Tuesday, March 9
Las Vegas, Nev.
3:00 pm
California State University at Northridge
vs
Long Beach State
Photo by: Heidi Eligio
CSUN Faces Long Beach State in Big West Tournament Opener
3/8/2021 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FULL GAME NOTES
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---The eighth-seeded CSUN Men's Basketball team opens up first-round action against ninth-seeded Long Beach State at the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
CSUN wrapped up the regular season last weekend at The Matadome, suffering a two-game sweep at the hands of UC Riverside. Both games would go down to the wire with the Matadors holding slim leads in the closing minutes of each contest but the Highlanders prevailed twice, winning 72-68 and 66-65. In the two games, TJ Starks led the Matadors with 19 and 25 points, respectively. Freshman Alex Merkviladze posted back-to-back double-double efforts, highlighted by a 17-point, 13-rebound effort in game one of the series.
The two losses to the Highlanders ensured the Matadors would play on Tuesday at the Big West Tournament. As a result, CSUN would have to win four games in five days to win the tournament championship. A win over Long Beach State in the first round would secure a quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at 11 a.m.
CSUN's junior backcourt duo earned All-Big West honors on Monday. Starks became the second Matador in team history to earn the Big West Newcomer of the Year award while he was the ninth Matador to be placed on the First Team. Darius Brown II earned his first career all-conference award as he was named to the Second Team. Starks led the Big West in scoring during the regular season at 21.6 points per game and field goals made (81) while Brown II was tops in assists to turnover ratio (3.8) and third in assists per game (5.3) to go with averaging 10.8 points.
Heading into the tournament, Starks is ranked seventh in the nation in points per game. His backcourt mate, Brown II, is fourth in Division I in assists to turnover ratio. In the Big West, the tandem was also in the top-10 in steals per game with Brown II in third place (1.9) and Starks in ninth (1.4). Up front for CSUN, Merkviladze is ranked fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (6.8) to go with his 10.2 points per game.
Only eight Matadors have played double-digit games this season with the quartet of Brown II, Merkviladze, Festus Ndumanya and Brendan Harrick playing in all 21 games. Out of the eight players that competed in 10 or more games, six of those players are underclassmen (Merkviladze, Ndumanya, Harrick, Fidelis Okereke, Amound Anderson and Atin Wright). The team's second-leading scorer during non-conference play, senior Lance Coleman II, has been limited to eight games this season due to injuries and has not played since Jan. 23.
CSUN is making its 15th appearance in the Big West Tournament on Tuesday. Due to the unique format where the bottom four teams in the standings play an extra day, the Matadors are playing as a higher seed in a game for the first time since 2011. The Matadors are seeking their first win at the tournament since defeating Long Beach State in a semifinal game in 2014. The Matadors are looking to snap a four-game skid in conference tournament games. CSUN has won one Big West Tournament championship in its history with that coming in 2009.
In the all-time series with Long Beach State, the Matadors trail 42-27. The teams were set to face off in a series from Jan. 15-16 but the games were canceled due to COVID-19 and were not made up. Last season, CSUN swept the season series and has won three of four meetings under head coach Mark Gottfried. The teams have met at the Big West Tournament only once in history with CSUN prevailing 82-77. In that tournament win, Stephan Hicks led the Matadors with 27 points.
A Closer Look at Long Beach State
As a result of COVID-19 and three separate pauses, the Beach were limited to 16 games this season, going 5-11 including posting a 4-8 record in Big West play. Long Beach State suffered a two-game sweep at the hands of UC Irvine this past weekend at Walter Pyramid. Head coach Dan Monson is in his 14th season at the helm of the program.
Isaiah Washington is the team's leading scorer after Michael Carter III was dismissed from the program on March 6. An All-Big West Honorable Mention, Washington is averaging 14.3 points per game, which ranks eighth-best in the conference, to go with 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Another Honorable Mention, Chance Hunter is sixth in the league in rebounding at 6.0 per game while he averages 11.9 points. Joe Hampton is also averaging in double figures, scoring 10.8 points per game. The Beach average a league-best 22.9 free throw attempts per game and a second-best 15.9 free throw makes per game. The team is also third in the Big West in blocks per game (3.1).
