Men's Basketball, Men's Sports, Sports

49ers to travel to UC Irvine for crucial conference matchup

It doesn’t get much better than this in the Big West Conference.

Tied for first place, rivals Long Beach State and UC Irvine will face off at Bren Events Center on Thursday. Both need a win to establish themselves as favorites to win the regular season conference title.

“Our goal is to win the regular-season championship, and if we lose on Thursday, it’s not inconceivable, but it sure is tougher,” head coach Dan Monson said. “For us to contend for the league, it’s a must-win.”

The last time the 49ers (9-12, 5-2 Big West) and Anteaters (14-9, 5-2 Big West) squared off was in early January, the Big West opener for both teams. A defensive struggle led to a 46-44 win by UC Irvine that was heavily influenced by 7-foot-6 big man Mamadou Ndaiye.

Ndiaye has a minimal impact on the offensive end, but Monson said after that he had never seen anyone influence a game as much as he did while only scoring four points. Ndiaye instead disrupted the 49er guards considerably, completely taking away the inside shot from guys like point guard Mike Caffey.

Caffey had his worst offensive outing in that game, going 0-for-8 shooting and scoring only two points — both on free throws.

“Coming off that first game, [the key to win] is to get into an offensive flow,” Monson said. “Mamadou [Ndiaye] really took away the paint from us.”

Since Jan. 9, though, Caffey has exploded offensively, averaging 21.67 points per game and registering a career-high 29 points in a game against Hawaii. His matchup will be with Anteater point guard Alex Young, who has won three of four games against the 49ers since he started his collegiate career last season.

Even if the 49ers don’t win, though, Monson isn’t worried about a potential matchup with the Anteaters in the Big West Tournament.

“If we don’t win Thursday, I’m not going to go into the tournament thinking ‘oh, we can’t beat UC Irvine,” he said.

Following their big game at Irvine on Thursday, the 49ers will head further inland to Riverside. LBSU will take on the Highlanders Saturday night.

UC Riverside hasn’t proven to be the doorstop it was last year, when it won only six games all year and lost to LBSU by 40 in the middle of the season. The Highlanders (7-14, 2-5 Big West) are currently tied for last place, but two of their losses in conference play came in overtime.

One of those losses came against UC Santa Barbara, which currently shares first place in the conference along with UCI and The Beach.

The 49ers’ game at UCI will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Bren Events Center and will be televised on Prime Ticket. Their Saturday game at UCR will start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast by ESPN3.

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