SEASON STATS REPORT | BIG WEST RELEASE
FULLERTON, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton men's basketball team is set to open up Big West Conference play on Friday at 5 p.m. PT at UC Santa Barbara. The second game of the season series with the Gauchos will tip on Saturday at 5 p.m. as well. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT
The Titans opened up the season on Dec. 13 with a 94-70 win over San Diego Christian. Junior guard Wayne Arnold led the team in scoring with 19 points, including 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
MATCHUP HISTORY
The Gauchos hold a 50-41 advantage over Fullerton in the all-time series. UCSB swept the Titans in the two matchups from the 2019-20 season with wins of 75-66 in Fullerton and 55-53 at Santa Barbara on March 5, 2020.
SCOUTING REPORT
UC Santa Barbara enter Friday's Big West Conference home game against Cal State Fullerton with a 4-3 overall record and an 0-2 mark in league play. The Gauchos were swept in their first Big West series of the season at UC Irvine. In the first game on Sunday, Dec. 27, they dropped a 75-56 decision and on Monday, Dec. 28, they fell by a 73-69 score. UCSB actually led by nine in the second half of the second game before the Anteaters went on an 18-4 run to put the game away.
2019-20 SEASON RECAP
The team returns just four student-athletes from the 2019-20 squad that played consistent minutes in senior Johnny Wang, junior Wayne Arnold and sophomores Tory San Antonio and Vincent Lee. Doctor Bradley was with the team but redshirted the season. The Titans went 11-20 on the year and 6-10 in Big West action. Seniors Jackson Rowe and Brandon Kamga both made it on the All-Big West Second Team while Kamga was also Big West Newcomer of the Year. Rowe (France), Davon Clare (Portugal) and Austen Awosika (Austria) all earned their degrees and all signed professional contracts overseas.
2020-21 ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Head coach Dedrique Taylor broke down his squad in its entirety here on his show. He and his staff welcome in eight newcomers for the 2020-21 season. Two of them are true freshmen in Dante Maddox Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. Josh Hall is a graduate transfer and Tray Maddox Jr. is a transfer from another four-year institution as well. Then, each of Jalon Andrews, Jalen Harris, Christian McCray and Landis Spivey are junior college transfers.
Each of the returners will presumably have newer, bigger roles this season. Junior guard Wayne Arnold is the top returing scorer as he averaged 8.8 points per game last season. Redshirt sophomore Vincent forward Lee tallied 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season. Senior Johnny Wang forward contributed 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while sophomore guard Tory San Antonio pitched in 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds each game.
2021 BIG WEST TOURNAMENT MOVED TO LAS VEGAS
The 2021 Big West Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, presented by Hawai'i Tourism Authority, have been moved from Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All 10 eligible teams (UC San Diego is not yet eligible) will compete in the tournament with the 7-10 seeds playing on Tuesday, Mar. 9 to get into the field of eight, which will play beginning on Thursday, Mar. 11. The championship game will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, Mar. 13.
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