SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (16-10, 8-7 Big West) is looking to regain momentum in conference play after losing both matchups on the road this past weekend. The Gauchos continue conference play with one matchup at home before heading south for their second game of the weekend. UC Santa Barbara hosting the Cal State Fullerton Titans (6-21, 1-14 Big West) this Thursday before visiting Long Beach State (7-19, 3-11 Big West) on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
Santa Barbara had difficulty on the road this past weekend, losing to UC Irvine in a hard-fought battle before falling to UC Riverside to close out the trip. In their latest matchup against the Highlanders, the Gauchos were able to compete for a large majority of the game. It wasn't until the end of the second half drew near that UC Riverside was able to pull ahead due to a scoring drought from the Gauchos. In the contest, Kenny Pohto and Max Murrell each had season-high performances. Murrell contributed 18, tying his career-high, while Pohto scored 24. On the defensive front, Jason Fontenet II led the charge with 8 total rebounds, and Stephan Swenson added 5 while also contributing 8 points. 

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON
Cal State Fullerton has yet to find traction in conference play at this point in the season. At the moment, the Titans are on a seven-game losing streak and are looking to find a way in the upcoming contest. They have posted wins over Idaho State, Pepperdine, La Sierra, Denver, and Nobel, while defeating Long Beach State as their only conference win this season.

The Titans haven't been able to position themselves highly in the Big West statistics column, although they do find themselves ranked fifth in the conference in opponent 3-point field goal percentage. With UC Santa Barbara ranking as the number one team in the conference in team 3-point field goal percentage, they will need to keep an eye on Cal State Fullerton's defense to continue to find success from the arc.

Donovan Oday is Cal State Fullerton's spark offensively, leading his team in points, field goals, free throws, rebounds, and steals. Oday averages 13.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game and finds most of his success within the arc. Keith Richard follows closely behind Oday, ranking second on the team in points and field goals averaging 7.3 and 2.5 per game respectively. Kaleb Brown and Zion Richardson make a significant impact on both ends of the court for the Titans. Brown ranks third on the team in total rebounds, collecting 73 overall with an average of 2.8 per game, while also contributing 6.3 points per game. Richardson follows closely behind, ranking fourth with 70 rebounds and an average of 3.3 per game. He also leads the team in three-point shooting, knocking down 1.1 threes per game, while averaging 7.6 points per contest.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
Long Beach State has found more success in conference play in comparison to the Titans, notching three conference wins to account for their seven overall. Long Beach has defeated UC Davis, Hawaii, and Cal State Fullerton, while also notching wins over La Sierra, Pepperdine, San Diego, and La Verne this season. As of now, the Beach are currently on a nine-game losing streak and are trying to figure out how to gain some momentum in the upcoming contest against the Gauchos.

Long Beach State finds some success offensively, ranking fourth in the conference in team 3-point field goal percentage. They also position themselves as somewhat of a defensive threat, ranking fourth in the conference in blocked shots. UC Santa Barbara finds so much offensive success that they'll need to keep an eye on the sneaky Beach blocks.

Devin Askew is a powerhouse for Long Beach and a key factor in gaining momentum for the team. He currently leads the team in points, field goals, three-point field goals, free throws, assists, steals, and turnovers, while positioning himself as second in assist/turnover ratio and third in rebounds. Askew averages an impressive 18.4 points per game while adding 4.8 assists to attempt to balance out the Beach's offense. TJ Wainwright trails Askew in points, field goals, three-point field goals, free throws, assists and steals to position himself as another crucial element in their offensive success. Wainwright most notably averages 13.0 points while adding 5.0 rebounds per game. On the defensive side, Derrick Michael Xzavierro is the team's leader in rebounds and blocked shots, averaging 6.3 and 1.1 respectively.

FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos and Titans will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California on Thursday, Feb. 20. UC Santa Barbara will then make their way to Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, tipping off against Long Beach State at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 22. Both games will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/MBBLiveStats.