It is a light men's basketball schedule this week due to final exams for some Big West schools, although there are still some heavy hitters to tackle from the BCS conferences. Long Beach State travels to No. 2 Texas for a matchup on ESPNU, UC Davis makes a short trek to Stanford for a game on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area, and Pacific hosts California in the first-ever men's hoops game at the Stockton Arena.
NOTEWORTHY
Keep An Eye On
Shawn Lewis, Cal Poly
Lewis played a key role in Cal Poly’s first two victories of the 2009-10 season as the Mustangs battled back from double-digit deficits in both games. Lewis turned in two all-around efforts as Cal Poly knocked off Seattle University and Pepperdine at home. He posted a career-high four blocked shots to go along with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the 85-74 win against the Redhawks, the school that first-year Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero mentored for eight seasons. Lewis was even more vital in an 83-77 triumph over the Waves, scoring 15 of his season-high 22 points in the second half to help the Mustangs overcome a pair of 19-point deficits. He added a career-high five assists, three blocks and three steals.
MORE NOTABLES
Long Beach State Faces Third Ranked Opponent
Encountering one of the toughest - if not the toughest - non-conference schedules in the country, Long Beach State battles its third top 25 opponent in the last four games when the 49ers take on No. 2 Texas Monday. The game, which will be televised on ESPNU, is LBSU’s first in eight days since an 11-point win against UCLA in the 76 Classic. The 49ers also faced then-No. 8 West Virginia and then-No. 19 Clemson in the loaded 76 Classic. LBSU also has dates with No. 4 Kentucky and No. 8 Duke later this month.
Big West Enjoying Success Against SoCal Schools
Big West schools are continuing to capture the attention of their counterparts in the southern California region. The Big West is a combined 10-2 against teams from the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, owning winning records against UCLA (2-0), San Diego (2-0), Pepperdine (3-0) and Loyola Marymount (2-0). In addition to wins against Pepperdine and San Diego, Pacific also sports a victory versus San Diego State to become the Big West’s only 3-0 team against SoCal competition.
BIG WEST AGAINST SOCAL SCHOOLS (10-2)
Date Game Result
11/13 Pacific@Pepperdine PAC, 67-64
11/16 Cal State Fullerton@UCLA CSF, 68-65
11/16 Pacific vs. San Diego PAC, 56-55
11/17 Long Beach State@Pepperdine LBSU, 67-58
11/17 UC Riverside@USC USC, 77-67
11/18 UC Irvine@LMU UCI, 84-78
11/25 Pacific vs. San Diego State PAC, 71-63
11/28 UC Santa Barbara@LMU UCSB, 89-84
11/29 Long Beach State vs. UCLA LBSU, 79-68
12/4 UC Riverside vs. San Diego UCR, 58-55
12/5 Cal Poly vs. Pepperdine CP, 83-77
12/5 UC Santa Barbara vs. San Diego State SDSU, 69-61
Westernly Wins
The Big West is on a roll against some of its primary competition on the west coast - namely opponents from the West Coast and Western Athletic Conferences. Against those two leagues, the Big West is a combined 15-4 with at least nine more matchups on tap in the remainder of non-conference play. However, the Big West plays no games against either the WCC or WAC this week.
The Closer The Better
UC Riverside doesn’t flinch when the clock is winding down and the score is close. The Highlanders improved to 5-2 and won their fifth straight game with a 58-55 triumph versus San Diego on Friday, moving to 3-0 in games decided by five points or less. Dating back to last season, the Highlanders are an impressive 12-1 in such “close” games. In fact, going back to the 2008-09 season, 12 of UCR’s last 18 victories have been by five points or less.
Daniels Dazzles In Matador Victory
Kenny Daniels put forth an exceptional performance in Cal State Northridge’s 95-93 score-a-thon victory against Idaho on Tuesday. The senior forward did his best impersonation of an avalanche as he trampled the Vandals to the tune of a career-high 39 points on 12 of 17 shooting. Daniels, who leads the Big West in scoring at 18.1 points per game, also made 13 of 15 at the free throw line. It marked the third-most points in a game in Matador history.
Tigers Off To Great Start, Host Cal This Week
Pacific takes a league-best 6-1 record into a much anticipated home game against California on Wednesday. The game will be played at the Stockton Arena to mark the first-ever NCAA Division I basketball game at the venue. The Tigers aim for a 7-1 start for the first time since the 1996-97 season when they began 16-1. The Tigers already have posted impressive wins against San Diego, San Diego State and Nevada at their normal home court - the Alex G. Spanos Center. A win over Cal would be sure to create much buzz as the Bears were ranked in the top 25 as recently as last week.
Powell On Cusp Of 1,000 Point Mark
UC Santa Barbara senior James Powell is nearing the 1,000 point career mark, needing 19 points to become the 23rd Gaucho to achieve the milestone. However, his quest will be on hold until Dec. 18 at Montana State as the Gauchos take this week off for fall final exams.
Harden Sidelined For Up To Four Weeks
UC Davis junior Joe Harden, the Big West’s No. 7 scorer (15.0 ppg), is out until at least late December with an ankle injury suffered in a game against Sacramento State on Wednesday. The trio of Harden, junior Mark Payne and senior Dominic Calegari have combined to score 366 of the Aggies’ 581 points (63.0%) on the season.
Coaching Milestones On The Horizon
A pair of head coaches are poised to enter the top five in all time victories while a member of the Big West coaching fraternity. Pat Douglass, in his 13th year at the helm of UC Irvine, is currently No. 6 all-time with 187 victories. He is the all-time winningest coach at UCI. He needs eight wins to surpass Fresno State’s Boyd Grant (1978-86) in the No. 5 spot. A 17-win season for Douglass would make him just the fifth coach to reach the 200-win plateau.
UC Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams enters his 12th season on the Central Coast campus just four wins behind Douglass in the record book. He is 183-148 with the Gauchos. Williams has posted two 20-win seasons (2001-02, 2007-08) during his tenure, so the 21 wins he needs to collect 200 for his career is within reach.
ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk. Coach, School No.
1. Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV 405
2. Bob Thomason, Pacific 370
3. Neil McCarthy, New Mexico State 248
4. Jerry Pimm, UC Santa Barbara 222
5. Boyd Grant, Fresno State 194
6. Pat Douglass, UC Irvine 187
7. Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara 183
8. Stew Morrill, Utah State 167
9. Bill Mulligan, UC Irvine 163
10. Rod Tueller, Utah State 158
Bold denotes active Big West head coach
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