CSUB Set for Regular-Season Finale at GCU

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – One road trip and one game are all that stands between the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team and the end of the 2019-20 regular season. Before the Roadrunners can head to Las Vegas for their final Western Athletic Conference Tournament, CSUB is prepared to take on Grand Canyon in a hostile road environment on Saturday, Mar. 7.

"I would say we're much better, as far as confidence level, than we were a week or two ago," said Rod Barnes, Bakersfield's ninth-year Head Coach. "The urgency I talked about two weeks ago and I kept saying 'it's not happening', I thought it happened this past weekend. I thought we were locked in and really focused."

Seeding for next week's WAC Tournament is still very much up in the air and the `Runners stand a realistic chance to end up in a four-way tie that would require multiple tiebreaker criteria to split. Barnes said he expects this year's tourney to be wild: "Normally during this time, you pretty much almost know what's going to happen…I think Vegas is going to be crazy. I think there are going to be more teams than ever to show up thinking they have a chance to win."

Bakersfield's focus is currently fixated on GCU, CSUB's guaranteed next opponent. The `Runners and Lopes will wrap up the regular season in Phoenix on Saturday in a game that is important for seeding purposes. With a win, CSUB (12-18, 6-9 WAC) would tie GCU (12-17, 7-8) in the WAC standings and the `Runners would earn the higher seed because Bakersfield would have swept GCU on the season after a 69-62 win in the Icardo Center on Jan. 4. With the win, CSUB would claim the fifth seed while a loss while drop the `Runners down to seventh.

After putting together a three-game win streak in early February, GCU closed out the month on a four-game skid. The Lopes faced some of the WAC's top teams in that stretch and dropped two of those contests by single digits. GCU features one of the league's top big men in Alessandro Lever, who averages 16.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Tipoff on Saturday in GCU Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcasted live via the WAC Digital Network while Isaac Lowenkron will be calling the action courtside on KERN Radio. Links to live stats and both broadcasts are available on the CSUB men's basketball schedule page.

~GoRunners.com~

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