It’s getting down to nitty-gritty time for the Cal Poly men’s basketball team.
The Mustangs (6-14, 3-7 Big West Conference), who are tied for the eighth and final conference playoff spot with UC Santa Barbara, continue their four-game road swing against Cal State Northridge tonight at 7 p.m. in the Matadome.
“We have to focus on the next task,” senior forward Titus Shelton said. “Our goal is to make the tournament and go as far as we can in the tournament.”
The Mustangs’ next task is to gain a measure of revenge against a tough Cal State Northridge team that won the team’s previous meeting in Mott Gym last month.
“Northridge is a big game to me,” Shelton said. “They came in here last time and they were physical; they were aggressive with us.”
Shelton has become more aggressive in recent games. The 6-foot-7 forward had 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the Mustangs last outing, a 75-72 win over Cal State Fullerton.
With the win over the Titans, Cal Poly erased one of its two nationally-televised losses. The other loss was to the Matadors, and the Mustangs will relish the chance to repeat the process.
Cal Poly head coach Kevin Bromley remembers the first game against the Matadors well.
“I don’t like how we played against Northridge,” he recalled. “We didn’t play hard on offense or defense.
Despite what Bromley said was the team “not playing very well,” the Mustangs trailed by only four points midway through the second half.
“We didn’t play very hard and yet there we are, it’s a four point basketball game,” Bromley said. “We would have gone down and probably beaten Irvine had we beaten Northridge, and that’s the frustrating thing.”
The Mustangs have shown marked improvement in recent weeks, having won three of their last five after losing seven straight.
“We have great character,” Shelton said. “Our guys don’t give up. If something happens, we don’t get down when we get a loss – we focus. We don’t get down. We don’t count ourselves out and we hope no one else counts us out because we’re coming back at it.”
All three of Cal Poly’s recent victories have come away from Mott Gym, a trend that Bromley said is due to the team’s improved concentration from a lack of distractions on the road.
Shelton said that aside from not being able to follow their general home routine, the difference between home and away is miniscule.
“You don’t notice a difference per se,” Shelton said. “We enjoy being at home and having our fans here, but there’s not really a difference besides our fans aren’t here.”
While the Mustangs may be finding their groove on the road, they will need to work on getting back on track at home. After Saturday, Cal Poly finishes its regular season schedule with six straight at home.
Shelton is confident that the team will protect its homecourt during the season ending homestand.
“Being at home isn’t a bad thing,” Shelton said. “It’s a good thing for us. We will win at home.”