Long Beach State remains unbeaten in conference play at 5-0 and leads the Big West standings by two games heading into a matchup with UC Riverside that will be televised by FSN PRIME TICKET on Saturday.  
   
For the second week in a row, the 49ers have an entire week to prepare for a single opponent.  They defeated preseason league favorite Cal State Northridge, 74-68, last Saturday to start 5-0 in Big West action for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.  LBSU won its first nine conference games that season.
   
The 49ers encounter a Highlanders squad which started Big West play 2-0 but lost to UC Davis, Pacific and Cal State Northridge in its next three conference games.  Both teams enter the contest with identical 10-7 overall records.  LBSU has won six of the last seven meetings and leads the all-time series 22-7.
   
Long Beach State owns a season-high five-game winning streak and is 7-1 in the Walter Pyramid this season.  The 49ers are in the midst of playing three straight and five of their next six games at home.  UC Riverside, which also has a week to prepare for the 49ers, is coming off a 64-63 win at Cal State Bakersfield. It was the third road win of the year for the Highlanders.
   
Pacific, UC Davis, Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine are the four schools lurking two games behind the 49ers in the standings.
   
The Tigers and Aggies both host Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara this week.  Pacific, which last week reached the 10-win plateau with LBSU and UCR, is an identical 5-3 in home and away games.  The Tigers look to keep Cal Poly from securing its first Big West victory as the Mustangs have started out league play 0-5.  The all-time series between the Tigers and UCSB shows Pacific holding a slim 50-47 lead, although the Gauchos have won three of the last four meetings.  The Saturday showdown will be televised by ESPNU at 7:00 p.m.  
   
UC Davis vaulted right into the melee of the conference race thanks to its first-ever Big West road sweep last week.  The Aggies toppled Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine, winning for the third time in the last four games.  UCD has lost three straight and four of the last five encounters against UCSB.  The Aggies attempt to end a four-game losing streak to the Mustangs on Saturday.
   
After hosting Cal State Bakersfield in a non-conference contest on Wednesday, UC Irvine travels to Cal State Northridge on Saturday.  In another closely contested series which UCI leads 21-19, the Anteaters have won four of the last six meetings.
   
The Matadors, which have won five of their last eight games after a 1-6 start, also host Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday.  CSUN hopes to prolong the Titan slump, which includes losses in four of its last six outings.