Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team begins Big West Conference play this Thursday with an 8 pm PT home tilt against Cal State Fullerton. The Highlanders and Titans will play in game two of a UCR double header being broadcast on ESPN3, as the UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team hosts UC Irvine at the SRC Arena beginning at 5 pm.

The Highlanders nine wins on the season are the most they have ever had before the start of Big West competition, and tie them with the 2008-09 squad for the most non-conference wins in the program's Division I history.

UC Riverside dropped its most recent decision—a 67-48 home loss to CSU Bakersfield (box score/recap). Taylor Johns scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the defeat. Secean Johnson added 12 points and seven boards, and Alex Larsson chipped in with nine points. The trio combined to go 14 for 28 from the field, but the remainder of the team went three for 22.

Jaylen Bland, who entered the Bakersfield game with a streak of 43 straight games with at least one made three-pointer, and at least two makes in each of his previous 15 games, went 0 for two from beyond the arc against the Road Runners. He still ranks eighth in the nation in made threes per game at 3.50, and leads the Highlanders in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game.

As a team, UC Riverside is on pace to outscore the opposition for the first time in its Division I history (1150 -1066). They also rank 17th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 28.2 percent from long distance.

Cal State Fullerton is 7-6 on the season after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 75-52 win over Cal State East Bay. Prior to that losing streak, the Titans ran off six straight victories. UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton have one like opponent in their non-conference schedules in Loyola Marymount. The Titans lost twice to the Lions (79-74 and 82-70) while the Highlanders dropped a 78-77 decision.

Fullerton is making 37.2 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, and boasts three players connecting on better than 39 percent of their long-range shots—leading scorer Tré Coggins (16.3 ppg, 39.6 3G%), Malcolm Brooks (14.2 ppg, 45.1 3G%) and Khalil Ahmad (12.8 ppg, 40.0 3G%).

UC Riverside is 20-27 all-time against the Titans, including wins in each of the last three meetings (view results). Both games last season went into overtime, with the Highlanders winning 84-78 on the road (box score/recap) and 71-66 at the SRC Arena (box score/recap).

On Saturday, UC Riverside travels to UC Irvine for an 8 pm tip on ESPNU. The Anteaters are 11-5 on the season, pending the outcome of the their Thursday evening game against UC Davis. Picked to win the Big West in preseason media polling, Irvine's most recent victory came in a 54-52 decision against New Mexico State. Like Cal State Fullerton, the 'Eaters lone common opponent with UC Riverside is LMU. Irvine beat the Lions, 77-52, in the second game of the season, and is a perfect 5-0 at home.

The Anteaters are led by 7-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye, who paces the squad in scoring (12.1), rebounding (7.8), field goal percentage (.664) and blocked shots (43). Luke Nelson is also averaging in double figures at 11.5 points per game. He and Alex Young each have 65 assists on the season, and are among the conference leaders in steals.

The Highlanders are 24-35 all-time against UC Irvine (view results), and have dropped six of the last seven to the 'Eaters. The teams split their regular season meetings a year ago, and Irvine beat UC Riverside in the first round of the 2015 conference tournament, 63-54 (box score/recap).