Matadors Take on UCSD, UC Irvine at The Matadome this Week

FULL GAME NOTES

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball kicks off the second half of the Big West Conference schedule this week at The Matadome. The Matadors (5-14, 1-6 Big West) host UC San Diego on Thursday before taking on visiting UC Irvine on Saturday. Both games will tip at 7 p.m. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister are on the call on ESPN+ and GoMatadors.com/Radio.

CSUN and UC San Diego met up for just the third time on Jan. 1 when the Tritons prevailed 72-64 in La Jolla. Although the game was the Tritons' first meeting with the Matadors as Big West members, the game was marked as a non-conference game due to UCSD currently undergoing its transition to becoming a full-time Division I member. The Matadors lead the all-time series, 2-1. Thursday represents the Tritons' first trip to Northridge since Jan. 5, 1980 when CSUN earned an 87-76 victory.

UC Irvine leads CSUN 39-25 in the all-time series. The teams' scheduled first meeting on Dec. 30 was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Last season, the teams did not play because of similar protocols. CSUN snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Anteaters in the last meeting between the two teams on March 4, 2020, at the Bren Events Center by a 72-70 margin. CSUN has lost six consecutive games to UC Irvine at The Matadome with its last win coming on Feb. 22, 2014 (81-75).

The Matadors dropped both of their games last week to UC Santa Barbara (72-45) and Hawai'i (72-65). UCSB would down CSUN in The Matadome last Tuesday due to its second-half play as the Gauchos outscored the Matadors 38-13 in the stanza. Two days later, the Matadors made the trek to Hawai'i and gave the first-place Rainbow Warriors a battle down the stretch. CSUN trailed by 20 points in the second half to Hawai'i before cutting the deficit to seven in the final minute.

Elijah Hardy led the Matadors with 13 points against UC Santa Barbara and would later score 12 points versus Hawai'i. Atin Wright topped CSUN with 18 points against Hawai'i while Christian Gray scored a season-high 16 points to go with six rebounds. The Matadors played without center Onyi Eyisi in both games due to injury and Harrick missed the UCSB game before returning to action in Hawai'i.

On the Big West leaderboards, Wright remains in the top-10 in scoring with his 13.0 points per game, which ranks 10th in the league. Wright is also second in the conference in free throw percentage and fourth in minutes per game (32.0). Hardy is ranked fifth in steals per game (1.5), 10th in assists per game (2.7) and 14th in 3-point percentage (35.8) to go with his 10.7 points average. In blocks, Fidelis Okereke is up to fifth place (1.0) and followed by Harrick in seventh place (0.9). As a team, the Matadors are tied for second in the Big West in steals per game (6.9) and fourth in free throw percentage (71.7).

Spectator Policy Update for Matador Indoor Events
CSUN has announced an update to its spectator policy for Matador indoor athletic events on campus. All fans age 18 and older coming to events in The Matadome will be required to provide either proof of vaccination or verification of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event. Both digital and physical records will be accepted, but they will need to be shown to security to gain access to The Matadome. These indoor event modifications will be evaluated on an ongoing basis, and any changes will be communicated to the public. Indoor athletic events had been closed to the general public for the past two weeks in alignment with the university beginning the Spring semester with remote instruction. For more information on the Matador indoor athletic event spectator policy, click here.

A Closer Look at UC San Diego
The Tritons are 9-11 overall after defeating CSU Bakersfield (83-75) last Saturday, which snapped a six-game losing streak. Not listed on the Big West standings due to their D-1 classification period, the Tritons have gone 3-6 against Big West opponents. UCSD has a 2-8 record on the road with four of those losses coming against Big West teams. Head coach Eric Olen is in his ninth season leading the Tritons and 18th overall.

Toni Rocak is third in the Big West in points per game (15.8) while he is seventh in rebounds per game (6.9). Bryce Pope and Francis Nwaokorie are also scoring in double figures, averaging 11.7 and 11.3 points, respectively. The combination of Jake Kosakowski and Jake Killingsworth occupy the top-two spots on the Big West's 3-point percentage leaderboard as Kosakowski is the league leader at 44.4 percent (40-of-90) while Killingsworth is a close second at 44.3 percent (35-of-79). The Tritons are second in the Big West in 3-point field goal percentage (36.0), third in free throw percentage (72.6) and fifth in points per game (70.1).

A Closer Look at UC Irvine
The Anteaters improved to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in Big West play after wins over CSU Bakersfield (57-52) and Cal Poly (72-48) last week. The Anteaters have had three conference games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. UCI has posted a 2-5 record in road games on the season. Head coach Russell Turner is in his 12th season at the helm of UCI.

Collin Welp ranks eighth in the Big West in points per game (14.6) while he averages 6.1 rebounds. Dawson Baker is second on the team in scoring at 9.3 points followed by DJ Davis at 8.0 points. Davis is also eighth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (40.7). Austin Johnson is the Big West leader in blocks per game (2.5) to go with his 6.5 points per game. As a team, UCI is tops in the Big West in scoring defense (59.0), field goal percentage defense (37.9) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.4).

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Matadors Take on UCSD, UC Irvine at The Matadome this Week

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Players Mentioned

Onyi Eyisi

Christian Gray

Elijah Hardy

Fidelis Okereke

Atin Wright