Saturday, March 1st, 10:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Mott Gymnasium (3,032) -- San Luis Obispo, California. Television: None. Home Record: Pacific 11-3, Cal Poly 7-4. Away Record: Pacific 6-6, Cal Poly 3-10. Neutral Record: Pacific 2-0, Cal Poly 1-1. Conference Record: Pacific 9-5, Cal Poly 6-7. Series Record: Pacific leads, 28-9.

GAME NOTES: In a Big West Conference showdown, the Cal Poly Mustangs hope to finish regular season play at Mott Gymnasium with a season sweep of the Pacific Tigers tonight. Pacific has won back-to-back games following a season-high three-game losing streak earlier this month. In their home finale, the Tigers turned in a dominating performance against UC Davis on Thursday, thwarting the overmatched Aggies, 95-50. The win put Pacific at 9-5 in conference play, good for fourth in the current BWC standings. Cal Poly is also coming off a victory, as the Mustangs needed an extra period to take care of UC Riverside, 70-63. Cal Poly has had an up-and-down season, as its mediocre 6-7 conference record has put the squad in a rough position to make it through the BWC tournament. With two road victories next week to finish out the season, however, the Mustangs could gain the confidence they need to surprise some teams. Cal Poly pulled off a 69-64 road win over Pacific back on January 28, but the Mustangs still trail in the all-time series by a 28-9 margin.

Chad Troyer has stepped up in a crucial point of the season, leading Pacific in scoring in its past three games. The guard drilled a superb 8-of-11 from three- point land en route to 27 points in the blowout of UC Davis on Thursday, increasing his season average to 13.5 ppg. Steffan Johnson was the only other player notching double digits with 11 points and five assists, but 11 different Tigers tallied four points or more in the team effort. Johnson paces Pacific in points (14.6 ppg) and assists (137). Anthony Brown powers an outstanding frontcourt, averaging 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Tigers, thanks to Michael Nunnally and Bryan LeDuc combining to pull down about nine rebounds a game, are outrebounding opponents by more than five caroms an outing.

Cal Poly showed its heart in the overtime victory over UC Riverside earlier this week. The Mustangs trailed the entire second half of the game, but Titus Shelton hit a jumper with seven seconds left in regulation to send the contest into an extra period, where the Mustangs hit all seven of their free throws to secure the victory. Titus finished with 10 points and six rebounds, while Lorenzo Keeler poured in a game-high 22 points. Only Keeler and Trae Clark are averaging double-figures for Cal Poly. Clark is recording 10.2 points and 3.5 assists per game, while Keeler isn't far behind with an even 10.0 ppg. The Mustangs aren't very deep and they are out-rebounded by an average of 3.1 rpg, but the squad certainly never relents when trailing late in the game.

Pacific will certainly want to exact revenge on the Mustangs for winning on its home floor earlier this season. Cal Poly will keep the game close as the Mustangs are rarely blown out at home, but the Tigers have a chip on their shoulder and too many weapons to match up against.

Predicted Outcome

Pacific 81, Cal Poly 70