Cal State Fullerton (2-2) at San Jose State (1-4)
Saturday, November 23, 2013 | 12:30 PM
at The Event Center • San Jose, Calif.
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Audio | Video | CSF Release
SERIES RECORDS
Overall: Cal State Fullerton leads San Jose State 26-24
On the Road vs. SJSU: San Jose State leads 16-8
CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Television: NA
Streaming Video: www.themw.com
Streaming Audio: www.kliv.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at www.fullertontitans.com
TICKETS: Single-game tickets for all home games can be purchased online at www.FullertonTitans.com as well as in person or by calling the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office at (657) 278-2783 from the hours of 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. On gamedays, tickets can be purchased one hour prior to tip-off at the Titan Gym ticket box office.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @FullertonHoops for updates during the 2013-14 season.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: San Jose State opened the season with four consecutive losses before defeating Pepperdine, 83-77, on the road Wednesday night. Saturday's game at The Event Center will mark the Spartans' home opener. Rashad Muhammad leads San Jose State averaging 15.0 points per game off the bench. The Spartans average 69.2 points per game and shoot 39.1 percent from the floor.
HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. SAN JOSE STATE: Cal State Fullerton holds a slight 26-24 advantage in the all-time series against San Jose State, including an 8-16 mark on the road. From 1975-1996 the teams met 24 times as conference foes when San Jose State was part of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (1969-1987) which later became the Big West Conference (1988-1996.) During league play, the series ended at an even 22 wins apiece.
The Titans have won their last three contests against SJSU, dating back to 1999.
Last Meeting | Dec. 23, 2006 | Titan Gym | Fullerton, Calif.
Senior point guard Bobby Brown scored 26 points and junior forward Scott Cutley had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds as Cal State Fullerton ran away from San Jose State, 104-77.
Marcus Crenshaw (19), Ray Reed (15) and Justin Burns (14) also were in double figures for the Titans, who had 29 assists including 8 by Brown and 7 by Reed.
Last Road Game | Dec. 21, 2005 | The Event Center | San Jose, Calif.
Bobby Brown (24 & 7), Jamaal Brown (19 & 9) and Justin Burns (14 & 8) combined for 57 points and 24 rebounds as Cal State Fullerton rode a strong second half to a 67-59 non-conference victory at San Jose State.
Bobby Brown hit a 35-footer at the halftime buzzer to pull Fullerton within two points at intermission and he had six unanswered points in an 8-0 Fullerton run early in the second half that put the Titans ahead to stay at 35-30.
HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. THE MWC: Cal State Fullerton trails 176-93 in the all-time series against programs currently in the Mountain West Conference, including just a 24-104 mark on the road. The Spartans are one of two teams from the MWC that the Titans are scheduled t play this year, as Fullerton will also travel to UNLV for a 7:00 p.m. tip on Dec. 28. Fullerton also has the chance to play San Diego State in the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy tournament.
HOME OPENERS: After defeating Santa Clara, 86-73, last Saturday afternoon at Titan Gym, Cal State Fullerton boasts a record of 28-14 in home openers at Titan Gym, including 10 straight.
HOME SWEET HOME: Cal State Fullerton is playing four of its first five games on the road - having already traveled to Montana State, Seattle and USC before packing their bags for a game at San Jose State on Saturday. Following the team's return from the Bay Area, Titan Gym will host the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy tournament, and Fullerton's first game will be played against currently 25th-ranked Marquette.
INJURY UPDATE: Cal State Fullerton senior forward James Johnson is listed as day-to-day with a left foot injury...Cal State Fullerton junior guard Alex Harris is listed as day-to-day with a right ankle sprain.
ROSTER STATUS: Cal State Fullerton currently has 16 student-athletes listed on its roster, with 11 players having seen game action thus far in 2013-14. Corey Walker and Moses Morgan must redshirt the season due to NCAA transfer rules. Freshman guard Hidde Vos and junior guard James Douglas are expected to redshirt the season.
EARLY SEASON NOTES: Head coach Dedrique Taylor earned his first win as a head coach after the Titans defeated Montana State, 84-55, in Bozeman, Mont., on Nov. 9…Taylor is the fifth Titan head coach to win his first game at Cal State Fullerton…Cal State Fullerton won its season opener against a Division I opponent for the first time since a 75-67 win at BYU on Nov. 22, 1996 (the 2007-08 season opener was played against CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners as the program was in transition to Div. I status)…Cal State Fullerton's 29-point victory at Montana State was its largest margin of victory on the road since an 81-50 win at Utah on Dec. 7, 2011... Fullerton has eclipsed 80 points two times this season…Fullerton has recorded two wins by double digits.
