CSUB Ready For Two Big West Games At Hawai'i

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team is looking to roll its momentum from a home sweep over Cal Poly this past weekend into a two-week road swing. Next up on the schedule, the Roadrunners are gearing up for a pair of tough road contests, Jan. 15 and 16, against Hawai'i.

"We have to take it one game at a time because we have four games now on the road in a row," said Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the `Runners. "We have to try our best to stay focused one game at a time because every win you can get on the road is huge."

Barnes also broke down what he expects out of Hawai'i, a program CSUB has only faced once before: "They have four guys that any of those guys can go for big nights. It's a very talented team, but they just haven't been together. They've got a lot of new pieces…They like to play up-tempo. We're finding that about all of the Big West schools; they like to play a little bit faster than the schools we played in the WAC."

Bakersfield (7-4, 3-1 BWC) and Hawai'i (3-1, 1-1 BWC) are set to square off for just the second time in the all-time series. The `Runners and Rainbow Warriors met for the first time during the 2014-15 season when CSUB started the year out at Hawai'i's Rainbow Classic. After dropping a quadruple overtime thriller against High Point the night before, the `Runners were unable to bounce back and fell to the host 'Bows, 72-65.

Fast forward six seasons and the two teams are now united as Big West Conference members. CSUB is off to a great start and currently sits in second place in the league standings, just half a game behind UC Irvine. Hawai'i had its Big West opening series cancelled after Cal Poly had COVID-19 issues, but the 'Bows managed a road split against UC Riverside this past weekend.

Hawai'i Standard Time is currently two hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, which sets tipoff for both games this weekend at 9 p.m. (PT). `Runner fans can grab their blankets and some coffee or hot cocoa and settle in for a late night supporting CSUB on Jan. 15 and 16. Both games will be broadcasted live and free via BigWest.TV. Links to video and radio broadcasts as well as live stats are available at GoRunners.com/mbbLinks as will the new Roadrunners Gameday (digital) Magazine.

~GoRunners.com~

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