Ahead of the 2025-2026 season, the CSUN men’s basketball team is using the momentum of last season’s major success and aiming for new heights for the program.

Last season, the Matadors achieved an impressive 22-11 record, marking the most wins for the program since the 2000-2001 season, and tied the most overall wins in a season. But for head coach Andy Newman, there’s still more to achieve.

Newman is entering his third year with CSUN as the team aims to hit 23 wins this time around.

“I dream about that number,” Newman said. “I mean, how cool is that – to say you’ve got the winningest team in school history.”

Guard/forward Scotty Washington and forward Marcus Adams Jr. were CSUN’s star players last season. With both not returning this year, Newman is looking to new players to fill their shoes and help on the quest to break records.

Larry Hughes II, a guard senior from Saint Louis, Missouri, will enter his first season at CSUN and is ideally going to step into Washington’s role seamlessly, as well as bring range and score from the perimeter.

Compared to competition, CSUN’s outside range has previously been a bit lackluster.

While 3-point shot percentage and overall shots taken have both inched up since Newman joined, the team still has a history of giving up more threes than they take. This was likely due to a lack of personnel equipped to be an outside threat.

This upcoming season, players like Hughes and other talent are predicted to remedy this.

“We recruited some guys that can really shoot the ball this year,” Newman said. “I think the team we’ve built is very athletic, will play very fast, and I think that will create some really high percentage open threes early in the possession.”

As far as scoring below the rim, guards James Evans Jr. and Joshua O’Garro, along with forward Davius Lowry, are all anticipated to be strong in the paint to fill the gap from Adams’ departure.

Newman believes fans can look forward to another historical season. The steady rise in team stats since Newman’s hire provides confidence that the men’s team is sure to break more records.

Arguably the most significant change would have to be assists. The year prior to Newman’s leadership, assists per game were sitting at 9.8. In Newman’s first year, they jumped to 13.9, and at the end of last season, they reached 16.3.

This indicated a 66% increase in assists per game since he has become the head coach. Having been a point guard himself, Newman encourages players in all five positions to have the point guard mindset.

“I want all five of our players on the floor to have a point guard mentality where, yeah, they can score, but really they’re trying to find a high percentage shot for a teammate,” Newman said.

The successful adoption of this mindset is also reflected in the increases of other stat lines, including, but not limited to, points scored per game, rebounds per game, steals per game and both field goal and three point percentage.

Other accomplishments include most conference wins (14), school record for rebounding margin and ninth-best in nation (+8.4), as well as competing in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time in school history.

The Matadors will have their home opener against Nobel University on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Premier America Credit Union Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

There will also be some new faces this season. Due to their recent success, the men’s team is able to attract tougher competition.

Newman made note of three specific home games that should bring excitement: Troy University, Fresno State and Sacramento State. As for the rest of the season, Newman promises fans that they have a lot to look forward to.

“We’re gonna play really fast, we’re gonna score a lot of points and we’re gonna be a really fun team to watch this year,” Newman said.