WINONA, Minn. -- The Winona State men's basketball team hits the road for the first time in 2015-16, taking on three talented opponents this week with games at UC San Diego, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona. The Warriors open play Tuesday night at 9 p.m. (CST) at the Tritons in La Jolla, California, before making the trek to San Bernardino and and Pomona on Friday night and Saturday night.

LAST SEASON: The Winona State men's basketball team finished last season with a 14-13 record and an 11-11 mark in the NSIC  to earn its 12th straight winning season. WSU was led by all-conference performer Isaiah Gray, who averaged 14.4 points per game and 2.9 assists to lead the team. Riley Bambenek added 12 points per game while Mark Blacklock led WSU with 5.1 rebounds per game.

NEW ERA: The WSU men's basketball program officially began a new era Saturday, plaing its first regular season game under new head coach Todd Eisner. Eisner takes over a program that has been one of the nation's best the past decade, with the Warriors winning two national championships ('06 & '08), and making four Elite Eight appearances ('06, '07, '08 & '13).

THE EISNER FILE: In Eisner's 17 seasons as an NAIA coach at four different institutions, he compiled a phenomenal 417-165 record (a .716 winning percentage) and can boast the claim of being the only coach in NAIA Division II history to take three different programs to the "Elite Eight" national tournament and the only coach to take two programs to the championship game.

2015-16 OUTLOOK: The Warriors were picked fourth in the 16-team league in the NSIC Preseason Poll, behind Augustana, MSU Moorhead and Minnesota State. Riley Bambenek was named WSU's player to watch. WSU is an experienced team this year, returning all but one player, with third-leading scorer Tim Wagner being its lone departure.

NO REDSHIRTS: Head coach Todd Eisner will rely on his newcomers to play right away, choosing not to redshirt Mason Domask, Connor Flack and Tommy Gathje. All three players contributed in a 92-62 season-opening win against Wisconsin Lutheran.

BAUMAN AT HIS BEST: Junior big man Kyle Bauman appears primed for a big season. In WSU's two exhibition games, Bauman averaged 19.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in just 39 total minutes. In Saturday's season-opening win over Wisconsin Lutheran, Bauman tied a career high with 21 points while setting a new career mark with 12 rebounds. 

UNCOMMON OPPONENTS: The Warriors will be taking the court this week against opponents the program has rarely seen. Tuesday night's matchup with UC San Diego will be the first meeting between the two squads, while WSU has not seen Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona since 2000. WSU is 1-2 all-time against they Coyotes and 0-1 against the Broncos.

HOW THEY STACK UP: All three opponents are predicted to have success this season. Both Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino are receiving votes in the most recent NABC Top 25 poll. All three hail from the same conference, with Cal Poly Pomona, UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino selected second, third and fourth, respectively, in the CCAA Preseason Poll.