Cal Poly Men's Basketball embarked on its Big West conference play with high hopes. They aimed to demonstrate their competitive spirit but faced numerous challenges due to injuries and turnover issues. On Thursday at the University Credit Union Center, they fell on the road to UC Davis with a score of 77 - 66.

Pre-Conference Play and Expectations

Coming into conference play, the Mustangs (5 - 5, 0 - 1 Big West) had a lot to prove. Their first matchup was against the Aggies (4 - 4, 1 - 0 Big West). After a season without a win in the Big West, they were ranked dead last in the preseason conference poll. However, with the arrival of new head coach Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly started on a hot streak. Wins against teams like Grambling State and an exciting upset victory over Stanford showed that they were a different team.Two of the Mustangs' top scorers, senior guard Isaac Jessup and graduate guard Jarred Hyder, got injured during the Stanford game and couldn't play in the opening of Big West play. Jessup, who averaged 14.3 points per game and was second on the team in scoring, is Cal Poly's most reliable three-point shooter, hitting 47% from beyond the arc and ranking 12th in Division I with 29 made threes. Hyder, who averaged 13.8 points per game and was third on the team in scoring, started all his appearances with the Mustangs and made the crucial three-pointer to seal the win against Stanford.

First Half Struggles

Without two of their top players, the Cal Poly offense was out of sync and committed 20 first-half turnovers. Turnovers have been a common problem for the Mustangs, even when they are at their best, as they average 16 turnovers per game. Despite the turnovers, Cal Poly still led 31 - 30 at halftime thanks to nine points from graduate forward Owen Koonce, who is the team's leading scorer.

Second Half Collapse

In the second half, Cal Poly couldn't keep up. Another 13 turnovers from the Mustangs and a 19 - 0 run by the Aggies made the game unbeatable. Koonce led Cal Poly with 19 points, but no other Mustang scored in double figures.The Mustangs will now return home for another Big West match against CSUN on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. They will need to recover from these losses and get their key players back in shape to have a chance at success in the conference.