The excitement for the CSUN men’s basketball team came back after a revival year last season, as the Matadors finished with a 19-15 record. This season, the Matadors haven’t slowed down and jumped out to a 6-2 record, their best start since the 2007-08 season.
The Matadors beat four Division I opponents en route to their five game winning streak after dropping their season opener to St. Bonaventure.
CSUN spent the Thanksgiving weekend in the state of Montana, participating in the Stew Morrill Classic at the University of Montana and playing a game at Montana State. The Matadors would go 2-1 in the Stew Morrill Classic, defeating Utah Tech and Denver on back-to-back nights on Nov. 24 and 25. Two days later, CSUN would be defeated by Montana, snapping their win streak. They would bounce back with a win over Montana State on Nov. 30 to end their weeklong trip to the Treasure State.
CSUN head coach Andy Newman completely reworked the roster over the offseason, bringing in 13 new players. One of the best additions to the team has been sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr. The BYU transfer quickly found his role as the team’s sixth man. Adams is the team’s leading scorer with 16 points per game. Coming off the bench, he is second on the team with 28.1 minutes per game.
Another impactful addition to the team is California Baptist transfer Scotty Washington. The redshirt junior guard has been a scoring machine for the Matadors. He averages 13 points per game, but has gone over 20 points twice in his eight starts. Washington scored 21 points in CSUN’s win over Le Moyne on Nov. 4. He reached a career-high of 27 points when he led the Matadors to a 16-point comeback win over Sacramento State on Nov. 16.
Newman retained a trio of players that were big contributors to the team last season. The best of the returners, senior forward Keonte Jones, was a preseason All-Big West selection. Jones is the team’s second leading scorer with 15.6 points per game. He’s averaging nearly a double-double with his 9.1 rebounds per game, a team-high.
The Matadors were projected to finish sixth in the Big West conference according to the preseason coaches poll. CSUN will head into the conference opener vs. UC Riverside on Dec. 5, tied as the No. 4 team in the conference with a 6-2 record.
Mini Profiles
Adams has burst onto the scene for CSUN after transferring over from BYU. The California native appeared in only one game last season for the Cougars. Since coming over from CSUN, Adams has gone off for at least 15 points in six games out of eight games played.
Jones has lived up to the high expectations bestowed upon him in the preseason. He nearly broke his career-high in points (24) with a 23-point game vs. Utah Tech. Through eight games played, Jones put up four double-doubles. Through 34 games last season, he had five double-doubles.
