Today’s College Basketball Games : Fullerton, Long Beach and Irvine Play Their Openers

The college basketball season begins tonight for a number of Southland schools.

Cal State Fullerton plays at Texas Tech at 5:30 p.m. The Titans have three players back from the team that finished 16-16 last season.

Richard Morton, a junior guard, Henry Turner, a junior forward, and senior center Herman Webster are joined by Derek Jones, a transfer from Long Beach City College.

Jones was Coach George McQuarn’s prize recruit this season.

UC Irvine plays host to Nebraska and new Coach Danny Nee at 7:30 p.m. at Crawford Hall. The Anteaters have few proven big men and rely on the play of their guards. Scott Brooks, a senior guard, is a good three-point shooter.

At Maui, Hawaii, Cal State Long Beach plays Chaminade in the opening round of the Silversword Invitational.

The 49ers, under Coach Ron Palmer, are hoping to rebound from a 7-22 season, but have taken on a tough schedule starting tonight.

Chaminade, an NAIA school, is always tough on its mainland opponents.

Center DeAnthony Langston and guard Morlon Wiley are the 49ers’ top players.

Loyola Marymount opens its season at home against Azusa Pacific at 7:30 p.m. The Lions lost the nation’s highest-scoring backcourt in Keith Smith and Forrest McKenzie. Last season, the pair accounted for 41 points a game. Smith is now with the Milwaukee Bucks and McKenzie is with the San Antonio Spurs.

At New York, Nevada Las Vegas faces Temple in a semifinal game at the preseason National Invitation Tournament. UNLV, ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll, defeated the only other two ranked teams in the 16-team tournament to make the semifinals, beating No. 19 Arizona, 92-87, and No. 7 Oklahoma, 90-81.