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Cal State Northridge (6-3) at Washington (4-4), 2 p.m. -- The Matadors try again to prove their worth on the road after losing at Southern Illinois, 84-76. Washington started with losses to Montana State, Gonzaga and Nevada Las Vegas but has won four of its last five. The Huskies will be without their second-leading scorer, freshman Nate Robinson, who also plays cornerback on the football team and is in El Paso for the Sun Bowl on Tuesday against Purdue. This is both teams’ final tuneup before conference play.
UC Riverside (1-4) at No. 11 Oregon (8-1), 2:30 p.m., KPRO (1570) -- The Highlanders have had a week to prepare for their stiffest test of the season against the Ducks. Riverside is 1-4 against Pacific 10 Conference schools. Freshman guard Nate Carter had an impressive return to his native San Diego, scoring 21 points despite sitting the first half because of a missed practice. Carter leads the Big West in scoring at 19 points. Oregon will attempt to tie its school-record home winning streak at 23. The Ducks rank among the nation’s leaders in scoring at 89.4 points per game.
Pepperdine (6-4) vs. Arkansas Littlerock (7-4), at Albuquerque, 5 p.m. PST, KPLS (830) -- The injury-riddled Waves continue to search for an identity, with forward Glen McGowan out for the season. Pepperdine has now lost two frontcourt players for the season but will get a chance to work in younger players Robert Turner and David Patten at the four-team Lobo Invitational. Sophomore guard Nick Zachery is Arkansas Littlerock’s leading scorer with 14.5 points a game.
Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (2-10) at UC Irvine (4-3), 7 p.m., KUCI-FM (88.9) -- The Anteaters are still trying to find themselves as they near the end of their nonconference schedule. In an ever-changing starting lineup, sophomore Greg Ethington has replaced disappointing center Adam Parada. Parada, the team’s leading scorer at 11.1 points, has fouled out of the last two games and already has four disqualifications this season. IPFW has been fairly competitive in losses to Oregon State, Butler and Wyoming but only has victories over Eastern Kentucky and Lipscomb. Center Jim Kessenich leads the Mastodons in scoring (14.6) and rebounding (5.0).
Cal State Fullerton (2-6) at San Francisco (3-6), 7 p.m. -- Star center Pape Sow, the team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder, was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules, Fullerton spokesman Mel Franks confirmed Friday. It is the latest bad news for the injury-plagued Titans, who are down to eight healthy bodies. Some help is on the way as sophomore guard Fedi Holm-Hadulla is eligible after sitting out the first eight games because he played with professional players on a German club team. USF guard Shamell Stallworth is coming off a 37-point night, the highest of his career, in the Dons’ victory Monday over Brigham Young.
-- Mike Bresnahan and Eric Stephens
