College men’s basketball: UCI takes on Mustangs

BREN EVENTS CENTER - It’s coming down to the wire in the Big West

Conference and the UC Irvine men’s basketball team (18-8, 11-4 in the Big

West), hanging on to second place and hoping to grab first in conference

with three regular season contests remaining, battle visiting Cal Poly in

a key matchup tonight at 7:05.

The Mustangs aren’t a team to take lightly as the Anteaters have

learned in the past.

Cal Poly (14-8, 8-6) defeated visiting UCI, 50-47, on Jan. 26 and

upset conference-leading Utah State in the first round of conference

action.

Varnie Dennis leads the Mustangs offensively with a 15.3 points per

game scoring average, followed by Brandon Beeson (12.2 ppg), David Henry

(9.2 ppg) and Eric Jackson (7.2 ppg). All four players have started every

game this season.

Jason Allen, who has started in 18 of 22 contests, adds a 6.7 points

per game average to Cal Poly’s balanced attack.

The Anteaters have last year’s Big West Player of the Year, senior

guard Jerry Green, on their side. Green, the school’s all-time leading

scorer, carries the squad with a 20.5 points per game average.

Sophomore center Adam Parada is second offensively (12.9 ppg, 7

rebounds per game), followed by junior forward Jordan Harris (11.4 ppg,

7.2 rebounds), sophomore forward Stanislav Zuzak (9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and

junior guard Mike Hood (8.6 ppg).

Both Cal Poly and the Anteaters are coming off losses going into

tonight’s contest.

The Mustangs fell to UC Santa Barbara Saturday while UCI was defeated

by University of the Pacific.

Only the top eight of 10 teams in the conference will advance to the

Big West Tournament March 6-9 at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. UC

Riverside and Cal State Fullerton have already been eliminated. Final

standings determine seedings for the tournament. Game times and the order

of games will be determined March 3 once seedings have been finalized.

The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA

playoffs.

Going into tonight’s Big West contests, Utah State holds a one-game

lead over the Anteaters. UC Santa Barbara is in third place, followed by

Cal Poly in fourth.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Utah State 12-3

UC Irvine 11-4

UC Santa Barbara 9-5

Cal Poly 8-6

Pacific 7-7

Cal State Northridge 7-7

Long Beach State 6-9

Idaho 6-9

UC Riverside 5-9

Cal State Fullerton 1-13

This week’s schedule

Tonight

Cal Poly at UC Irvine, 7:05 p.m.

UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State, 7:35 p.m.

Cal State Northridge at UC Riverside, 7:10 p.m.

Pacific at Cal State Fullerton, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday

UC Santa Barbara at UC Irvine, 7:05 p.m.

Cal Poly at Long Beach State, 5:05 p.m.

Idaho at Utah State, 7:05 p.m.

Pacific at UC Riverside, 7:10 p.m.

Cal State Fullerton at Cal State Northridge, 7:05 p.m.