Cal State Fullerton vs. Stanford preview: Titans open with road test

The a Cal State Fullerton Titans open their 2012-2013 college basketball season on Monday night with a road contest against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. The Titans look to continue their recent relative success against the Pac-12 Conference.

In the last three seasons, Cal State Fullerton is 2-2 against current Pac-12 teams, including wins over Utah (last season) and UCLA (during the 2009-2010 campaign). Overall, the Titans are 7-33 against teams currently in the Pac-12, but have never faced Stanford.

Senior guard D.J. Seeley, last year's leading scorer at 17.3 points per game, returns for Cal State Fullerton. Seeley and fellow senior guard Kwame Vaughn were named to the preseason All-Big West Conference team. Seeley averaged 15.6 points and 3.7 assists per game last year. Vaughn had 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists in Wednesday's 86-47 exhibition win over Cal State Los Angeles.

Those are the two returning regulars from last year's 21-10 Fullerton squad that finished second to Long Beach State in the Big West.

Fullerton interim head coach Andy Newman was suspended for the first two games of the season for secondary NCAA rules violations, and assistant coach Julius Hicks will run the team against both Stanford and Tuesday against Nevada.

"As the men's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton, I take full responsibility for the program's compliance with NCAA rules," Newman said in a statement. "The University has reported minor secondary violations that were committed, unintentionally, with respect to my presence at a summer open gym before play began, and my failure to supervise our Director of Basketball Operations who was present at the open gym program."

Monday's 8:30 p.m. PT game will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.