SEASON STATS REPORT | BIG WEST RELEASE
FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton men's basketball hosts UC Irvine on Friday and Saturday without fans in Titan Gym. Friday's game tips at 6 p.m. PT while Saturday is a 5 p.m. start. Both games will be broadcast live on BigWest.TV. The games will be part of Cal State Fullerton's Stay At Homecoming event, a virtual celebration of Homecoming.
LAST TIME OUT
The Titans (5-6, 4-6 BWC) split the series at CSU Bakersfield. The Titans won on Jan. 29 by a score of 90-84 but lost on the 30th, 83-73.
MATCHUP HISTORY
UC Irvine leads the all-time matchup 58-55 and since the 2018 Big West Tournament final in which the Titans won 71-55, the Anteaters have won each of the five ensuing games.
SCOUTING REPORT
The Anteaters split last weekend at UC Riverside to move to 7-3 in the Big West and 11-7 on the season. UCI is second in the Big West standings behind UCSB. UCI won both games against UCSB earlier this season. The Anteaters split their last three Big West series, at Hawaii, home against CSU Bakersfield and at UC Riverside. Before the splits, UCI was riding a seven-game winning streak that dated back to Dec. 17.
MILESTONE WATCH
Head coach Dedrique Taylor is just one win away from 100 for his career. He is set to become the fourth coach in school history to win 100 games at the helm of the Titans program.
MADDOX BROTHERS (NOT ACTUALLY)
There is no relation, but Tray and Dante Maddox both had career nights to open up the Big West season. Tray, who scored 27 points on Jan. 1, is averaging 15.2 points (tops on the team) to go with 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season. Tray is shooting 44.6% (29-65) from distance, the best mark in the Big West and the 11th-best mark in the nation (minimum 2.5 made threes per game). Dante, who scored 19 on Jan. 2 at UC Santa Barbara, is averaging 11.3 points (second on the team) and 22.4 minutes per game.
MONEY AT THE LINE
Freshman guards Dante Maddox Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. are a combined 78-85 from the charity stripe this season. Wrightsell is fourth in the nation in free-throw percentage at 94.6 this season as he has made 35 of his 37 attempts on the season. Maddox is 14th in the country at 89.6% on 43-48 shooting.
As a team, the Titans are shooting 169-230 (73.5%) from the free-throw line this season, which is third in the Big West. That mark includes a school-record 19-19 from the line against the Gauchos on Jan. 2. That marked a school record for best percentage in a single game. The previous was a tie at 100% on 12 attempts against Montana State on Feb. 18, 2012 and Pepperdine on Dec. 12, 1991.
HALL AND LEE
The Titans have a -4.8 rebounding margin on the season despite the two starting forwards having good rebounding numbers. Senior forward Josh Hall made his debut at UCSB and he averages 8.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore Vincent Lee is second on the team in rebounds and fourth in points with 6.6 boards and 10.9 points per game. Lee is first in the Big West in field goal percentage at 61.7 and 12th in the nation. In the January 9 win over LBSU, Lee posted 16 points and 16 rebounds. He then led the team to a Jan. 17 win over CSUN with a career-high 25 points and also 11 rebounds.
TREASURING THE BALL
The Titans have 149 assists on the season (293 made field goals) and 145 total turnovers. The team's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.03 is fifth in the Big West.
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.
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.
FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans), and Instagram (FullertonTitans). In addition, the basketball team has established its own Twitter (@FullertonWBB) and Instagram accounts (@FullertonWBB).
