UC Santa Barbara (12-5, 3-1) at Cal State Fullerton (6-12, 1-3)
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014 | 7:30 PM
Titan Gym • Fullerton, Calif.

Game Coverage: Live Stats |Audio | CSF Release   | UCSB Release  

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Television: Fox Sports Prime Ticket
Announcers: Paul Sunderland, Michael Cage, Rahshaun Haylock
Streaming Video: NoneStreaming
Audio: www.FullertonTitans.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at www.fullertontitans.com

ON TAP: Cal State Fullerton's three-game home winning streak was snapped in a 58-56 loss to Cal Poly on Thursday night as Alex Harris' last-second jumper from the foul line was off the mark. The Titans, who will play their next three games after this week on the road, host UC Santa Barbara at 7:30 pm on Saturday night.

PROMOTIONS - AUTOGRAPH NIGHT: The 2013-14 Fullerton men's basketball team will be available for autographs following its game against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

COACHES VS. CANCER: Suits & Sneakers Awareness Weekend:The annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers™ Awareness Weekend began on Friday. NABC coaches across America will be wearing sneakers at this weekend's games to show their support for Coaches vs. Cancer – a joint effort of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that empowers basketball coaches to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Cal State Fullerton will be participating on Saturday in its game against the Gauchos.

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 GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara (12-5, 3-1 Big West) escaped UC Riverside with a 68-65 win in overtime on Thursday. The Gauchos have won three in a row including six of their last seven. UCSB averages 72.2 points per game led by Alan Williams' 22.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The Gauchos defeated UNLV, 86-65, back on Nov. 12, and opened Big West play with a 72-64 loss to Cal Poly on Jan. 11, before winning their next three league games.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. UC SANTA BARBARA: UC Santa Barbara leads the all-time series 40-36, including a 39-35 advantage in league play, although the Titans hold a 21-17 lead in games played at Titan Gym. Fullerton and UCSB have split their season series for the last three years.

LAST TIME OUT VS. UC SANTA BARBARA: Alan Williams finished with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, pacing three teammates in double figures on March 7, 2013, and lifting host UC Santa Barbara to a, 66-50, Big West Conference men's basketball victory over Cal State Fullerton at The Thunderdome.

TITAN CONNECTIONS: UC Santa Barbara head coach Dan Williams is in his 16th season with the Gauchos, but prior to his time at UCSB, Williams spent eight years at UC Davis and in those eight years, his teams recorded 20 or more wins five times and a 158-76 record. Current Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor played two seasons (1995-97) for Williams at UCD, and helped the Aggies to a 43-16 overall record and a pair of trips to the second round of the NCAA Regional Tournament.

ROSTER STATUS: Cal State Fullerton currently has 16 student-athletes listed on its roster, with 12 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.

CURRENT NOTES: Cal State Fullerton has utilized seven different starting lineups during the season...Fullerton completed non-conference action with a record of 5-9...the Titans' three-game home winning streak was snapped in Thursday's 58-56 loss to Cal Poly...Fullerton overcame a 10-point deficit against Sacramento State on Dec. 21 – the largest deficit the Titans have overcome this year...Fullerton's 59-point total against Sacramento State marked its lowest in a win this year...the Titans are 4-0 when scoring over 78 points and shooting over 50 percent from the floor, and in the win over Sacramento State, for the first time Fullerton won a game this year scoring less than 60 points and having less than three scorers reach double figures...Fullerton has also come back twice this season from halftime deficits to win: at Pepperdine (Dec. 4) and vs. Sacramento State (Dec. 21)...the Titans have not held a lead in a game six times this season...Cal State Fullerton won its third straight Big West Conference season opener following a 78-73 win over UC Riverside on Jan. 9. Against the Highlanders, five Titans scored in double figures - a first for Fullerton during the 2013-14 season.

INDIVIDUAL MARKERS: Michael Williams has scored in double figures in a team-leading 18 consecutive games. He has led the Titans in scoring in 11 of Fullerton's last 14 games...Williams scored a game-high 24 points against Texas Southern (Dec. 15), which also marked a Titan season high. In addition, Williams' 18 second-half points were the most a Titan has scored in a single half this year, and his four made three-pointers also set a Titan season high in that game. Williams has scored at least 20 points on five occasions this year. Alex Harris scored a season-high 21 points against Texas Southern on Dec. 15 as the Titans had two players scoring 20 points or more in a game for the first time since March 9, 2013 vs. Cal Poly. Harris' 10 made free throws against UCR on Jan. 9 also marked a Titan season best as well as career high...Steve McClellan's 13-point, 12-rebound performance against UCR marked the second Titan double-double of the season. McClellan's 13 rebounds at UC Davis last Saturday marked a Titan season best as well as career high.

