Cal Poly secures 8th straight 20-loss season in men’s basketball

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - After UC Irvine eliminated Cal Poly in the Big West Tournament in March 2021 Cal Poly head coach John Smith said in the postgame press conference, "People look at our record(4-20) and think we have 20 losses, we don't have 20 losses we have 20 learning lessons."

Cal Poly was a young team and figured to get better.

It hasn't happened.

They are currently riding a 14-game losing streak and they have yet to post a single win in 2023.

They are 1-14 in the Big West Conference(7-20 overall) and last night's 70-62 home loss to Cal State Bakersfield clinched the 8th 20-loss season in a row for Cal Poly, the past four under John Smith.

His four-year record with the Mustangs stands at 25-84 including just 9-53 in the Big West.

Smith is 0-7 in the Blue-Green rivalry against UCSB.

The last time Cal Poly had less than 20 losses in a season was 2014-'15 when the Mustangs went 13-16.

Cal Poly has not had a winning men's basketball season since the 2012-'13 campaign when they went 18-14 although they did win a game in the NCAA Tournament in the 2013-'14 season but finished 14-20.

Smith signed a 5-year contract in April of 2019 that runs through March 31, 2024.

It is not clear if he has signed any extensions and Cal Poly has yet to provide that requested information.