Cal State Fullerton and UCLA commence a 24-hour college hoops extravaganza on the ESPN family of networks tonight with a 9:04 p.m. (PST) tip in Westwood on flagship station ESPN. The Titans are looking for their first win at Pauley Pavilion in their 10th try.
NOTEWORTHY
Keep An Eye On
Orane Chin, Cal State Fullerton
Chin made his Titan debut a memorable one in Cal State Fullerton’s 93-57 victory against Hope International on Saturday. In 21 reserve minutes, Chin notched a game-high 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting. He added five rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals in his first action since transferring from South Florida and sitting out last season as a redshirt. Chin, a 6-7 sophomore forward, made 14 starts as a freshman at South Florida in 2007-08, averaging 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
MORE NOTABLES
Cal State Fullerton Battles UCLA On National Stage
Cal State Fullerton travels to UCLA Monday night for a 9:00 p.m. (PST) encounter with the Bruins to commence ESPN’s 24-hour marathon of basketball. The game will be televised on the main network - ESPN - as the Titans attempt to beat the Bruins after nine previous failed tries. All nine losses have taken place inside the confines of Pauley Pavilion.
Opening Statements
Five Big West schools won their season openers this past weekend, including UC Santa Barbara, which won a season debut for the seventh consecutive year with its 85-57 triumph against Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday. Long Beach State ended a string of seven straight seasons with a loss in its opener, cruising past Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Pacific was victorious in a season opener for the sixth time in the last seven years, ekeing out a three-point double overtime victory at Pepperdine on Friday. Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine also captured wins on opening night. Below is the current list of streaks in season opening games for Big West teams:
Team Streak
Cal Poly Lost 4
Cal State Fullerton Won 1
Cal State Northridge Lost 1
Long Beach State Won 1
UC Davis Lost 2
UC Irvine Won 1
UC Riverside Lost 10
UC Santa Barbara Won 7
Pacific Won 1
Double-Double Review
Four double-doubles - points and rebounds - were recorded last weekend by Big West players, including two by conference co-player of the week Joe Harden from UC Davis. Harden accumulated a career-high 26 points against Winston-Salem State to complement his 12 rebounds. He also had a double-double versus Colorado State en route to earning All-Tournament honors at the University of Oregon-hosted Basketball Travelers Tip-Off. Long Beach State sophomore T.J. Robinson delivered 15 points and 11 boards versus Alaska Anchorage, while Cal Poly newcomer Will Donahue produced an impressive stat line of 10 points and 12 caroms against the Pac 10’s Stanford.
Player, Team Oppt. Pts. Rebs.
Joe Harden, UCD Colorado State 14 11
T.J. Robinson, LBSU Alaska Anchorage 15 11
Joe Harden, UCD Winston-Salem State 26 12
Will Donahue, CP Stanford 10 12
Long Beach State Favorite To Win 2009-10 Title
A 24-member media voting panel tabbed Long Beach State as the favorite to win the 2009-10 Big West men’s basketball regular season title. The 49ers earned 17 first-place votes and 209 points. UC Santa Barbara captured six first-place nods and 178 points to finish second, while defending Big West regular season and tournament champion Cal State Northridge was third with 130 points. UC Riverside came in fourth place with 127 points and Pacific, which received the remaining first-place vote, had 126 points for fifth. Rounding out the poll was UC Davis, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Cal Poly.
Veteto Puts Forth Career Rebounding Effort
It’s great news for UC Riverside if sophomore Konner Veteto keeps producing like he did at New Mexico. The 6-9 forward yanked down a career-high 13 rebounds against the Lobos as the Highlanders won the battle of the boards, 43-33. Veteto, making his fourth career start, previously notched a career-high of 11 rebounds in the 2008-09 regular season finale at Cal Poly.
Busy Week For Big West Trio
The schedule is filled with 16 games over the next seven days, and is especially busy for Long Beach State, UC Riverside and Pacific. The trio plays a trifecta of games over the course of the week. The 49ers face the unenviable task of beginning a seven-game roadtrip. After starting the road jaunt at Pepperdine on Tuesday, the 49ers hop a plane and head to the midwest to face Notre Dame on Thursday and Green Bay on Saturday. The Highlanders attempt to knock off USC on Tuesday in Kyle Austin’s return to the school he once played for, followed by home dates against La Verne and San Jose State. Pacific sandwiches a road tilt against Northern Arizona around home battles versus San Diego and Santa Clara.
Coaching Milestones On The Horizon
A pair of head coaches are poised to enter the top five in all time victories while a member of the Big West coaching fraternity. Pat Douglass, in his 13th year at the helm of UC Irvine, is currently No. 6 all-time with 184 victories. He is the all-time winningest coach at UCI. He needs 11 wins to surpass Fresno State’s Boyd Grant (1978-86) in the No. 5 spot with 194 wins. A 17-win season for Douglass would make him just the fifth coach to reach the 200-win plateau.
UC Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams enters his 12th season on the Central Coast campus just four wins behind Douglass in the record book. He is 180-146 with the Gauchos. Williams has posted two 20-win seasons (2001-02, 2007-08) during his tenure, so the 21 wins he needs to collect 200 for his career is within reach.
ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk. Coach, School No.
1. Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV 405
2. Bob Thomason, Pacific 365
3. Neil McCarthy, New Mexico State 248
4. Jerry Pimm, UC Santa Barbara 222
5. Boyd Grant, Fresno State 194
6. Pat Douglass, UC Irvine 184
7. Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara 180
8. Stew Morrill, Utah State 167
9. Bill Mulligan, UC Irvine 163
10. Rod Tueller, Utah State 158
Bold denotes active Big West head coach
Follow Your Team On BigWest.TV
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring you exclusive coverage of Big West sports, press conferences, interviews, and features to your home via the Internet! Now in its fifth year, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in men’s basketball as well as women’s basketball and volleyball. Also covered are select contests in men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. If you can’t make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!