The Sports Network

DATE & TIME: Saturday, February 18th, 10:05 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Matador Gymnasium (1,600) -- Northridge, California. Television: None. Home Record: Fresno State 8-2, CS-Northridge 4-6. Away Record: Fresno State 2-12, CS-Northridge 3-11. Neutral Record: Fresno State 1-2, CS-Northridge 0-0. Conference Record: Fresno State 3-8, CS-Northridge 3-10. Series Record: Fresno State leads, 24-5.

GAMES NOTES: Coming off its best offensive game all season, the Cal State- Northridge Matadors will host the Fresno State Bulldogs in a BracketBuster pairing at Matador Gymnasium.

These squads will have one of the more familiar matchups during the BracketBuster weekend as this game marks the 30th all-time meeting between these schools. The Bulldogs have a commanding edge in the series with a 24-5 record against CS-Northridge. The teams split the two most recent meetings with Fresno State winning the last time during the 2005-06 season.

Fresno State has been circling a win but has failed to do so in dropping consecutive games for the fourth time this season. The first was a 79-71 letdown in double overtime and the second a 62-58 defeat on the road to Hawaii. The Bulldogs are now 11-6 overall with a 3-8 record in the Western Athletic Conference. Fresno State will play a non-conference game when it takes on Seattle in its next matchup.

Northridge snapped a four game losing streak by putting up a 94-81 win over Cal Poly on Wednesday. The point total was the most this season or the Matadors and the most since they put up 109 points in a win against NAIA opponent Vanguard. Even with the win, Northridge has had a forgettable season with a 3-10 record in the Big West to go with a 7-17 record overall.

Fresno State trailed by no more than nine points, but could never seem to totally close the gap in the loss to Hawaii last Saturday. In the game Fresno State shot just 38.6 percent while Hawaii netted 51.0 percent but managed to keep it close by attempting eight more field goals than the Rainbow Warriors.

As a team, Fresno State isn't putting up fantastic offensive numbers this season as the Bulldogs manage 65.1 points per game, while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor. Fresno State generally plays in tight games however with the defense limiting its opponents to the same 65.1 points per game. The Bulldogs have had the privilege of a prolific individual scorer this season with sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe lighting up the WAC as the conferences second leading scorer. Olekaibe is averaging 17.8 points per game this season but is coming off a poor performance against Hawaii in which he managed only eight points. Jerry Brown Jr. (9.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg) led the team with 17 points in the loss but it is Jonathan Wills (10.3) who is normally the second option as the only other player averaging in double figures.

In the win over Cal Poly, Northridge couldn't seem to miss from the floor and racked up a large point total from the free throw line on its way to the win. The Matadors shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the game and went 32-of-43 from the charity stripe in the victory.

Northridge is scoring better this season than Fresno State but is also playing worse on defense. The Matadors are putting in 68.2 points per game on the year but are surrendering 74.8 points per game to its opponents for a average scoring margin of -6.6. Stephen Hicks (15.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg) has been the team's leading scorer and put together a respectable 13 points against Cal Poly. In the game it was sophomore guard Josh Greene who was most impressive scoring a game-high 23 points to bump his scoring average to 12.1 points per game. Stephen Maxwell (7.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) played one of his best games of his freshman season in the win as well scoring 16 points and pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. It was the first double-double for the rookie since he put up 20 and 11 in his first game with the Matadors.

Fresno State has been abysmal away from home this season with just a 2-12 record on the road but the Bulldogs are facing a CS-Northridge squad that does not have an impressive homecourt advantage, as the Matadors are just 4-6 on their home floor. Expect Olekaibe to carry the Bulldogs to a rare road victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Fresno State 71, Cal State-Northridge 62

02/18 10:41:25 ET