California State University Northridge Athletics
Thursday, November 12
Northridge, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
vs
Grace U
Photo by: Skylar Kade/Wichita State Athlet
11/11/2026 12:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball makes its first appearance inside Premier America Credit Union Arena this season on Thursday when the Matadors take on Grace University. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan and Geoff Gorham on the call.
FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (0-2) look to get into the win column for the first time this season when they open their home portion of their schedule. CSUN will only play two home games in the month of November with the other coming on Nov. 20 against Delaware. Four of the team's six games this month will be on the road. The Matadors next play at Troy University on Nov. 17 while they wrap up the month at Weber State on Nov. 25.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Matadors opened the 2026-27 season with a pair of road losses at Wichita State, 79-67, and at Kansas State, 95-78.
Despite the result, the Matadors gave Wichita State all it could handle in the season opener last Wednesday. Mikah Ballew scored a team-high 17 points in his CSUN debut while Josiah Davis added 15 points and six assists. CSUN trailed 47-40 at halftime but roared back to pull to within one point on multiple occasions. The Matadors looked up at a 63-62 deficit with less than six minutes to play before the Shockers closed the game on a 16-5 run. CSUN shot just 36.4 percent overall but out-rebounded Wichita State 48-46.
Ballew led the way offensively for CSUN against Kansas State, pouring in a career-high 23 points, but the Wildcats led by double digits for Friday's contest. CSUN shot 28 percent in the first half while Kansas State made 11 of its 17 three-pointers in the period to build a 57-29 halftime lead. The Matadors dug a 31-point hole before rallying in the second half. CSUN pulled to within 87-73 with under four minutes to go but could not make up the gap. BJ Omot added 14 points for CSUN while Davis had 12 points.
MIKAH IS MONEY
Junior newcomer Mikah Ballew opened up his Matador career in strong fashion last week, leading the team in scoring in each of CSUN's first two games. His 23-point effort against Kansas State set a new career high, as he surpassed the 20 points he scored last season with Portland. The sharpshooting Ballew also made a personal-best six from three-point range against K-State on 10 attempts and finished 7-of-14 overall from the field. Through two games, Ballew is averaging 20.0 points per game on an even 50.0 percent shooting (13-of-26). A Palmdale native, Ballew has also collected six rebounds, three steals and two blocks for CSUN heading into this week.
DAVIS MOVING CLOSER TO 300
Fifth-year guard Josiah Davis has picked up where he left off from last season by racking up 11 total assists over CSUN's first two games of the season. Davis accumulated 253 assists last season to finish fourth overall in the nation, as his 11 this year push his Matador career total to 264. With 36 more dimes this season, Davis would become just the 10th player in school history to reach 300 career assists in a Matador uniform. Overall, Davis has totaled 405 assists in his five-year college career. In addition to his playmaking, Davis has scored 13.5 points per game to begin the 2026-27 campaign.
SCOUTING GRACE UNIVERSITY
The Talons are in their first season of athletics in 2026-27 and compete out of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. Grace U has gone 0-2 this season with losses to Division I teams in Utah Tech (103-52) and Southern Utah (97-53). Through two games, Nehemiah Johnson leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting. Caleb Palmer has collected a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game to go with averaging 8.5 points thus far.
Series History: Thursday will be the first-ever meeting for CSUN and Grace U in any sport.
#GoMatadors
FOR STARTERS
The Matadors (0-2) look to get into the win column for the first time this season when they open their home portion of their schedule. CSUN will only play two home games in the month of November with the other coming on Nov. 20 against Delaware. Four of the team's six games this month will be on the road. The Matadors next play at Troy University on Nov. 17 while they wrap up the month at Weber State on Nov. 25.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Matadors opened the 2026-27 season with a pair of road losses at Wichita State, 79-67, and at Kansas State, 95-78.
Despite the result, the Matadors gave Wichita State all it could handle in the season opener last Wednesday. Mikah Ballew scored a team-high 17 points in his CSUN debut while Josiah Davis added 15 points and six assists. CSUN trailed 47-40 at halftime but roared back to pull to within one point on multiple occasions. The Matadors looked up at a 63-62 deficit with less than six minutes to play before the Shockers closed the game on a 16-5 run. CSUN shot just 36.4 percent overall but out-rebounded Wichita State 48-46.
Ballew led the way offensively for CSUN against Kansas State, pouring in a career-high 23 points, but the Wildcats led by double digits for Friday's contest. CSUN shot 28 percent in the first half while Kansas State made 11 of its 17 three-pointers in the period to build a 57-29 halftime lead. The Matadors dug a 31-point hole before rallying in the second half. CSUN pulled to within 87-73 with under four minutes to go but could not make up the gap. BJ Omot added 14 points for CSUN while Davis had 12 points.
MIKAH IS MONEY
Junior newcomer Mikah Ballew opened up his Matador career in strong fashion last week, leading the team in scoring in each of CSUN's first two games. His 23-point effort against Kansas State set a new career high, as he surpassed the 20 points he scored last season with Portland. The sharpshooting Ballew also made a personal-best six from three-point range against K-State on 10 attempts and finished 7-of-14 overall from the field. Through two games, Ballew is averaging 20.0 points per game on an even 50.0 percent shooting (13-of-26). A Palmdale native, Ballew has also collected six rebounds, three steals and two blocks for CSUN heading into this week.
DAVIS MOVING CLOSER TO 300
Fifth-year guard Josiah Davis has picked up where he left off from last season by racking up 11 total assists over CSUN's first two games of the season. Davis accumulated 253 assists last season to finish fourth overall in the nation, as his 11 this year push his Matador career total to 264. With 36 more dimes this season, Davis would become just the 10th player in school history to reach 300 career assists in a Matador uniform. Overall, Davis has totaled 405 assists in his five-year college career. In addition to his playmaking, Davis has scored 13.5 points per game to begin the 2026-27 campaign.
SCOUTING GRACE UNIVERSITY
The Talons are in their first season of athletics in 2026-27 and compete out of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. Grace U has gone 0-2 this season with losses to Division I teams in Utah Tech (103-52) and Southern Utah (97-53). Through two games, Nehemiah Johnson leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting. Caleb Palmer has collected a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game to go with averaging 8.5 points thus far.
Series History: Thursday will be the first-ever meeting for CSUN and Grace U in any sport.
#GoMatadors
Players Mentioned
Friday, November 06
Wednesday, September 16
Thursday, September 03
Wednesday, August 26