Matadors Hit Road in Tough Big Sky

The battle for men’s basketball supremacy in the Big Sky Conference might come down to winning on the road. Or failure to do that.

The picture is clear for Cal State Northridge, which begins its toughest stretch of the season by playing five of its next six games on the road. The Matadors (12-5, 4-2 in conference play), in second place in the Big Sky, play at Cal State Sacramento on Thursday and at Weber State on Saturday.

Northridge is 8-0 at home, but only 4-5 away from the Matadome, including consecutive Big Sky losses at Portland State and Eastern Washington.

The stretch is pivotal for Northridge. Success on the road would leave Northridge in command, with its final four games at home.

“I’m just thankful we had a chance to come home and play this week,” Coach Bobby Braswell said after Northridge’s victories over Montana State and Montana.

Northridge isn’t the only Big Sky team struggling on the road. The conference’s nine teams are 14-43 in road games and 55-12 at home. Only Portland State, at 5-2, has a winning road record. Every team except Idaho State has a winning record at home.

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Incoming Northridge President Jolene Koester attended the Matadors’ 79-67 victory over Montana on Saturday night at the Matadome. Koester, a former provost and vice president of academic affairs at Cal State Sacramento, is scheduled to begin at Northridge in July.

“She came up to me after the game and was very nice,” Braswell said. “I’ve heard a lot of nice things about how she is a supporter of athletics.”

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Northridge baseball and softball teams are days away from their season openers.

The baseball team begins a three-game weekend series at Northridge against Nevada beginning Friday at 2 p.m. The Matadors play at Pepperdine on Feb. 1.

The Matador softball team plays Oregon State on Feb. 5 at Northridge.