OFF TO STRONG START

Former CSSB men’s basketball coach Andy Newman has CSUN at 13-6 in his first season

RIVERSIDE >> New Cal State Northridge men’s basketball coach Andy Newman wasn’t expecting a warm welcome back to the Inland region, but a 19-point loss at UC Riverside on Saturday was pretty cold.

“That was kind of upsetting that Mike (Magpayo) did not roll out the red carpet for me,” said Newman after the 82-63 loss at the SRC Arena. “This one hurts.”

Newman, who led the Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team to its first Division II Final Four appearance last season, took the open NCAA Division I job at Northridge following the departure of former coach Trent Johnson.

“I’m actually good friends with Andy,” Magpayo said. “We used to go to lunch together often, and it was one of those hires where you go, ‘Darnit!’ We didn’t want to have to go up against him because he’s a really great coach and they’ve had a great start to the year.”

Newman has guided the Matadors to a 13-6 overall record (4-3 in Big West) with an up-tempo style that relies on athleticism and putting up more shots than their opponent.

“The guys we had hold over from last year have been great and they’ve been bought in and have really meshed well with the guys that we brought in,” said Newman, whose team is third in the conference in scoring at 78.3 points per game.

In five years at San Bernardino from 2018-23, Newman compiled a 91-30 record and the second-best winning percentage (.752) of any coach in the program’s 40year history. Only Larry Reynolds (.759) had more wins (110) over a five-year span.

“At the Division II level there aren’t as many distractions,” Newman said. “At (Division I) you have so many more things — guys trying to go pro, NIL money, transferring all the time — and different elements that go into building a program and making it what you want to be.

“At San Bernardino, we had the most Division I players of any team in the CCAA and it was a lot easier to be in that space. Now, there’s a lot more parity,” he said.

NOTES

PHOTO BY MILKA SOKO Cal State Northridge coach Andy Newman has installed an up-tempo style that relies on the Matadors taking more shots than opponents.