Matadors Are Ready to Shake, Rattle and Roll

Cal State Northridge wanted it here. And the Matadors got it.

Now, if only the ground doesn’t shake and the lights stay lit.

Northridge will play host to the Big Sky Conference tournament today through Saturday--the springboard, perhaps, for the Matadors’ first NCAA tournament appearance.

Northridge (20-9) and second-place Eastern Washington (16-10) have first-round byes and will play Friday in separate semifinals. The winner of the six-team tournament advances to NCAA tournament.

History shows anything can happen when a pumped-up underdog makes it to the field of 64 for the first time. The Matadors, senior-laden and deep, cause one to wonder.

Predicted to finish first in the Big Sky, Northridge, at 13-3, did so by two games while winning nine of its last 10. Center Brian Heinle is the Big Sky’s scoring leader at 20.2 points a game and was selected conference player of the year.

The Matadors’ 78-74 victory over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in November still is fresh in everyone’s mind. So are victories last season at Fresno State and Oregon.

Northridge’s regular-season title was the first since the program moved to Division I in 1990 and first in Coach Bobby Braswell’s five seasons.

“I am just so proud of these guys because they have been through so much,” Braswell said. “It’s been a long, hard five years to build the program we have.”

History also shows anything can happen at Northridge--especially this season.

In January, Idaho State players were rattled moments before tip-off when a magnitude-4.3 earthquake shook the campus.

Last week, a women’s basketball game against Eastern Washington was canceled in the first half because of a power outage in the Northridge gym. Northridge led, 28-17, when the lights went out, but the game was declared a tie.

This week, Braswell and the team were ordered to evacuate during practice because of a malfunctioning fire alarm.

The semifinals will be televised live by Fox Sports Net and Saturday’s final will be on ESPN2.

Northridge committed at midseason to hosting the tournament rather than moving to a larger venue, even if it meant taking a financial loss.

Conference bylaws require the host school to pay $205,000 to the Big Sky for the right to host the tournament. The money is dispersed among the conference’s remaining eight teams while the host school subsidizes the cost through ticket sales and concessions.

The size of the 1,600-seat Matadome, basically a glorified gymnasium, precludes making a profit, Athletic Director Dick Dull said. But with Northridge 12-1 at home this season, reaching the NCAA tournament is a greater goal.

Standing-room tickets will increase capacity to about 1,700. The championship game is sold out.

A look at tonight’s first-round games:

* No. 3 IDAHO STATE (14-13) vs. No. 6 WEBER STATE (14-13), 6--Idaho State finished third and is making its first tournament appearance since 1997. Weber State is making its 25th tournament appearance, most of any Big Sky team.

* No. 4 NORTHERN ARIZONA (14-13) vs. No. 5 MONTANA STATE (11-16), 8:30--Northern Arizona has reached the tournament final each of the last three years, winning in 1998 and 2000. The Lumberjacks defeated Northridge in overtime, 85-81, in the final last season. Montana State started 4-1 in conference, but the Bobcats have lost three of their last four games.

* FRIDAY’S SEMIFINALS: No. 2 Eastern Washington (16-10) vs. highest remaining seed,6 p.m.; No. 1 Cal State Northridge (20-9) vs. lowest remaining seed, 30 minutes after completion of first game.