#UniteTheValley
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---The eighth-seeded CSUN Men's Basketball team opens up first-round action against ninth-seeded Long Beach State at the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN3 while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call in an audio broadcast at GoMatadors.com/Radio.
CSUN wrapped up the regular season last weekend at The Matadome, suffering a two-game sweep at the hands of UC Riverside. Both games would go down to the wire with the Matadors holding slim leads in the closing minutes of each contest but the Highlanders prevailed twice, winning 72-68 and 66-65. In the two games, TJ Starks led the Matadors with 19 and 25 points, respectively. Freshman Alex Merkviladze posted back-to-back double-double efforts, highlighted by a 17-point, 13-rebound effort in game one of the series.
The two losses to the Highlanders ensured the Matadors would play on Tuesday at the Big West Tournament. As a result, CSUN would have to win four games in five days to win the tournament championship. A win over Long Beach State in the first round would secure a quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara on Thursday at 11 a.m.
CSUN's junior backcourt duo earned All-Big West honors on Monday. Starks became the second Matador in team history to earn the Big West Newcomer of the Year award while he was the ninth Matador to be placed on the First Team. Darius Brown II earned his first career all-conference award as he was named to the Second Team. Starks led the Big West in scoring during the regular season at 21.6 points per game and field goals made (81) while Brown II was tops in assists to turnover ratio (3.8) and third in assists per game (5.3) to go with averaging 10.8 points.
Heading into the tournament, Starks is ranked seventh in the nation in points per game. His backcourt mate, Brown II, is fourth in Division I in assists to turnover ratio. In the Big West, the tandem was also in the top-10 in steals per game with Brown II in third place (1.9) and Starks in ninth (1.4). Up front for CSUN, Merkviladze is ranked fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (6.8) to go with his 10.2 points per game.
Only eight Matadors have played double-digit games this season with the quartet of Brown II, Merkviladze, Festus Ndumanya and Brendan Harrick playing in all 21 games. Out of the eight players that competed in 10 or more games, six of those players are underclassmen (Merkviladze, Ndumanya, Harrick, Fidelis Okereke, Amound Anderson and Atin Wright). The team's second-leading scorer during non-conference play, senior Lance Coleman II, has been limited to eight games this season due to injuries and has not played since Jan. 23.
CSUN is making its 15th appearance in the Big West Tournament on Tuesday. Due to the unique format where the bottom four teams in the standings play an extra day, the Matadors are playing as a higher seed in a game for the first time since 2011. The Matadors are seeking their first win at the tournament since defeating Long Beach State in a semifinal game in 2014. The Matadors are looking to snap a four-game skid in conference tournament games. CSUN has won one Big West Tournament championship in its history with that coming in 2009.
In the all-time series with Long Beach State, the Matadors trail 42-27. The teams were set to face off in a series from Jan. 15-16 but the games were canceled due to COVID-19 and were not made up. Last season, CSUN swept the season series and has won three of four meetings under head coach Mark Gottfried. The teams have met at the Big West Tournament only once in history with CSUN prevailing 82-77. In that tournament win, Stephan Hicks led the Matadors with 27 points.
A Closer Look at Long Beach State
As a result of COVID-19 and three separate pauses, the Beach were limited to 16 games this season, going 5-11 including posting a 4-8 record in Big West play. Long Beach State suffered a two-game sweep at the hands of UC Irvine this past weekend at Walter Pyramid. Head coach Dan Monson is in his 14th season at the helm of the program.
Isaiah Washington is the team's leading scorer after Michael Carter III was dismissed from the program on March 6. An All-Big West Honorable Mention, Washington is averaging 14.3 points per game, which ranks eighth-best in the conference, to go with 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Another Honorable Mention, Chance Hunter is sixth in the league in rebounding at 6.0 per game while he averages 11.9 points. Joe Hampton is also averaging in double figures, scoring 10.8 points per game. The Beach average a league-best 22.9 free throw attempts per game and a second-best 15.9 free throw makes per game. The team is also third in the Big West in blocks per game (3.1).
#UniteTheValley
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