No. 191 CSUN Inches Upward in National Basketball Rankings

Major colleges might aspire to breaking into the Top 20 in men’s basketball, but Northridge, a third-year NCAA Division I independent, is taking its building process one small step at a time.

For the first time as a Division I team, Northridge has cracked the top 200, according to a computer rating by Jeff Sagarin, whose nationally syndicated list of the top 300 teams is updated daily.

The Matadors (2-4) were No. 191 on Wednesday, one place behind Middle Tennessee State (1-2), an NCAA tournament team last season, and two places ahead of North Carolina State (1-2). Northridge’s previous best was No. 203, achieved last week. . . .

Andre Chevalier and Chris Yard are the Matadors’ iron men. Chevalier, a 6-foot junior guard from Cleveland High, has played 217 minutes in six games, an average of more than 36 minutes a game. Yard, a 6-6 junior from Las Vegas, averages almost 35 minutes--most of which he spends inside the key trading blows with bigger players.

Chevalier leads the Matadors with a 13.7 scoring average. Yard, the team’s top rebounder with a 7.8 average, is third in scoring at 10.2.

Women’s basketball: Northridge guard Kris Waldorf has made nine of 16 three-point shots through five games, and zero of eight shots from two-point range. She did not score on anything other than three-point shots until the fifth game, Tuesday against Pepperdine. She made five of six free throws to go along with four three-pointers.

In the not-so-exclusive top 10 department: Haily Griffith entered the season tied for eighth on Northridge’s all-time list for three-point field goals. She had one.

Two Matador newcomers recently had one-game scoring outbursts that eclipsed their season totals to that point. Junior guard Mary Jean Espino, a transfer from San Jose City College, scored 11 points in the first three games but had 19 Friday at Northern Arizona.

Waldorf, who had 15 points in four games, scored 17 against Pepperdine.

Senior guard Janel Vega leads Northridge in rebounding (40), assists (14), steals (14) and blocked shots (2).