CSUN Travels to UCSB and LBSU in Pivotal Big West Matchups

Thursday, February 19

Santa Barbara, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Travels to UCSB and LBSU in Pivotal Big West Matchups

2/18/2026 10:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball

MBB Game Notes - Feb. 18

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball faces two road tests this week as the Big West season comes down the home stretch. The Matadors visit UC Santa Barbara on Thursday before meeting Long Beach State on Saturday. Both games will tip-off at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in audio broadcasts at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

TIGHT BIG WEST RACE
Winners of five straight, the Matadors (16-10, 9-5 Big West) enter the week in fourth place in the Big West standings but only one game out first place, occupied by the tandem of UC Irvine (10-4) and Hawai'i (10-4). UC Santa Barbara is just behind the conference leaders at 10-5, a half game ahead of the Matadors in the standings. The tight conference race does not get any wider below CSUN as UC Davis is fifth at 9-6, UC San Diego and Cal State Fullerton are tied for sixth at 8-7 and Cal Poly holds the eighth and final postseason spot at 7-8.

LAST TIME OUT
CSUN ran its season-best winning streak to five with an 84-60 victory over Big West-leading Hawai'i last Saturday at Premier America Credit Union Arena. In the win, the Matadors handed the Bows their largest margin loss of the season as well as a season low in points in Big West play. CSUN was led by Larry Hughes II who had a game-high 27 points with five made threes. Josiah Davis had 20 points and five assists while Jai Chisolm had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench. Overall, CSUN never trailed in the game and limited Hawai'i to 35.7 percent shooting overall.

MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
Senior guard Larry Hughes II has enjoyed a career season in his first year with CSUN. Hughes has led the team in scoring throughout the season, posting the second-best average in the Big West at 19.0. Hughes also tops the Big West and ranks 10th overall in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (3.5). His 87 made threes are the fourth-most in school history for a season. No slouch on the defensive end, Hughes is ranked sixth in the Big West in steals per game at 1.7.

OWNING THE GLASS
CSUN remains the Big West leader in rebounding, totaling 41.4 per game, good enough for ninth-best in the nation. The Matadors, who have also led the Big West in rebounding each of the last two seasons, are also tops in the league in offensive rebounds per game (12.9) and ranked second in both rebounding margin (+6.0) and defensive rebounds per game (28.5). CSUN boasts two of the top three rebounders in the Big West on its squad as Joshua O'Garro sits in first place at 9.6 per game and Mahmoud Fofana ranks third at 7.7 per game. O'Garro, who scores 13.7 points per game, has averaged 7.8 defensive rebounds and registered 11 double-doubles, which rank fifth and 23rd in the nation, respectively. Fofana is the Matadors' top offensive rebounder, posting 2.9 per game to lead the conference.

THE ASSIST MAN
Josiah Davis has taken the reigns of the point guard position this season and gone on to lead the Big West in assists. His league-leading 187 assists and 7.2 assists per game are among the best in the nation, ranking fifth each in all of Division I basketball. Davis has already etched his name in CSUN history this season, tying the single-game record for assists with 15 in two separate games. Overall, Davis has dished out the fourth-most assists in a season in school history with 187 helpers. While his playmaking has been impressive, Davis has also averaged the second-most points on the team at 13.9 per game, which is also a new career high.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
UCSB are 17-9 overall and 10-5 in Big West play as the Gauchos are just a half game out of first place. The team split two games last week, notching a win over UC Riverside 76-68 before falling to Cal Poly 89-79. The Gauchos are 10-2 this season at the Thunderdome including 6-1 in league play. UCSB leads the Big West in both field goal percentage (48.1) and 3-point percentage (38.4). Leading scorer Aidan Mahaney is ninth in the league in scoring, posting 15.0 points per game while other double digit scorers include CJ Shaw (12.2), Miro Little (12.0), Colin Smith (11.6) and Zion Sensley (11.2). Sensley also tops the team in rebounding at 7.6 per game.

Series History: The Gauchos hold a 48-27 lead over CSUN in the all-time series, but the Matadors have won five of the last six meetings. Earlier this season, CSUN defeated UCSB 74-65 at Premier America Credit Union Arena. CSUN has won two straight at the Thunderdome.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
The Beach come in at 18-8 overall and 4-10 in conference. Long Beach State is currently outside of the top eight in the Big West as the Beach are 2.5 games back of eighth-seeded Cal Poly. Last week, the Beach dropped games to Cal State Fullerton (86-82) and UC Davis (71-54) to extend their losing streak to seven. LBSU holds a 7-6 record at home this year. As a team, the Beach average 74.2 points while they allow 77.0 points per game. Gavin Sykes leads the squad and ranks second in the conference in scoring at 17.9 points followed by Petar Majstorovic at 15.3 points per game. On the glass, Majstorovic is collecting a team-high 6.3 rebounds.

Series History: The Beach lead the Matadors 48-30 in the all-time series after taking the teams' first meeting this season in Northridge, 87-80. The loss to the Beach is the Matadors' only home loss this season (12-1). CSUN though has won three of the last five meetings with Long Beach State overall including two straight on the road.

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