CSULA has three starters back from a 24-8 team, a familiar coach (Jim Saia) and some excellent three-point shooters. However, this lower division outfit should not be competitive with a team which aspires to a Big-10 championship.
We haven't won one of these games by less than 30 since the 2011-12 season when we went 19-14. Every time we haven't blown out the exhibition game opponent, we had a poor to mediocre season.
So anything less than a 30 point win should be a big red flag for the upcoming season. No excuses. Doesn't matter if we have so many new players to integrate since our talent level alone should overwhelm them.