CSUN Faces UC Irvine Thursday Before Traveling to UC Riverside

Thursday, February 26

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

UC Irvine

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Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Faces UC Irvine Thursday Before Traveling to UC Riverside

2/25/2026 3:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball

MBB Game Notes - Feb. 25

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball looks to remain at the top of the Big West standings this week as the Matadors hosts UC Irvine in a battle of first-place teams on Thursday at 7 p.m. The week concludes with another road test at UC Riverside on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ while Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call in audio broadcasts at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

BIG WEST RACE HEATS UP
Winners of seven in a row, CSUN (18-10, 11-5 Big West) has moved into a three-way tie atop the Big West standings. The Matadors currently share identical 11-5 conference records with UC Irvine and Hawai'i as only four league games remain on the schedule. The Big West standings though continue to get tighter after first place as the trio of UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton are each in fourth place at 10-7. UC San Diego is just a half game behind those three teams at 9-7 while Cal Poly sits in the eighth and final postseason spot at 8-8. CSUN holds tiebreakers with UCSB, UC San Diego and Cal Poly.

Following this week, CSUN will travel to Cal State Bakersfield on March 5 before wrapping up the regular season on Senior Night on March 7 against Cal State Fullerton.

ABOUT LAST WEEK
CSUN rallied to defeat UC Santa Barbara last Thursday at the Thunderdome in overtime 85-83 to sweep the season series. Trailing by as many as 13 points, the Matadors put together an improbable comeback including erasing a four-point deficit with 16 seconds to play. After a Joshua O'Garro layup, Josiah Davis picked up a steal in the UCSB backcourt, leading to the game-tying basket from Grady Lewis to send the game to overtime. In the extra session, Davis scored five of CSUN's nine points to hold off UCSB. Davis finished with a career-high 31 points and 14 rebounds while O'Garro had 20 points and Mahmoud Fofana chipped in 14 points and 14 rebounds.

The Matadors edged Long Beach State 78-76 on the road last Saturday to run their winning streak to seven games. CSUN led by as many as 17 points in the second half before a furious rally from the Beach, which saw CSUN's lead slip to two points in the final minute. Jordan Brinson made a key three in the closing moments while CSUN withstood two late Beach shots to tie the game. Davis again led the way, scoring 21 points to go with nine assists. O'Garro added 13 points and Lewis chipped in 12 points off the bench.

DAVIS NABS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
CSUN senior point guard Josiah Davis received national recognition on Feb. 23 for his exceptional week on the court where he led CSUN to wins over UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State. Davis was named Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week along with Big West Player of the Week as he averaged 26.0 points, 8.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. During the week, Davis scored a career-high 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting to go with 14 rebounds at UCSB while he added a 21-point effort against the Beach.

PROGRAM-TYING STREAK
For the third consecutive season, CSUN has tied a Division I school record with seven consecutive victories, The Matadors, who began the win streak on Jan. 29, tied the program-record first established by the 2000-01 team. CSUN's overall school record for wins in a row remains at nine, set during the program's Division II era in 1966-67 and matched in 1981-82. This season, CSUN has also tied its school record with seven straight conference wins, which was first established in 1977-78 and matched in 2007-08 and 2024-25.

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 18.2. Hughes also tops the Big West and ranks 17th overall in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (3.3). His 89 made threes are the fourth-most in school history for a season. No slouch on the defensive end, Hughes is tied for sixth place in the Big West in steals per game at 1.6.

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 7.3 assists per game and 203 total assists are among the best in the nation, ranking fourth and fifth in all of Division I basketball, respectively. 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 third-most assists in a season in school history with his 203 helpers. While his playmaking has been impressive, Davis has also averaged the second-most points on the team at 14.8 per game, which ranks 10th-best in the Big West.

SCOUTING UC IRVINE
UC Irvine, the preseason Big West favorite, enters the week at 18-10 overall and 11-5 in Big West play. In last week's action, UCI defeated Long Beach State 69-58 before falling at home to UC San Diego 71-69. The team has gone 9-6 away from the Bren Events Center this season. The Anteaters lead the Big West in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 67.8 points per game while they are also first in defensive field goal percentage (37.8) and blocks per game (6.0). Jurian Dixon, the team's top scorer, is seventh in the Big West in points per game at 15.6 followed by Kyle Evans (12.2) and Derin Saran (11.3). Evans is also second in the league in rebounding, pulling down 8.8 per game.

Series History: The Anteaters lead the Matadors 46-26 in the all-time series after taking the first meeting this season in Irvine by a score of 85-71. UCI has won 18 of the past 20 meetings with CSUN including 10 consecutive at Premier America Credit Union Arena. The Matadors' last win at home in the series was on Feb. 22, 2014.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders come in with a 9-20 overall record and 4-13 conference mark. UCR knocked off Cal State Bakersfield last Thursday, 93-65, before dropping a tight 78-73 decision to UC Davis. While the team is 3-13 away from home this season, UC Riverside is 6-7 at the SRC Arena. The team averages 72.6 points and allows 77.4 points while UCR is third in the Big West in blocks per game (4.2). Andrew Henderson checks in at third place in the Big West in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Other double-digit scorers include Marqui Worthy (15.7) and Osiris Grady (10.6).

Series History: The Matadors hold a 48-45 edge in the series with the Highlanders. CSUN knocked off UCR 88-74 earlier this month on Feb. 7. The teams have split the past four meetings after UCR had won seven straight in the series. CSUN is going for its first season sweep of UCR since 2020.

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