# 2019–20 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team represented California Polytechnic State University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mustangs, led by first-year head coach John Smith, played their home games at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 7–23, 4–12 in Big West play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the Big West tournament (although the Big West tournament was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

## Previous season

The Mustangs finished the 2018–19 season 6–23 overall, 2–14 in Big West play to finish in ninth place. They failed to qualify for the Big West Conference tournament.
On March 6, 2019, it was announced that head coach Joe Callero would not be retained after his 10th season. He compiled a record of 126–184 while at Cal Poly. On March 27, it was announced that Cal State Fullerton associate head coach John Smith would be named the 11th head coach in program history.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Tour of London |||||
| September 3, 2019* 11:00 am | at Surrey Scorchers | W 81–69 | | Surrey Sports Park (100) Guildford, England |
| September 4, 2019* 8:00 am | at Barking Abbey Basketball Academy | W 75–61 | | Barking Abbey School Barking, England |
| September 6, 2019* 11:00 am | at London Lions | L 71–89 | | Copper Box Arena (1,500) Hackney, England |
| September 7, 2019* 10:00 am | at Solent Kestrels | L 90–93 $^{OT}$ | | Solent Sports Complex Southampton, England |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm | at Santa Clara | L 63–77 | 0–1 | Leavey Center (2,000) Santa Clara, CA |
| November 11, 2019* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | at North Dakota State | L 67–74 | 0–2 | Scheels Center (2,006) Fargo, ND |
| November 15, 2019* 7:00 pm | Simpson | W 89–45 | 1–2 | Mott Athletics Center (1,762) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| November 17, 2019* 5:00 pm | at No. 18 Saint Mary's | L 48–79 | 1–3 | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,306) Moraga, CA |
| November 22, 2019* 6:00 pm, FS1 | at Creighton Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational campus-site game | L 70–86 | 1–4 | CHI Health Center Omaha (16,783) Omaha, NE |
| November 24, 2019* 2:00 pm, BTN | at Iowa Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational campus-site game | L 59–85 | 1–5 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (10,730) Iowa City, IA |
| November 28, 2019* 11:00 am | vs. Tennessee State Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational semifinals | L 72–82 | 1–6 | Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV |
| November 29, 2019* 11:00 am | vs. LIU Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational third-place game | L 69–82 | 1–7 | Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV |
| December 7, 2019* 7:00 pm | Siena | W 70–66 | 2–7 | Mott Athletics Center (1,632) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| December 14, 2019* 7:00 pm | Fresno State | L 37–62 | 2–8 | Mott Athletics Center (1,965) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| December 18, 2019* 7:05 pm | at Sacramento State | L 56–57 | 2–9 | The Nest (522) Sacramento, CA |
| December 21, 2019* 7:00 pm | Cal State Bakersfield | L 50–72 | 2–10 | Mott Athletics Center (1,545) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| December 28, 2019* 4:00 pm, FSSD | at No. 15 San Diego State | L 57–73 | 2–11 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 3, 2020* 7:00 pm | Vanguard | W 85–82 | 3–11 | Mott Athletics Center (1,262) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Big West regular season |||||
| January 8, 2020 7:00 pm | UC Santa Barbara Rivalry | L 45–63 | 3–12 (0–1) | Mott Athletics Center (2,682) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| January 11, 2020 7:00 pm | Cal State Northridge | W 74–56 | 4–12 (1–1) | Mott Athletics Center (2,089) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| January 16, 2020 9:00 pm | at Hawaii | L 61–65 | 4–13 (1–2) | Stan Sheriff Center (4,811) Honolulu, HI |
| January 23, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at UC Riverside | L 64–97 | 4–14 (1–3) | SRC Arena (703) Riverside, CA |
| January 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at UC Irvine | L 67–74 | 4–15 (1–4) | Bren Events Center (3,941) Irvine, CA |
| January 30, 2020 7:00 pm | Cal State Fullerton | W 101–100 $^{OT}$ | 5–15 (2–4) | Mott Athletics Center (1,483) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 1, 2020 5:00 pm | at UC Davis | L 51–66 | 5–16 (2–5) | The Pavilion (2,263) Davis, CA |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm | Long Beach State | W 92–75 | 6–16 (3–5) | Mott Athletics Center (1,562) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 8, 2020 7:00 pm | Hawaii | W 79–75 | 7–16 (4–5) | Mott Athletics Center (2,235) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 13, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Cal State Northridge | L 73–81 | 7–17 (4–6) | Matadome (693) Northridge, CA |
| February 15, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Cal State Fullerton | L 101–105 $^{4OT}$ | 7–18 (4–7) | Titan Gym (692) Fullerton, CA |
| February 20, 2020 7:00 pm | UC Davis | L 62–77 | 7–19 (4–8) | Mott Athletics Center (1,588) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 22, 2020 7:00 pm | UC Riverside | L 49–61 | 7–20 (4–9) | Mott Athletics Center (1,935) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 27, 2020 7:00 pm | UC Irvine | L 76–82 | 7–21 (4–10) | Mott Athletics Center (2,703) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| March 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Long Beach State | L 73–80 | 7–22 (4–11) | Walter Pyramid (1,641) Long Beach, CA |
| March 7, 2020 7:00 pm | at UC Santa Barbara Rivalry | L 67–69 | 7–23 (4–12) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific. |||||
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