First place Pacific and second place UC Santa Barbara play each other in a key conference matchup on Thursday at the Spanos Center.  The Tigers have won five straight and six of their last seven games.

NOTEWORTHY

Keep An Eye On

James Nunnally, UC Santa Barbara
Nunnally has scored 20 or more points in four straight and five of his last six games.  The Gauchos are 6-1 on the year when Nunnally reaches the 20-point mark.  They lost to Cal State Northridge on Saturday after he scored 21 points.  The sophomore forward has upped his season scoring average to 14.6 points per game, which ranks No. 8 in the league.

MORE NOTABLES

Pacific Extends Winning Streak, First Place Lead
Pacific became the first team to engineer a Big West road sweep this season after defeating UC Irvine and UC Riverside last week.  The Tigers improved to 14-6 overall and 7-1 in Big West play to move to a one and a half game lead over second place UC Santa Barbara.  The Tigers have won five straight games, tying UC Riverside for the longest winning streak by a Big West team this season, and six of their last seven.  During the last eight games, Pacific is allowing opponents to average only 58.3 points per game.

Pacific Selected To Televised BracketBusters Game
On Monday, Pacific was selected to one of 11 televised games on either ESPN2 or ESPNU as part of the eighth annual ESPN-sponsored BracketBusters event.  The Tigers are hosting New Mexico State of the Western Athletic Conference on Saturday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU.  It is the second time that Pacific is appearing in a BracketBusters televised matchup.  The Tigers defeated UTEP in front of a nationally televised audience on flagship ESPN in 2005.

Non-Televised BracketBusters Games Named
Eight other Big West schools included in the pool of BracketBusters teams were not selected to a televised game, but instead will play non-conference opponents on Saturday, February 21.  Games involving Big West home teams include SIU-Edwardsville at Cal State Fullerton, Drake at Cal State Northridge, Marist at UC Irvine and Youngstown State at UC Riverside.  Games involving Big West road teams include Cal Poly at Hawai’i, Long Beach State at Idaho, UC Davis at Boise State and UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State.  

Clutch Opportunities
If regular season outcomes foretell what’s in store for the Big West Tournament in March, then expect there to be plenty of closely contested games at the league’s annual showcase event.  Of the 38 league games that have been played, 13 have been decided by five points or less.  Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara have each won three such “close” games.  Cal State Northridge has lost three league games by three points or less and by a combined total of five points.  It’s the difference between the Matadors being in second place and their current seventh place spot.  The two-time defending Big West champions are still dangerous as the season hits the midway point.

CLOSE OUTCOMES IN BIG WEST PLAY
Through Jan. 31 • 38 total games played
Teams                                                        Result             Margin
Cal State Fullerton@UC Davis                  UCD, 67-63      4 points
Long Beach State@UC Riverside             UCR, 69-67      2 points
UC Santa Barbara@UC Irvine                   UCI, 57-55       2 points
UC Santa Barbara@UC Riverside            UCSB, 57-53    4 points
UC Irvine@Cal State Northridge               UCI, 65-62        3 points
UC Irvine@Long Beach State                   LBSU, 55-53     2 points
UC Davis@Cal Poly                                  CP, 72-69          3 points
Pacific@UC Santa Barbara                       UCSB, 68-67    1 point
UC Irvine@UC Davis                                 UCD, 79-77      2 points
UC Riverside@Cal Poly                             CP, 67-65         2 points
Cal State Fullerton@UC Santa Barbara    UCSB, 85-80    5 points
Cal State Northridge@Cal Poly                  CP, 73-72         1 point
Long Beach State@Cal State Northridge   LBSU, 69-68    1 point

Home Cooking - Recipe For Success
Big West teams are upholding home court advantage so far in league play as the home team sports a 26-12 (.684) record.  UC Santa Barbara (5-0), Pacific (4-0) and UC Davis (3-0) are all undefeated at home in conference play.  The road team experienced some success last week, going 4-4 overall, including league road wins for the first time this season by Long Beach State and UC Davis.  All nine Big West squads have at least one league road win.

Daniel Suspended From Team Indefinitely
Lenny Daniel, a junior forward, has been suspended from Cal State Northridge’s men’s basketball indefinitely for attitude and conduct detrimental to the team, according to a statement released by Matador head coach Bobby Braswell.  Daniel started 16 of the 20 games he played in, averaging 11.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.  Daniel ranks No. 2 overall in the Big West in rebounding.

Top Two Teams To Battle This Week
First place takes on second place when Pacific and UC Santa Barbara lace up the sneakers on Thursday at the Spanos Center.  The Tigers lost their only Big West game to the Gauchos back on Jan. 10 in a 68-67 contest.  The rematch looks to be a tightly contested battle on the defensive end between two of the top defensive outfits in the league.  Pacific leads the Big West in scoring defense (60.4 ppg) and UC Santa Barbara is No. 3 (66.4 ppg).

Double-Double Party
Long Beach State sophomore T.J. Robinson picked up his league-leading 11th and 12th double-doubles last week against Cal State Northridge and UC Davis.
 
Douglass, Williams Poised To Enter Top Five In Wins
UC Irvine’s Pat Douglass is aiming at joining select company, as he’s just two wins away from the Big West’s top five all-time wins list.  Douglass is 192-186 in his 13th season at the school.  Former Fresno State head coach Boyd Grant is No. 5 on that list with 194 victories.  Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara head coach Bob Williams is creeping up the charts as well.  He’s two wins behind Douglass at 190, which ranks No. 7 all-time.

ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk.    Coach, School                                 No.
1.      Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV        405
2.      Bob Thomason, Pacific                  378
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                 192
7.      Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara   190
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

Monson Claims Career Win No. 200
Long Beach State’s Dan Monson won his 200th career game as a collegiate head coach when the 49ers topped Cal State Northridge by a single point on Thursday.  Monson is 201-174 in 12-plus seasons that has also included stops at Gonzaga and Minnesota.

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