TONIGHT
MEN
St. Mary’s (12-7, 3-1) at Pepperdine (8-12, 3-2), 7 -- Resurgent Pepperdine helped its cause by beating Loyola Marymount on Saturday. A win tonight creates a knot of teams behind front-running Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference race. To get their third victory in a row, the Waves need another solid effort from Yakhouba Diawara. He has averaged 19.3 points and five rebounds since joining the starting lineup two weeks ago. St. Mary’s is off to its best WCC start since 1989 but has not won at Firestone Fieldhouse since 1997.
San Francisco (12-9, 2-3) at Loyola Marymount (10-8, 1-4), 7, KXLU-FM (88.9) -- Loyola reserve forward Jason Dickens joined three other sidelined players and has sat out the last two games because of an abdominal strain. Swingman John Cox, the Dons’ leading returning scorer, is out for the season because of a knee injury, but former L.A. City College star Tyrone Riley is averaging 10.2 points and 7.2 rebounds to pick up the slack.
UC Irvine (9-7, 4-3) at Utah State (15-1, 7-0), 7, KUCI-FM (88.9) -- Utah State is in position to take full control of the Big West with its next four games at home, but Irvine has won in its last two trips to the Smith Spectrum. Sophomore guard Mike Efevberha (14.1 points in league play) is developing into a top offensive threat for the Anteaters. Utah State leads the nation in field-goal percentage, making 52% of its attempts. Forward Spencer Nelson sat out two games because of a broken nose suffered in practice, but sixth man Nate Harris had 22 points and a career-high 25 points against Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside in Nelson’s place last week.
UC Riverside (6-9, 3-4) at UC Santa Barbara (10-6, 4-3), 7, KPRO (1570), KTLK (1340), KUCR-FM (88.3) -- Riverside is coming off consecutive home losses to Idaho and Utah State by a total of 10 points. UC Santa Barbara’s three-game streak ended at Pacific as the 20-point loss tied its worst defeat this season. Junior forward Casey Cook, the Gauchos’ leading scorer and rebounder, remains sidelined because of a partial tear in his right quadriceps.
Long Beach State (5-11, 3-4) at Idaho (5-11, 2-5), 7, KRLA (870) -- Long Beach State is 5-4 at home but 0-7 on the road. Jibril Hodges is beginning to flourish in his move to shooting guard. Hodges has made 33 of 80 three-point tries (41.8%) and is averaging 10.5 points overall. Idaho starts a five-game homestand after playing only five times at home in its first 16 games. Forward Tyrone Hayes leads the Vandals in scoring at 12.8 points a game.
Cal State Fullerton (6-10, 2-5) at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (6-9, 1-6), 7 -- Fullerton was expected to hover near the bottom of the Big West Conference but not cellar-dwelling San Luis Obispo, which has lost four in a row and six of its last seven. The Mustangs opened with nonconference victories at USC and California and have the conference’s leading scorer, Varnie Dennis (18.7 points). Fullerton guard David Warsaw, who sat out all but five games because of a sprained ankle, returned to score 16 points in the Titans’ 70-59 win over Idaho on Saturday.
-- Eric Stephens and Paul McLeod
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WOMEN
Oregon State (10-8, 4-5) at USC (10-7, 7-2), 7, Sports Arena -- The Trojans upset then-No. 6 Stanford on Sunday but can’t afford a letdown. “We are not the type of team likely to look past an opponent,” Coach Chris Gobrecht said. USC is on a three-game winning streak, its longest of the season. Oregon State is looking to end a three-game losing streak.
Oregon (10-9, 2-7) at UCLA (9-9, 4-5), 7, Pauley Pavilion, KIIS (850) -- The Ducks were ranked in the top 25 in December, but injuries and checkered play have led to eight losses in 10 games. UCLA keeps running on its .500 treadmill, but home is where the Bruins do their best work. UCLA is 7-2 at Pauley Pavilion, the only losses coming to ranked teams Michigan State and Stanford.
-- Mike Terry
