Big Week Of Conference Matchups, Including Two Televised Games

Under the helm of Head Coach Mark French, UC Santa Barbara welcomes conference-leader Long Beach State for a showdown on Fox Sports Net West.

The battle for the top spot in the league continues this week when No. 1 Long Beach State (8-2) visits No. 2 UC Santa Barbara (6-2) on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 5:00 p.m. Fox Sports Net West will be broadcastinig the Big West contest. Earlier this year Long Beach State downed the Gauchos, 58-52. Prior to the 49er-Gaucho showdown, LBSU travels to Cal Poly, currently in a three-game slump, while UCSB welcomes UC Irvine, riding a three-game win streak, to the Thunderdome on Thursday night. Both games are slated for 7:00 p.m.

The Cal State Fullerton Titans have won three games in a row and moved up the Big West standings into the third place slot with a record of 6-4. The Titans, who posted their first road win of the season over the weekend, continues their three-game road trip when they travel to Pacific (2/16) and Cal State Northridge (2/18). Cal State Fullerton won both earlier matchups against the Tigers and Matadors.

Cal Poly, who opened conference play in first place, has dropped the past three games and stands in fourth place in the conference. The Mustangs are home this week when they face Long Beach State and UC Irvine. On January 7, Cal Poly downed the Anteaters 99-72, but face a completely different team this week.

UC Irvine (2-9 on the road) returns to the road after winning its past three contests, which elevated the Anteaters to fifth in the conference. Before facing-off with the Mustangs, UCI has a chance to hand UC Santa Barbara its third conference loss of the year when they tipoff on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Northridge, Calif., is the location for this week’s KVMD televised game when UC Riverside heads to Cal State Northridge on Thursday, Feb. 16 for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. CSUN defeated UCR, 76-70, in an earlier matchup. Following the Highlander-Matador showdown, UCR travels to Stockton, Calif., to take on the Pacific Tigers. The Matadors host Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m.

Pacific, 0-9 on the road, fortunately returns home to host Cal State Fullerton (2/16) and UC Riverside (2/18). Thursday’s game begins at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday’s tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.