Cal Poly shocks UC Santa Barbara in Big West Tournament opener
Seventh-seeded Cal Poly pulled off a huge upset in the Big West Tournament on Thursday by stunning second-seeded UC Santa Barbara, 69-38, at Honda Center.
Cal Poly’s win in the first game of the tournament came just five days after the Mustangs suffered a 16-point home defeat to Santa Barbara.
“We just decided to turn the pressure up everywhere, and make the game ugly,” Cal Poly Coach Joe Collero said.
Cal Poly (11-19) dominated from start to finish and completely frustrated Santa Barbara’s Alan Williams, the conference player of the year.
Williams fouled out with 7:06 remaining after scoring 14 points on seven-of-17 shooting.
Cal Poly shot 59% in the first half, built a 21-point lead and never let up. Guard Ridge Shipley led the Mustangs with 15 points.
Santa Barbara (21-9) never cut the deficit below 16 in the second half.
It was, by far, Santa Barbara’s worst loss of the year. The previous worst was a 13-point defeat at UCLA.
“We certainly did not expect to get beat like this,” Santa Barbara Coach Bob Williams said.
The winner of the Big West Tournament receives an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA Tournament.
Cal Poly advances to Friday’s semifinals. The Mustangs are trying to become the lowest-seeded school to win the Big West Tournament. San Jose State was No. 6 when it won in 1996.
