SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (8-11, 7-6 CCAA) will return to The Sports Center to begin its final four-game homestand of the season as it welcomes Cal Poly Pomona (6-11, 5-8 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before turning its attention to Cal State San Bernardino (14-5, 9-4 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
CSUSM Athletics will be hosting two special events this weekend with REC Night on Thursday and Student Affairs Friends and Family Basketball Tailgate for Saturday's doubleheader. 

On Thursday, the 2022-23 CSUSM men's and women's golf teams will be honored during the men's basketball halftime with a banner-raising ceremony celebrating their CCAA Tournament Championships last season.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM began the week by falling 95-61 at No. 24 Chico State on Thursday as Max Tengan led the Cougars with 17 points.
• The Cougars snapped their three-game skid with an 80-65 win at Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday as Edwyn Collins led all scorers with 20 points while tallying his fifth 20-plus point performance of the season.

 
COUGAR FACTS

• CSUSM is tied for sixth in the CCAA standings with San Francisco State as both squads are 7-6 in league play.
• The Cougars have the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the conference at 1.23 while also tallying the second-most assists at 14.7.
• CSUSM is making the third-most 3-pointers per game in the CCAA at 8.9.
• The Cougars have the third-best turnover margin in the league at 3.6 while ranking third in turnovers per game (12.0) and fourth in turnovers forced (15.58).
• Edwyn Collins continues to lead the CCAA in steals per game (2.05) while ranking third in points per game (15.5).
• Charlie Henderson is the third-best shooter in the league at 56.8% while ranking sixth for blocks per game (0.95) and ninth for rebounds per game (6.7).
• Mike Pope is the top 3-point shooter in the CCAA at 39.1% while making a league-best 2.63 per game.

THURSDAY AGAINST THE BRONCOS

• Cal Poly Pomona split this past weekend's games against Cal State Dominguez Hills and No. 25 Cal State LA.
• The Broncos began the weekend with a 101-87 loss in overtime against the Toros on Thursday.
• CPP responded with a 70-67 win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.
• The Broncos enter the week tied with Sonoma State for eighth in the CCAA standings.
• CSUSM won the first meeting of the season against CPP on Jan. 13 as it took a 67-60 victory.
• Since that loss to the Cougars, the Broncos have gone 3-1.
• CPP is the top shot-blocking team in the conference at 4.4 per game.
• Holding opponents to 42% from the floor this season, the Broncos have the third-best field-goal percentage defense in the CCAA.
• CPP has the worst scoring offense in the conference at 64.2 points per game while maintaining the sixth-best scoring defense at 68.7 points allowed per game.
• In the CCAA, the Broncos rank last in assist/turnover ratio (0.62), assists per game (9.1), free throw percentage (57.5) and 3-point percentage (27.7%).
• CSUSM has won four of the last five meetings against CPP and is 7-7 all-time against the Broncos.

SATURDAY AGAINST THE COYOTES

• CSUSB split last weekend's set of games with a 73-70 win over No. 25 Cal State LA on Thursday before falling 94-83 to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday.
• Before facing the Cougars, the Coyotes will travel to Sonoma State on Thursday.
• CSUSM was victorious in the first meeting of the season against the then-ranked No. 22 Coyotes on Jan. 11, winning 84-77 in San Bernardino.
• Since that loss to the Cougars, CSUSB has gone 4-1.
• The Coyotes have the fourth-best rebound margin in Division II at 9.3 while averaging the 16th-most boards per game at 40.58. CSUSB is also coming down with the eighth-most offensive rebounds in the nation at 14.11 per game.
• CSUSB has the top scoring margin in the CCAA at 10.2. The Coyotes are scoring the second-most points per game in the league at 77.8 while allowing the fourth fewest at 67.6.
• Chris Mitchell is the CCAA's top scorer at 16.9 points per game while sporting the fourth-best field-goal percentage at 51.9%.
• Evan Guillory ranks third in the league for assists per game at 3.1 while having the fourth-best assist/turnover ratio at 1.13.
• Robby Robinson is tallying the third-most rebounds per game in the conference at 8.2 while having the 12th-most double-doubles in the nation at eight.
• Although CSUSB owns the all-time series lead at 9-5, CSUSM has a 3-2 edge over the Coyotes when playing at home.

2023-24 OUTLOOK

• First-year head coach Nick Booker takes over the reins of the CSUSM men's basketball program after spending three seasons as an assistant at UC San Diego.
• The Cougars return six from last season's roster, including Edwyn Collins, Chris Howard, Bing Huang, Jermaine Rogers II, Jack Schultz and Donovan Watkins.
• CSUSM has six newcomers for 2023-24, including transfers Uriah Foster, Charlie Henderson, Teagen Hoard, Luc Krystkowiak and Mike Pope while welcoming true freshman Max Tengan.
• The Cougars' 30-game slate includes two road exhibitions to go along with 13 home games and 15 road games in the regular season.
• CSUSM was selected to finish seventh in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE BOOKER FILE

• Nick Booker became the Cougars' third head coach in program history on June 5, 2023.
• Booker came to CSUSM from UC San Diego where was the Tritons' assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons beginning in June 2020.
• Prior to UCSD, Booker was the associate head coach at Eastern Washington from April 2017 through May 2020 and was named the top assistant coach in the Big Sky Conference by Stadium.
• While at Eastern Washington, Booker helped the Eagles win 59 games overall and a Big Sky Conference Championship in 2019-20 while helping develop two Big Sky Players of the Year.
• Before Eastern Washington, Booker was the director of basketball operations at Davidson College in 2016-17 after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at UC Irvine from April 2011 to March 2016, where he was also the director of basketball operations for one season prior.
• Booker's first coaching gig as an assistant came at Miramar Community College in 2006-07, and he later became the assistant coach and interim head coach at Saddleback Community College from July 2007 through August 2010.
• Booker earned his bachelor's in history at Davidson College in 2004and earned his master's in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2010.
• At Davidson, Booker was a starter for the 2002 Southern Conference Championship team that faced Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament and contributed to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2001 and 2002.