The Big West men’s basketball race continues to tighten as teams have reached the midway point of the schedule.  Surging Cal State Northridge is a half-game behind league leader Long Beach State, which hosts third place Pacific on Prime Ticket this Saturday.  
   
Long Beach State enters this week at 6-2 in conference play (11-9 overall) and also hosts UC Davis on Thursday.  The 49ers have won six of their last eight games, ekeing out a four-point win at UC Irvine in their last outing despite the absence of Big West second-leading scorer Donovan Morris.
   
The 49ers swept the Aggies and Tigers on a trip up north in early January.  It was LBSU's eighth straight win over the Aggies.  LBSU won for the third time in the last five meetings against Pacific and widened the all-time series lead to 49-34.
   
Pacific climbed five games above the .500 mark for the first time this season after toppling UC Davis on the road last Saturday.  The Tigers lead all Big West teams with 12 victories.  The last four Big West wins for the Tigers have come by double digits.
   
This week's games also present an opportunity for Pacific head coach Bob Thomason to break a long standing Big West record held by former Long Beach State and UNLV mentor Jerry Tarkanian.  Thomason is one win away from tying and two wins shy of breaking Tarkanian's all-time mark of 205 Big West victories.  Thomason is 204-144 (.586) in Big West games.  Thomason can tie the record Thursday at UC Riverside.
   
The Aggies have registered back-to-back home losses after a previous three-game winning streak.  UCD is looking for win No. 10 on the year, which would eclipse last season's win total.  
   
Cal State Northridge takes a break from Big West play this week and has only one game on the ledger, a non-conference home game Thursday against Cal State Bakersfield.  The Matadors have won three straight and an impressive 4-1 Big West road record have helped them achieve second place in the league standings.
   
Cal State Fullerton also owns a three-game win streak.  The Titans have thrust themselves back into the discussion of Big West title contenders as they enter the week at 5-4 in league play, trailing LBSU by a game and a half.  CSF is also above the .500 mark overall (11-10) for the first time this season.  The Titans host Central Coast foes UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly in hopes of contining their momentum this week.
   
The Titans have won seven of the last 10 meetings against UCSB.  The Gauchos lost 62-58 to the Titans back on Jan. 10.  UCSB is struggling, having lost three straight and eight of its last 11 games.  The schedule sets up well though down the stretch, as the Gauchos play five of their final six Big West games at home following this weekend.  Cal Poly begins a four-game roadtrip this week before finishing the league schedule with four straight home games.
   
UC Irvine also hosts Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.  The Anteaters have posted a 6-5 record after a 1-9 start.  UCI has won four of the last five meetings against Cal Poly in the Bren Center.  UCI went 3-0 against the Gauchos last season, and have won four straight overall in the series.
   
UC Riverside needs one more win for No. 12, which would establish a single-season Division I wins record for the program.  The Highlanders host Pacific and UC Davis this week.