Streaking
UCSB has won 6 in a row as it heads up to UC Davis. UC Irvine hopes to keep Big West lead heading into nationally televised Saturday showdown in Goleta.
6:00 PM: UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis — GAME OF THE NIGHT. The Gauchos (15-7, 8-3) have the 17th longest winning streak in the nation at 6 games. Santa Barbara’s last loss was to UC Davis on Jan. 8, blowing a 33-15 lead. UCSB is averaging a 15.4-point margin of victory and conceding just 64.3 points per game since that first Davis game. Aidan Mahaney (14.3 points per game) has made 13 of his last 24 three-point attempts (.542) and has made multiple 3’s in 5 straight games. The Aggies (13-9, 6-5) have just 4 home games remaining in the season, with 2 of them coming this week. UC Davis is a solid 5-7 vs. non-Quad 4 opponents but a disappointing 7-6 vs. teams outside the NET top 150. The Aggies are 2nd in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (.362) and force an average of 14.55 turnovers per game, which ranks 39th in the NCAA and 2nd in the Big West.
7:00 PM: CSUN at Cal Poly — The Matadors (13-10, 6-5) had an excellent week, shaking off a 2-game losing skid with comfortable home wins over UC Davis and UC San Diego. Mahmoud Fofana is the Big West Player of the Week after back-to-back 22-point, 10-rebound performances. Fofana made 16 of 21 shots (.762) last week. CSUN is the fastest team in the nation per KenPom adjusted tempo (with Cal Poly the 2nd fastest) at 73.7 possessions per 40 minutes. The Mustangs (9-14, 5-6), left for dead a week ago, have a 2-game winning streak of their own after road victories at CSU Bakersfield and UC Riverside. Cal Poly, however, is just 2-6 vs. D1 competition at home. Freshman Jess Esso Essis, playing in just his 2nd collegiate game, scored 13 points in 21 minutes at Riverside.
7:00 PM: UC Riverside at Cal State Fullerton — The Highlanders (8-15, 3-8) are 2 games out of a Big West Tournament berth as they embark on a 2-game road trip. UC Riverside has lost 6 in a row away from SRC Arena. UCR ranks last in the Big West in scoring offense (72.2 points per game), fast break points (7.8 per game), bench points per game (14.7), field goal percentage defense (.477), turnovers forced (11.2 per game) and steals per game (5.0). The Titans (10-13, 5-6) are looking to avenge an 81-72 loss to UC Riverside on Jan. 17. Fullerton plays 5 of its next 6 games vs. Quad 4 opponents as it attempts to solidify a Big West Tournament position. CSUF is another run-and-gun Big West team, ranking 4th in KenPom adjusted tempo.
7:00 PM: CSU Bakersfield at UC Irvine — The Roadrunners (8-15, 2-9) are reeling, having lost 6 straight games and facing the next 3 at Irvine, at Fullerton and then back home vs. Hawai’i. Bakersfield last topped 80 points on Jan. 3, an 81-79 at UC Davis in which Jaden Alexander scored 35 points. Alexander has missed the last 3 games and starting guard CJ Hardy hasn’t played since leaving the UC Davis game with under 10 minutes to play. The Anteaters (15-7, 8-2) have won 3 straight games and should face little resistance as it looks forward to a Saturday ESPNU showdown game at UC Santa Barbara. UCI is 8-0 vs. Quad 4 opponents and has beaten CSU Bakersfield 10 consecutive times. Irvine leads the Big West in field goal percentage defense (.373), defensive rebounds per game (29.2) and blocks (6.2 per game). Kyle Evans now has 75 blocks, 11 more than anyone else in Division I.
7:00 PM: Long Beach State at UC San Diego — The Beach (8-15, 4-7) have lost 4 straight games to fall one game out of a Big West Conference Tournament berth. LBSU is 1-12 vs. non-Quad 4 schools and is 1-10 on the road this season. Long Beach State has been missing freshman guard Gavin Sykes, who scored just 2 points vs. UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 24 and hasn’t played since. The perplexing Tritons (15-8, 5-6) have lost 3 in a row and are just 4-7 vs. Division I competition since mid-December. UCSD has lost 4 straight games at LionTree Arena and 4 of its last 6 Quad 4 contests. The Tritons have failed to shoot above 36% from the field in 3 consecutive games and have just 39 free throw attempts over that span.
Corrected for Cal State Fullerton's correct record.
Really thorough breakdown of the conference standings. CSUN bouncing back from that 2-game skid with Fofana's efficiency (.762 shooting) shows how quickly momentum can shift in a tight conference race. The tempo stats are fascinating too, kinda wild that the two fastest teams in the nation are both in the Big West. Reminds me of teh old WAC days where pace decided games.