NOTES FROM USC: In Cal State Fullerton's 76-62 loss at USC on Tuesday night, several marks were set: Cal State Fullerton set season lows in points (62), shooting percentage (.403), three-point field goals (5), free throws made/percentage (7/.389), while committing a season-high 17 turnovers...the Titans trailed for the first time by double digits all season when Nikola Jovanovic's free throw at the 16:02 mark gave USC a 12-2 lead...freshman guard Sheldon Blackwell scored a career-high 14 points off the bench...freshman Joe Boyd grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench, a personal career best and a season high for any Titan in 2013-14...Fullerton trailed at the half for the first time this season against the Trojans...USC's 76 points, .472 field goal percentage, 38 rebounds and seven blocked shots set season highs for a Fullerton opponent...for the first time this season, CSF never held a lead in a game.
TIDBITS: Cal State Fullerton is 2-0 when playing on Saturday during the 2013-14 season.
IN THE BIG WEST: Cal State Fullerton currently ranks in the top three of several statistical categories in the Big West Conference: field goal percentage (3rd; .479), three-point field goal percentage (3rd; .373), rebounds (3rd; 37.2 rpg)
MORE STATS: Junior guard Alex Harris averages 17.7 points per game, ranking third in the Big West...junior Josh Gentry's field goal percentage of .591 ranks fifth in the Big West...senior Marquis Horne's three-point field goal percentage (.583) ranks fourth in the league...
COMMONALITIES: What is statistically common in Cal State Fullerton's two wins this season? In both victories, the Titans scored more than 80 points, shot more 50.0 percent from the floor, shot 50.0 percent from three-point range, knocked down more three-pointers than their opponents and totaled more assists than their opponents.
DOUBLE DIGITS: In four games, Cal State Fullerton has totaled 14 double-digit scoring performances as veterans Marquis Horne and senior transfer Michael Williams have reached double figures in all four games this year.
MORE COMPARISONS: The Titans have outscored opponents 128-96 in the paint this year.
AIR TIME: Currently, Cal State Fullerton has eight men's basketball games scheduled to be broadcast, starting with the game at Seattle, which was aired on ROOT Sports Northwest. In addition, Fullerton's game at USC was broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Each of Fullerton's three games at the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Tournament will be aired on the ESPN family of networks. Fullerton's contest against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25 will be aired on Fox Sports Prime Ticket from Titan Gym. In addition, two Titan games are scheduled to be aired on ESPN3 starting on Thursday, Jan. 23 when the Titans host Cal Poly, as well as Fullerton's game against Hawai'i on Saturday, Feb. 15, from Titan Gym.
A NEW ERA BEGINS: Former Arizona State associate head men's basketball coach and long-time college assistant Dedrique Taylor was appointed the 11th men's basketball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on April 3, 2013.
"I think Dedrique is a perfect fit for the Cal State Fullerton program," Donovan said at the time. "His ties to Southern California will help us immensely in our recruiting efforts and his experience in a major conference like the Pac-12 will serve him well in helping bring our program into the upper echelons of the Big West Conference and compete for championships."
A NEW LOOK: Of the 16 players on Cal State Fullerton's roster, 10 had not suited up in a Cal State Fullerton uniform before the 2013-14 season.
REPLACING OFFENSE: Cal State Fullerton lost 60 percent of its scoring from last season with the departure of seniors Sammy Yeager (15.8 ppg), Kwame Vaughn (18.4 ppg) and D.J. Seeley (17.9 ppg).
Junior Alex Harris averaged 10.5 points per game last season, but averaged 14.3 points per game over the final eight games of the year, including a season-best 22 points at Cal Poly on March 9, 2013.
TITANS IN THE NBA: Former Cal State Fullerton men's basketball player Josh Akognon became the 12th former Titan to appear in the NBA on April 10, 2013 playing four minutes and scoring two points to go with an assist for the Dallas Mavericks in their 102-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center.
Akognon, who played two seasons for Fullerton from 2007-09, became the first Titan to appear in an NBA game since Bobby Brown (2003-07) competed for the New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009-10 season.
DIRECTV WOODEN LEGACY: Tickets for the seventh annual Wooden Legacy, a multi-team collegiate basketball tournament are currently on sale. Eight teams are competing in the highly anticipated event: Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, College of Charleston, Creighton, George Washington, Marquette, Miami and San Diego State.
The tournament will be held at two sites over the 2013 Thanksgiving weekend, with the opening two rounds being played at Cal State Fullerton November 28 & 29, and four placement contests featuring the championship game Sunday, December 1 at Honda Center.
All-session tickets and individual tickets for Championship Sunday are available at www.ticketmaster.com, via phone at (800) 745-3000, and all Ticketmaster outlets, and at the Honda Center Box Office.