Faulkner: ‘Eaters take on fellow leaders

It might be considered a big week in Big West Conference men’s basketball, but for the fact that the only one of those will come in mid-March.

Per usual, the conference’s lone NCAA Tournament team will have to win the conference tournament, scheduled March 12-14 at Honda Center.

There are regular-season title ramifications, however, when defending regular-season champion UC Irvine meets the two teams with which it shares first place this week. The Anteaters (13-8, 6-1 in conference), who have won six straight, play host to UC Davis (16-4, 6-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m., then visits Long Beach State (12-11, 6-1) at the Pyramid on Saturday at 4 p.m.

UCI is playing the best basketball of the season, despite the absence of 7-foot-6 sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye, who is sidelined with a foot problem that may or may not keep him out this week.

Coach Russell Turner’s squad, which was picked to win the conference crown again this season, suffered its only loss to Long Beach State in the conference opener at home on Jan. 8. But since, it has beaten six conference foes by an average of nearly 15 points by combining efficient and productive offense with its trademark defensive tenacity.

UCI is, arguably, the deepest team in the conference and its extreme balance renders identifying its best and/or most indispensable player problematic.

The six-game win streak has included some impressive three-point shooting, as UCI has made 49 of 96 attempts (51%) in that span. The ‘Eaters are shooting 41.7% from threedom for the season, which ranks No. 5 in the nation.

UC Davis, however, is the nation’s leading three-point-shooting team at 45.4% and senior guard Corey Hawkins ranks No. 1 in the country in that department at 52.6%. Hawkins is sixth in the country in scoring (21.3 per game) and was nine for 14 from three-point range in victories last week against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Hawkins, named Big West Player of the Week on Monday, was recently anointed one of the top 25 players in the nation by ESPN’s John Gasaway and has helped the Aggies earn the No. 14 spot in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major top-25 poll.

UC Davis, which went 9-22 last season, is trying to become the first Big West school to go from single-digit wins to 20 wins the next season since Utah State rebounded from a 4-23 mark in 1981-82 to go 20-9 the next season. The Aggies’ lone conference loss was an 84-76 decision at Hawaii on Jan. 22.

The Aggies rank No. 4 in the country in field-goal shooting (50.2%) and have shot 50% or better in 13 of their last 20 games.

UCI’s six-game conference winning streak, which includes a 3-0 road mark, is its longest in conference since it won eight straight on its way to the 2006 conference regular-season crown.

In addition to its offensive proficiency, UCI has held opponents below 60 points in five of its six conference wins and is 9-0 this season when foes score 60 or fewer points. Dating back to 2011-12, UCI is 41-0 when holding teams to 60 or fewer points.

Long Beach State, which plays host to UC Riverside on Thursday, is 7-0 at home this season and has won its last five games. Its lone conference loss was a 73-67 overtime setback at UC Davis on Jan. 10.

A pair of wins would put UCI in the driver’s seat to repeat as regular-season champion and earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

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•In the Golden State Athletic Conference, defending conference and NAIA men’s champion Vanguard is 5-5 and in fifth place with seven conference games remaining. The Lions (13-10) are looking up in the standings at Westmont (7-3), Arizona Christian (7-2), Concordia (8-2) and Hope International (8-1).

Coach Rhett Soliday’s VU squad visits William Jessup on Saturday, then plays host to Arizona Christian on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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•The Vanguard women (15-5, 7-3 and ranked No. 12 in the nation), are tied for second with No. 11-ranked The Master’s, which the Lions beat on Saturday to split the season series. Coach Russ Davis’ Lions have won six of their last seven.

Vanguard is led by junior guard Riley Holsinger, who ranks fifth in the nation in scoring at 20.5 per game.