Who has dominated the series between Seattle University and the Cal Poly Mustangs so far?
Former Seattle University and current Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero.
Cal Poly Mustangs Men's Basketball
THE SERIES VERSUS SEATTLE: Sunday’s showdown marks the third all-time meeting between the Mustangs and Redhawks, but serves as the first matchup between the two programs in Seattle. With current Mustang head coach Joe Callero directing Seattle, the Redhawks dealt Cal Poly a 60-59 defeat inside Mott Gym on Dec. 14, 2008 during the first meeting between the two programs. With Callero having transitioned to the Mustang bench last season, the Mustangs leveled the series with an 85-74 home triumph on Dec. 3.
With the Mustangs returning the two players who did the most damage against the Redhawks last season, it might be difficult to end the overarching trend of this series.
Players to Watch:
-
6-foot-8 junior center Will Donahue led the Mustangs in field goal percentage last season at 66.7 percent and had a very efficient scoring outing against the Redhawks last year, scoring 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and a team-high 11 rebounds. In their exhibition against Cal State-East Bay, Donahue had 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
-
6-foot-4 guard Shawn Lewis was among the Big West Conference's scoring leaders and did a little bit of everything against the Redhawks last season. He tied for a the second highest rebounding total for the team with seven in that game last December and had more blocks than Seattle's entire team with a game-high four. In addition, he tied for a team-high four assists.
Key to the game:
- Turnovers: The Redhawks play at a fast pace, but thus far this season they've also been turnover prone and although that's not surprising for the pace they play it's also hurting them more than their opponents. In both the University of Maryland and University of San Francisco games, Seattle turnovers fueled big runs for their opponents.
-
Rebounding: Last season, Redhawks forward Charles Garcia did the majority of the rebounding with a game-high 16 while nobody else had more than 5. Someone else will have to find a way to rebound in order to make it all work.
How important is it to get a win today?
It's way too early to firmly state that the Seattle University Redhawks "need" to win today against Cal Poly.
They're only 0-2 and both of their losses were to road teams that are just more established in what they do than the Redhawks are. They said prior to the season that this was a tough schedule and the Mustangs are returning the players that burned the Redhawks last season.
That said, a win today at home in KeyArena against the Mustangs would go a long way to providing some sense of encouragement to fans who are still wondering about where this team is headed this season and how realistic their hopes of post-season play might be after high hopes for coach Cameron Dollar's team in his second season.