SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team will begin its 2023-24 season in just over a month as first-year head coach Nick Booker announced his team’s schedule on Wednesday.
The Cougars’ 30-game slate includes two road exhibitions to go along with 13 home games and 15 road games in the regular season.
“We are excited to announce our schedule for the 2023-24 season,” Booker said. “Our philosophy this season is to play a challenging non-conference schedule to give ourselves the best chance to play competitive winning basketball come March in San Bernardino for the CCAA Tournament. We were able to accomplish that by starting off with our first two opponents being arguably two of the best programs in the West Coast and maybe the nation.”
CSUSM will test itself early with two Division I exhibitions at San Diego State (Oct. 30) and at UC Irvine (Nov. 3). The Aztecs made a run to the finals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship last season while the Anteaters tied for a share of the Big West Conference Regular-Season Championship.
The Cougars will begin the regular season at the PacWest/CCAA Crossover in La Mirada with a pair of games against Concordia University Irvine (Nov. 10) and Biola (Nov. 11). CSUSM will then open its home schedule with non-conference games against Point Loma (Nov. 17) and startup Stanton (Nov. 19).
CSUSM will continue its six-game homestand by beginning its CCAA schedule with Cal State LA (Nov. 30), Cal State Dominguez Hills (Dec. 2), Cal Poly Humboldt (Dec. 7) and Chico State (Dec. 9).
Before the winter break, the Cougars will head to Washington to round out its non-conference slate with a pair of road games at Central Washington (Dec. 17) and Seattle Pacific (Dec. 19).
CSUSM will return to conference action on New Year’s Eve against Sonoma State in The Sports Center before hitting the road for four road games at Stanislaus State (Jan. 4), Cal State Monterey Bay (Jan. 6), Cal State San Bernardino (Jan. 11) and Cal Poly Pomona (Jan. 13).
The Cougars will come back to San Marcos for a pair of games against San Francisco State (Jan. 18) and Cal State East Bay (Jan. 20) before leaving for a set of games at Chico State (Jan. 25) and Cal Poly Humboldt (Jan. 27).
CSUSM will then play its final four home games of the season against Cal Poly Pomona (Feb. 1), Cal State San Bernardino (Feb. 3), Cal State Monterey Bay (Feb. 8) and Stanislaus State (Feb. 10).
Wrapping up the regular-season with a five-game road trip, the Cougars will head to Cal State Dominguez Hills (Feb. 15), Cal State LA (Feb. 17), Cal State East Bay (Feb. 22), San Francisco State (Feb. 24) and Sonoma State (Feb. 29).
“This grueling conference schedule promises to be a significant test for our team. The challenges and opportunities presented by conference play will be a true measure of our team’s growth and adaptability,” Booker said. “We are eager to see our players rise to the occasion and demonstrate their skills and determination as we compete in the conference.”
Should CSUSM be in the top six in the CCAA standings at the end of the regular season, they’ll head to the 2024 CCAA Tournament hosted by Cal State San Bernardino on March 7-9 at Coussoulis Arena.
2022-23 season ticket holders have until Oct. 31 to renew their seats for the upcoming season. New season tickets will go on sale on Nov. 1 while single-game tickets will be available on Nov. 10. For purchases and any questions, contact Armando Lara (arlara@csusm.edu).
