Gio Gaxiola — Reporter
The San Jose State men’s basketball team is on fire when playing at Provident Credit Union Event Center.
In the early part of the season, the Spartans are currently undefeated with a 5-0 record at home. While they have not played any of their conference foes yet, the level of competition they’ve faced has some prestige. . Take Cal State Fullerton for example, a team that recently played in the NCAA March Madness tournament.
What makes the Spartans so good at home? A big part of it can be the new man at the helm. Head Coach Tim Miles is starting to earn the players’ trust and has called some key plays to help keep the Spartans undefeated at home.“We’ve said all year we wanna make this building our home,” Miles said in a Twitter interview on Dec. 11th. “We want the Event Center to be difficult for our opponents and this is a good start.”
The star of the team so far has been sophomore guard Omari Moore. This season, Moore is averaging 15 points, four rebounds and four assists a game. He was featured on Sportscenter’s “Top-10” segment. On Nov. 24th, Moore drove down the lane with seven seconds and slammed the game-winning dunk to drop Northern Colorado 75-74. If the Spartans are going to continue the success at home, Moore will be playing a huge role.
Sophomore forward Tibet Görener has found a home in San Jose. After spending his freshman year at the University of Arizona, Görener is thriving with the Spartans. This season, he is averaging nine points per game and shooting 50% from the 3-point line. Görener has to continue to stay hot from beyond the ark in order for the Spartans to win.
Another transfer who is helping the team is sophomore center Ibrahima Diallo. It is not often you see a player leave a big school like Ohio State for SJSU. That is exactly what Diallo did and clearly, the Spartans are thankful for it, as they are reaping the benefits of having the talented big-man. Diallo is averaging seven points per game and eight rebounds a game, along with 14 blocks. The team’s next home game is not until Dec. 21 when they play host to Santa Clara University. After that, Mountain West Conference play starts. It will be fun to see if the Spartans will continue to have success on home court.