In the Big West, there can only be one

OK, so I\’ve never made a Highlander joke about UC Riverside. Until now. Sorry. UC Riverside has struggled this preseason, losing notably 39-30 to Fresno State and 70-26 at USC.

The Highlanders did beat Northern Colorado, another common opponent with Cal Poly, but that was the only thing that resembles a quality win for Jim Woolridge\’s team.

If Cal Poly is to really compete for a top-4 seed in the Big West Tournament, winning games like this, against a team that was picked to finish last in the conference in the preseason coaches poll, is imperative.

An upset loss is not outside the realm of possibility for Cal Poly, though. Three weeks after beating Cal State Northridge 100-54 at Mott Gym last season, the Mustangs went to the San Fernando Valley and lost to the Matadors 94-81.

The UC Riverside game is made more important by a pair of TOUGH games next weekend at Mott Gym vs. UC Irvine (6-7, picked 3rd in the preseason coaches poll) and Long Beach State (4-7, picked 1st in the preseason coaches poll)

I caught-up with Chris O\’Brien and Chris Eversley before the Mustangs boarded their bus to Riverside on Thursday afternoon. They talked about what the team has learned over the first 10 games, what they did on Christmas vacation, and O\’Brien changed course to give us a movie review of The Hobbit.

Cal Poly @ UC Riverside

Saturday, December 29

1:00 PM, The SRC Arena