Men's Hoops on the Road to Big West Championship

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – It all comes down to this week. Four games in five days. That is what stands in front of the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team and its ultimate goal of winning the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands.

The Roadrunners are headed to the brand-new Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. this week to battle the rest of the Big West, Mar. 8-12. CSUB's first-round matchup features the `Runners, the No. 9 seed, taking on the eighth-seed CSUN Matadors on Tuesday, Mar. 8.

"We look forward to getting to Henderson," said Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the `Runners. "We look forward to having an opportunity to start the last 'season' of a season in that being postseason, so I'm really excited about that."

Barnes also talked about his and their mentality heading into postseason play: "Now it's 40 minutes. That's all anyone is ever guaranteed. Once we get there, whoever plays the best 40 minutes advances. It used to be a slogan of 'survive and advance' and that's where we are right now."

CSUB's first 40 minutes will be against CSUN, a team the `Runners have historically enjoyed a highly-competitive rivalry. The two teams have played 48 times in the all-time series, which is currently tied at 24-24. Never, at any point in the rivalry that started in 1973, has either team led the all-time series by more than a three-game margin, so Tuesday's postseason game should prove to be another battle with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.

"CSU Northridge is well coached," Barnes said of his squad's first hurdle. "They have good size and they have good perimeter players. They are a lot like us; they have lost some close games…Every game is going to be a game that we have to play well to win."

After defeating CSUB (7-18, 2-12 Big West) in the Icardo Center on Feb. 12, CSUN (7-22, 3-13 Big West) closed out the regular season on a six-game losing streak. The Matadors bested the `Runners last month, 71-65, and CSUN looks to the duo of Atin Wright and Elijah Hardy to lead its offense.

Tuesday's opening-round contest is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (PT) tipoff at the Dollar Loan Center. All-Session tickets are available at GoRunners.com/Tickets and more information regarding the Big West Championship is available on the Championship Central page on BigWest.org.

~GoRunners.com~

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