Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside are all looking to have a perfect week to keep some very impressive streaks alive. The Tigers and Gauchos continue to rank among the top 10 in the country, while the Highlanders are inching their way towards the cream of the crop.
After dropping two straight road games last week, Pacific is happy to return home to the familiar confines of the Alex G. Spanos Center to host UC Davis in its lone match of the week. The Tigers own a perfect 9-0 record in front of their home crowd and dating back to February 14, 2008, they hold the nation's eighth longest home win streak at 13. The Tigers and Aggies tip off Saturday, Jan. 31 at 4:00 p.m.
The Tigers aren't the only team looking to keep a perfect record intact on their home court. UC Riverside, 5-0 at the Student Recreation Center, closes out a three-game homestand this week with contests against UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. The Highlanders-Anteaters showdown is scheduled for Thursday, January 29 at 5:30 p.m. Two days later the Highlanders entertain the Titans at 5:00 p.m.
Also seeking perfection this week are the league-leading UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, who are riding a nine-game win streak and own an unblemished 7-0 Big West mark. The Gauchos put their spotless conference record on the line Wednesday evening when they visit Cal State Northridge. UC Santa Barbara, 2-5 on the road this year, takes a break from conference play to visit the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Saturday. Both games are slated with 7:00 p.m. starts.
UC Santa Barbara's central coast neighbor, Cal Poly, has the same opponents on its lineup this week. The Mustangs and Roadrunners square off in a nonconference contest Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon Cal Poly returns to league action to face Cal State Northridge at The Matadome, where they are 4-3 this season. The Mustangs have won two straight league games and three of the last four, while the Matadors tallied wins in two of the last three outings.
Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton are looking to get out of their slumps, but unfortunately only one will prevail since the two teams are slated to face off Thursday evening at Titan Gym. The 49ers, who are the lone team in the conference without a league win, enter the week riding a seven-game losing streak and the Titans are on a three-game skid. The series in which Long Beach State leads, 61-31, tips off at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday both teams get another shot at turning things around as Long Beach State returns home to host UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton visits UC Riverside. The Anteaters reversed their bad luck last week as they won their first home game and their first Big West contest of the season and snapped a 13-losing streak in the process. UC Irvine hopes to keep things moving in the right direction with its pair of road contests at UC Riverside and Long Beach State.