Men’s basketball
Senior guard Nick Faust works against the double team in LBSU’s win over CSUN on Feb. 6 inside the Walter Pyramid.
Who: UC Irvine (20-8, 9-3)
When: Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Where: Bren Events Center, Irvine
TV: ESPN3
Need to Know: When Long Beach State (15-12, 9-3) faces UC Irvine on Wednesday night, the 49ers will put their six-game winning streak on the line in a battle for second place in the Big West.
Even though the 49ers lead the all-time series against the Anteaters 56-39, UCI has won the last two matchups. The Anteaters topped LBSU 58-54 in a defensive battle on Jan. 14 inside the Walter Pyramid.
UC Irvine let an eight point halftime lead slip away and lost to Hawaii 75-71 on Saturday.
Junior guard Luke Nelson leads the Anteaters with 13.1 points per game. The 49ers will also have their hands full with college basketball’s tallest player, junior Mamadou N’Diaye. The 7-foot-6-inches center out of Dakar, Senegal is one of the most efficient post players in the league. N’Diaye has a 66.2 field goal percentage, which is good for second-best in the Big West. He also ranks fourth in the conference with 6.8 rebounds per game.
Women’s basketball
Junior guard Raven Benton goes up for an uncontested layup. Benton is 3 points away from hitting the 1,000 point mark.
Who: Cal Poly (13-13, 6-7)
When: Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Where: Mott Athletics Center, San Luis Obispo
Need to know: Long Beach State (19-7, 8-4) defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs at home earlier this season. The 49ers picked up a 65-53 win on Jan. 30, increasing their all-time series lead over Cal Poly to 42-19.
If the 49ers want the season sweep, they will need to slow down junior Hannah Gilbert. At 6-foot-3-inches, the Mustangs’ forward is bigger than everyone on the 49ers’ roster. In her first game against LBSU she was near perfect from the field, going eight for nine for a total of 16 points. Gilbert’s shooting performance came as no surprise; she ranks second in the Big West with a 53.1 shooting percentage. She also ranks fifth with 13.0 points and fourth with 8.8 rebounds per game.
Cal Poly also boasts an outside threat with shooters like senior guards Lisa Marie Sanchez and Beth Balbierz. Sanchez and Balbierz rank fourth and fifth in the conference with a 38.1 and 27.8 three-point shooting percentage, respectively.