Cal Poly Mustangs vs Cal State Northridge Matadors Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cal Poly Mustangs vs Cal State Northridge Matadors

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Cal State Northridge Matadors (9-7) host the Cal Poly Mustangs (6-10) at Premier America Credit Union Arena on Thursday.

The Cal Poly Mustangs played Long Beach State and went home with a loss by a final score of 74-66 in their last game. Cal Poly wrapped up the contest having earned a 33.9% field goal percentage (19 out of 56) and converted 10 of their 30 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Mustangs buried 18 of their 25 attempts for a percentage of 72.0%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 33 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 15 assists for the game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and having 5 steals. In terms of defending, Cal Poly allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the field on 29 of 58 shooting. Long Beach State recorded 16 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. On top of that, Long Beach State grabbed 30 boards (6 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Long Beach State went 70.6% at the charity stripe by converting 12 of 17 tries. They buried 4 of their 17 attempts from distance. With respect to fouls, the Mustangs walked away with 14 while Long Beach State finished the game with 21 fouls.

Hamad Mousa is someone who was a major factor for this game. He ended up shooting 35.7% from the field and totaled 2 assists. He played for 37 mins and also grabbed 8 boards. He left the arena with 19 points on 5 of 14 shooting.

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Cal Poly comes into this contest with a mark of 6-10 on the year. They have an average of 80.7 points per outing (112th in Division 1) while connecting on 42.1% from the field. The Mustangs are shooting 34.1% on 3-point shots (172 of 505) and 75.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Cal Poly is snagging 39.5 boards per game and has accumulated 204 dimes so far this year, which is 244th in the country in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 16.3 times per contest and as a squad they commit 20.8 fouls every game.

On defense, the Mustangs are able to force 12.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 21.3 fouls. They currently rank 337th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 254 relinquished so far this year. The Mustangs defense is allowing a FG percentage of 45.0% (470 of 1,044) and they relinquish 37.4 boards per contest as a unit. They are surrendering 32.9% from beyond the arc while they are 351st in college in points per game from their opponents (85.1).

In their last game, the Cal State Northridge Matadors got the victory with a final of 74-65 when they faced UC Santa Barbara. In the matter of how they cleaned up the glass, Cal State Northridge permitted UC Santa Barbara to collect 32 in all (9 offensive). They went 20.0% from distance by going 6 out of 30 and finished the contest at 17 out of 20 at the free throw line (85.0%). The Matadors allowed UC Santa Barbara to bury 21 of 61 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 34.4% for the matchup. Overall, the Matadors walked away from this one shooting 24 out of 49 from the floor which had them shooting 49.0%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Cal State Northridge converted 3 out of their 18 attempts (16.7%). They were able to knock down 23 of the free throws for a rate of 62.2%. UC Santa Barbara was called for 30 fouls in this matchup which took the Matadors to the free throw line for a total of 37 tries. They also turned the ball over 15 times, while getting 8 steals in this game. The Matadors were able to snag 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 34 in this contest.

Larry Hughes Jr. ended up being important for the Matadors in the matchup. He knocked down 7 of 15 for this game giving him a rate of 46.7%, and tallied 2 rebounds. He tallied 23 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 2 assists for the matchup.

Cal State Northridge has a win-loss record of 9-7 for the year. When it comes to offense, the Matadors are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which ranks them 248th in Division 1. Cal State Northridge has accumulated 1,282 pts for the campaign (80.1 per game) and they grab 41.3 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 16.4 times per contest (78th in college) and they cough up possession 13.8 times per contest. The Matadors are responsible for committing 18.0 fouls every game and they connect on 68.6% from the free throw line.

The Cal State Northridge defense surrenders 33.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (156 of 469) and their opposition makes 77.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 14.9 assists and 35.2 total boards per game, which ranks them 280th and 218th in D-1. The Matadors defensively are ranked 302nd in college hoops in points given up per game with 78.2. They are forcing their opponents into 12.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.2% from the floor (114th in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cal Poly

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