The question hanging over the Matadome this season is a heavy one: can the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball team turn their season around? As someone who has followed college basketball for decades, both as an analyst and a fan, I’ve seen promising seasons derail and seemingly lost causes find a spark. Right now, CSUN feels stuck in that precarious space between disappointment and potential. Their record, sitting at a concerning 7-15 overall and 2-8 in the Big West Conference as of this writing, tells a story of struggle. But records, while definitive, don't always capture the full narrative of a team's spirit or its latent capacity for a late-season surge. To find a blueprint for such a turnaround, we can look beyond the collegiate court, to a poignant piece of professional insight that feels incredibly relevant.
I was recently analyzing coaching philosophies across different leagues and came across a comment from San Miguel Beermen coach Leo Austria in the PBA. After a crucial win, he said his team played with a "sense of urgency," specifically because they "didn’t want to go down 0-3 before they head to Dubai." That phrase, sense of urgency, isn't just coach-speak; it's the fundamental catalyst any struggling team needs to discover. For San Miguel, the tangible stakes were clear: avoid a deep hole before an overseas trip. For CSUN, the stakes are different but no less real. It's about salvaging pride, building momentum for the conference tournament—where anything can happen—and laying a foundation for the future. The Matadors' "Dubai moment" isn't a flight, but the looming end of the regular season and the finality of missed opportunities. The question is whether they can manufacture that same acute, collective urgency that Austria tapped into.
Statistically, the path is steep. The team's defensive efficiency rating has been a persistent issue, often ranking near the bottom of the conference. They’re allowing opponents to shoot roughly 46% from the field, a number that simply won't win many games in the competitive Big West. Offensively, there's talent. I've been particularly impressed by the scoring ability of guards like De'Sean Allen-Eikens, who is averaging close to 17 points per game. But basketball is a symphony, not a solo act. Too often, the offensive flow stagnates, leading to forced shots and a troubling average of nearly 14 turnovers per contest. You can't manufacture urgency if you're constantly giving the ball back to the other team. The margin for error for this squad is razor-thin. To flip the script, they need to tighten up on-ball defense, communicate better on switches—a basic but often neglected skill—and value each possession as if it's their last. That’s where a mindset shift, inspired by that professional example of urgency, becomes critical.
From my perspective, a turnaround hinges on two things: leadership and a simplified focus. Coach Andy Newman is in his first full season, and this adversity is a fiery crucible for him and his staff. They must be the ones to instill that Austria-like urgency, not through panic, but through a clear, galvanizing message. "Our backs are against the wall. Every game is our most important game. Let's defend our home court with a desperation that shocks people." It sounds simple, but it's about emotional resonance. Furthermore, I’d argue they should stop focusing on the daunting mountain of their overall record. Instead, break the season down into mini-series. Can they win the next two home games? Can they go 2-1 in this upcoming three-game stretch? Small, achievable goals create tangible targets for that urgency to latch onto. It’s psychology as much as strategy.
I’ll be honest, I'm a sucker for a good comeback story. There's a part of me that wants to see this CSUN team, with its flashes of exciting play, put it all together. The raw materials are there. Beyond the scoring, they average a respectable 7.5 steals per game, which shows active hands and potential defensive disruptiveness. They need to harness that energy for a full 40 minutes. Imagine if they could convert just two more of those turnovers into easy baskets each game—that’s a four-to-six point swing, and several of their losses have been by margins smaller than that. The difference between despair and hope is sometimes that slender.
So, can the Cal State Northridge Matadors turn their season around? The realist in me looks at the standings and the remaining schedule, filled with tough opponents like UC Irvine and UC Davis, and says a dramatic rise into the top half of the conference is a long shot. But the basketball believer in me looks at that same schedule and sees opportunity. Every game is a chance to build that elusive sense of urgency. It’s a chance to play spoiler, to build chemistry, and to show a defiant heart. A successful turnaround might not mean a championship; it could mean finishing the season on a 4-2 run, carrying a wave of confidence into the conference tournament, and proving to themselves and their fans that the foundation for next year is being poured right now, in the heat of this struggle. Like Coach Austria’s team avoiding an 0-3 hole, it’s about refusing to sink further and fighting for every inch. That fight, in itself, would constitute a meaningful and admirable turn. The ball, as they say, is in their court.
