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UP NEXT: The Roadrunner men's basketball team opens a three-game homestand Friday night (Dec. 28) when South Dakota State visits Rabobank Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

ON THE AIR: Friday's game will be televised locally on Bright House Ch. 26. Roadrunner basketball alumni Vance Palm and Beau Redstone will handle the play-by-play and color duties. As always, you can follow all of the action on the radio at KERN NewsTalk 1410 AM. Corey Costelloe will call the play-by-play.

TICKETS, PLEASE: Tickets to all home Roadrunner men's basketball games may be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com. For ticket package and group ticket information, call the CSUB Athletics Ticket Office at (661) 654-BLUE.

LIVE STATS WEBCAST: If you can't get to the game, follow the action with real-time live stats via the JumpTV Game Watcher at www.gorunners.com. Choose "Live" from the navigation menu on the left side of the page.

JACKRABBIT NOTES (5-6 overall): SDSU responed to a 4?game losing streak by winning its last 2 before Christmas...will also play at San Jose State (Dec. 30) on this California trip...So. F Kai Williams leads 3 Jackrabbits in double figure scoring at 16.5 ppg... others are So. G Garrett Callahan (13.8 ppg) and Sr. F Ben Berna (12.6 ppg)... Williams also leads the SDSU rebounding effort at 8.0 rpg.

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first?ever meeting between the Roadrunners and Jackrabbits in men's basketball.

THIS DATE IN ROADRUNNER HISTORY: CSUB will try to keep its unblemished record on Dec. 28 intact. CSUB is a spotless 10?0 on this date since beating Occidental 69?57 on Dec. 28, 1973.

SANTWON IS GONE: CSUB received some rough news when it learned that junior forward Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County College) will miss the rest of the season after injury his shoulder prior to the Cal Poly game. Latunde, who will seek a medical redshirt, was CSUB's leading rebounder (6.1 rpg) and second?leading scorer (10.6 ppg)

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The Roadrunners return to the friendly confines of Rabobank Arena to ring out 2007 and ring in 2008 with four games in 11 days, beginning Dec. 28 vs. South Dakota State. The 'Runners will also host UC Davis (Jan. 2), University of the Pacific (Jan. 5) and Loyola Marymount (Jan. 7) on this homestand.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE: Although CSUB and UC Riverside had never met as NCAA Division I opponents before last week's clash in Riverside, somethings never change. The 'Runners got the best of their former California Collegiate Athletic Association rivals for the 41st time in 69 meetings and the ninth time in the last 11.

FOLLOWING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS... As the Roadrunners continue to navigate through the transition to full NCAA Division I status, they will get a glimpse of their future when they host South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits are two years ahead of CSUB and in their final year of the transition process in 2007?08. SDSU won 20 or more games in eight of its last nine Division II seasons. The Jackrabbits are 30?68 in three?plus season of transition.

...AND IN THEIRS: CSUB's opponent after SDSU is former CCAA rival UC Davis. UC Davis completed the transition process last season and is in its first year as a full NCAA Division I member (and as a member of the Big West Conference).

ZACK ATTACK: Senior guard Zack Grasmick (Strathmore/Granite Hills HS) has always had the ability to turn the course of a game on a dime. At no time in his career was that ability on more prominent display than it was at UC Riverside when he exploded for career?highs of 26 points and eight three?pointers. It was the second 20?plus point game of Grasmick's career while the eight treys rank No. 3 on CSUB's single game list.

TJ IS A?OKAY: Junior swingman Terrence Johns (Chicago/Bakersfield College) broke out of an 0?for?22 slump by scoring 17 points at UCR last week. Johns finished the game by making seven of his last 15 from the field (including a pair of threes). He broke a three?game streak of scoring less than double figures with the effort while improving his team?leading scoring average to 13.3 points per game.

THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE: The future of Roadrunner basketball figures to be in good hands ? literally and figuratively ? in the persons of freshmen point guards Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) and Donavan Bragg (Inglewood/Serra HS). The freshman stars shined brilliantly in Riverside last week, combining for 13 assists against just two turnovers in CSUB's first road win of the season.

Thanks in large part to their floor leadership, CSUB did not commit a turnover in the second half, helping to turn a one?point halftime lead into an 18?point victory.

...AND THE LITTLE ONES SHALL LEAD THEM: With an eye towards the future, the Roadrunners continue to play a rotation that leans heavily on their younger players. Freshmen and sophomores account for 30 of CSUB's 60 total starts this season and have played 1,247 of a possible 2,400 minutes this season (52 percent).

'RUNNERS VS. DI COMPETITION: Although 2007?08 is the first time the Roadrunners take on a full NCAA Division I schedule, it does not mark the first Bakersfield foray into NCAA Division I play. The 'Runners own an all?time mark of 19?54 in 73 games against 35 different Division I opponents. Note that this mark does not include games against current DI teams that were not DI when they met.

36 YEARS OF CSUB BASKETBALL: The 2007?2008 season marks the 37th anniversary of Roadrunner men's basketball at CSUB. Since the program's inception in 1971?72, the Roadrunners have posted an impressive all?time record of 732?316 (.698).

WHERE OTHERS HAVE GONE BEFORE: Making the leap from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I play is a big step. It's also a step taken by several Roadrunner rivals over the past few seasons. Bakersfield will be the sixth West Region school to make the jump since 1990. The others are: Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Sacramento State, UC Davis and UC Riverside.

In fact, DII and the California Collegiate Athletic Association have been jumping off points for many of the current DI programs in the West. All nine Big West Conference members are former DII schools and all but UC Irvine were formerly in the CCAA. Other former DII and CCAA schools from the West include Fresno State, Pepperdine, San Diego State and San Jose State.