17-16, 5-11) 1999-00 - 9 (15-15, 6-8)
2009-10 - 8 (14-17, 6-10) 1996-97 - 8 (13-14, 5-11)
"17" AN INTERESTING NUMBER FOR THE SPARTANS: The number "17" has many meanings for the Spartans so far this season. The team is 0-2 when playing on the 17th of the month with losses to Hofstra, 85-76, and Pacific, 59-58, on those days. SJSU had a 17-point lead against Pacific in the loss.
However, Alvaro Cardenas may look at 17 as a lucky number for him. Three times this season, he has scored a career-high 17 points for the Spartans - versus Alabama State and Hofstra at home and at Pacific. In those three games, he shot 51.4 percent from the field (19-37) and 55 percent from three-point land (11-20) and dished out 13 assists.
DIALLO AMONG THE NATION'S BEST IN BLOCKED SHOTS: Ibrahima Diallo enters the game ranked 22nd nationally with 25 blocked shots and 25th in blocks per game at 2.08. He has recorded a block in 10 of the 12 games played and two blocks in the past seven games. His eight blocks against Alabama State are the most in a single game in the Mountain West this season and tied for the second-most in a game nationally.
SPARTAN REBOUNDING EFFORTS RANKS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: SJSU has been out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 10.8 rebounds per game, ranking them sixth out of 352 teams ranked nationally. The Spartans average 38.50 rebounds per game, ranking 66th in the nation. Four Spartans average 5.0 or more rebounds per game, led by Sage Tolbert III at 8.6 pg. Robert Vaihola is next at 5.3, followed by Ibrahima Diallo at 5.2 and Omari Moore at 5.0.
UP NEXT: The Spartans begin Mountain West play to end December as the team hosts UNLV on Wednesday, December 28, inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The team then closes out 2022 with a MW game at Colorado State on Saturday the 31st beginning at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT.