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Utah State (17-4, 9-3) at UC Irvine (17-6, 10-2), 7, Channel 56, KUCI-FM (88.9)--There are still three weeks left in the regular season but this game, at least for the Anteaters, could be a decisive one in the conference title race. It is a rematch of Irvine’s 67-66 buzzer-beating victory at Logan on Jan. 10. On Thursday, Irvine held Idaho to the lowest point total of an opponent in the history of the Bren Center. Sophomore center Adam Parada continued his strong Big West play with a career-high 24 points. Utah State has remained among the league’s top teams behind the inside-outside combo of forward Desmond Penigar and guard Tony Brown. The game is expected to be a sellout.
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Cal State Northridge (8-12, 7-4) at UC Santa Barbara (13-8, 7-5), 7, KCSN-FM (88.5)--As fast as the Matadors rose to first place in the Big West, they have dropped to third with two road losses. Northridge, which had been shooting better in recent weeks, shot only 37% from the field Thursday in a 77-65 loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Santa Barbara broke out of its offensive slump Thursday as junior forward Mark Hull had 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a 70-57 victory over Pacific. In the first meeting this season, the Gauchos won at Northridge, 57-54.
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UC Riverside (6-13, 3-8) at Cal State Fullerton (4-16, 1-10), 7, KPRO (1570), KWRM (1370)--Fullerton has a four-game losing streak and Riverside a six-game skid. Fullerton lost to UC Irvine, 72-46, last Saturday. Riverside has not won since defeating Fullerton, 68-60, on Jan. 12. Riverside sophomore center Vili Morton leads the Big West with an 8.9 rebounding average.
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Idaho (7-14,4-8) at Long Beach State (8-15, 4-8), 7:30--Long Beach is coming off a 60-53 loss to Utah State, a game in which the 49ers shot only 35%. Long Beach will be without senior center Rudy Williams for the second consecutive game because of a wrist injury. Williams might miss the rest of the season. Idaho, with no player taller than 6-6, lost to Irvine, 52-38, Thursday.
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Compiled by Eric Stephens and Gary Klein