IN THE BIG WEST: Entering the week, Cal State Fullerton's 24.53 defensive rebounds per game rank third in the Big West Conference...Michael Williams' average of 15.6 points per game ranks seventh in the league, and his 1.82 three-pointers per game rank seventh. In addition, Alex Harris' .746 free-throw percentage rates ninth in the Big West...Steve McClellan's 2.41 offensive rebounds per game rank ninth in the Big West Conference.

WIN-LOSS COMPARISONS: Cal State Fullerton has shot a higher percentage than opponents in each of its six wins, while shooting a percentage lower than opponents in each of its 12 losses...in six wins, the Titans have shot 50.1 percent from the floor while averaging 78.7 points per game. Also in those wins, Fullerton holds a 37.2-33.5 rebounding advantage and holds opponents to a shooting percentage of .376 and an average of 66.0 points per game.
In 12 losses this season, Fullerton is shooting a field goal percentage of .384 while averaging just 59.1 points per game while opponents average 71.3 ppg and shoot at a clip of .477. In addition, opponents outrebound CSF 35.2-33.7.

MORE COMPARISONS: The Titans have outscored opponents 522-482 in the paint this year as well as holding an advantage in bench points (366-334, but trail opponents in second chance points (179-192) and points off turnovers (240-275). In losses, the Titans have made just 218 trips to the free-throw line, compared to 297 opportunities for opponents.

ROOKIES: On Nov. 29 at the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, Fullerton suffered a 48-46 heartbreaking loss to Miami, which saw the Titans nearly erase a 17-point deficit. In that game, head coach Dedrique Taylor inserted freshmen Sheldon Blackwell and Joe Boyd into the starting lineup. Blackwell, a 6-foot-5 guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is leading the Titans with 43 assists while averaging 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Blackwell scored a career high 14 points at USC on Nov. 19 and dished a career-best six assists vs. Miami on Nov. 29.Boyd, a 6-foot-9 forward from Scottsdale, Ariz., is averaging 3.3 ppg while adding 3.6 rpg. Boyd scored a career-high 10 points in Fullerton's 87-80 win over Texas Southern on Dec. 15, and recorded 10 rebounds at USC on Nov. 19.

NEWCOMERS: Cal State Fullerton senior Michael Williams is playing in his first year as a Titan after redshirting the 2012-13 season following a transfer from San Francisco.Williams has experienced immediate success, averaging a team-leading 15.8 points per game, scoring in double figures in 18 straight games and leading the Titans in scoring in 11 of their last 14.Williams has also scored at least 20 points on five occasions this season.Junior Steve McClellan, in his first year at Fullerton after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe, is averaging a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game, and has recorded three games with at least 10 rebounds.

AIR TIME: Currently, Cal State Fullerton has 12 men's basketball games scheduled to be broadcast this season. Still ahead, Fullerton's next home game on Thursday against Cal Poly will be aired on ESPN3.Fullerton's game against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday will be aired on Fox Sports Prime Ticket from Titan Gym. In addition, the Titans visit to Long Beach State on Saturday, Feb. 1, will be aired on ESPN3 as well as Fullerton's game against Hawai'i on Saturday, Feb. 15, from Titan Gym.And also just added to the schedule, the Titans game at UCR on Thursday, Feb. 6, will be aired on ESPN3.

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.

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).

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.

2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Attracts Record Crowds: With the attendance for the final four games of the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy being 6,007 for the competition at Honda Center on Dec. 1, the three-day event over Thanksgiving weekend attracted a record 14,982 fans for the in-season college basketball tournament near Disneyland.The Dec. 1 total of 6,007 was a single-day record The 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy featured a Marquette vs. San Diego State championship game at Honda Center. Other schools in the event were Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, College of Charleston, Creighton, George Washington and Miami.With the first four sessions of the 2013 DIRECTV Wooden Legacy being played November 28 and 29 at Titan Gym on the campus of Cal State Fullerton, the final four games were combined into one session at Honda Center. The two days of action at Titan Gym drew 3,831 on Thanksgiving Day and 5,144 on Nov. 29.The previous tournament attendance record for the three days of competition at the Anaheim Convention was 14,212 set in November 2009.