BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Cal State Bakersfield men's basketball team enters the final week of the regular season before heading to Henderson, Nev. for The Big West Basketball Championship. The Roadrunners head to Long Beach State and UC Irvine for a pair of road games this week.

Upcoming Schedule

•         at Long Beach State, Mar. 2, 7 p.m. (PT), Long Beach, Calif.
•         at UC Irvine, Mar. 4, 6 p.m. (PT), Irvine, Calif.

How to Follow the `Runners

• Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
• Links for video, live stats, tickets, and more are available at GoRunners.com/Live.
• Live updates will be shared during games on Twitter @CSUB_MBB.
• Tickets for the Big West Basketball Championship are available at GoRunners.com/Tickets

`Runner Notes

•        Bakersfield (10-19, 6-12 BW) lost both of its Big West games last week, although they took Cal State Fullerton all the way to overtime before falling on senior night.
•         Redshirt Junior Antavion Collum, leads the `Runners in points scored in Big West competition, averaging 16.1 points per game.
•         Bakersfield will head into The Big West Championship as the number eight seed regardless of the outcomes of the two games this week. The `Runners are slated to meet the ninth-seeded CSUN Matadors in the first round of the tournament for the second-straight season. 

Quotes from Head Coach Rod Barnes

•         "At this point of the season we want to play well. We want to win and that will prepare us in the best way for next week. If we can get everyone playing well and moving in the right direction, this will give us a chance to win when we get to Henderson."
•         "Long Beach is an up and down team, they caused us trouble here earlier in the season. They have two elite rebounders, so we have to do a good job on the boards."
•        "Irvine is playing some good basketball, with multiple guys that can have big nights… They're top of the league for a reason. They're a good basketball team and well coached."

Scouting the Beach

• Long Beach State (17-12, 10-8 BW) sit one place above CSU Bakersfield in The Big West standings. If results go the Beach's way this weekend, they can overtake UC Davis and claim the sixth seed ahead of The Big West Championship next week.
• The Beach and `Runners will be meeting for the 10th time in the all-time series. Long Beach State currently leads the series 6-3.
• The Beach swept the `Runners last year but split the series in 2020-21.
• When Long Beach State came to the Icardo Center earlier this month on Feb. 11, the Beach defeated the `Runners 79-69.

Scouting the Anteaters

• UC Irvine (20-10, 13-5 BW) are in the hunt to win The Big West regular season title and sit in a three-way tie for first heading into this week's games.
• The Anteaters and `Runners will be meeting for the 12th time. Irvine leads the series 8-3.
• UC Irvine swept the series last year. The `Runners last win in the series came in Irvine on Feb. 6, 2021.
• The teams had a tight encounter in Bakersfield on Dec. 31, with the Anteaters coming out on top in the game and winning 79-75.

~GoRunners.com~