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Men’s basketball
Who: UC Riverside (10-10, 1-3)
Johnny Romero | Daily 49er
Sophomore guard Justin Bibbins dribbles along the baseline in LBSU’s 67-53 win over New Mexico State on Dec. 5, 2015 inside the Walter Pyramid.
When: Saturday at 4 p.m.
Where: SRC Arena, Riverside
Need to know: The Highlanders have lost five of their last six games going into Saturday’s game. UC Riverside has also lost 12 straight games against Long Beach State (8-11, 2-2), dating back to 2010. LBSU leads the all-time series 32-10 and own a 19-4 record inside the Walter Pyramid.
If the 49ers want to maintain their dominance over UCR, they’ll need to keep the Big West’s third-leading scorer, senior Jaylen Bland. The 6-foot-3-inch guard is averaging 17.3 points per game and is shooting 41.5 percent from the field. Bland is also shooting 42.7 percent from behind the three-point line, good for fifth-best in the league.
Men’s volleyball
Who: No. 3 BYU (3-1, 1-1)
When: Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Where: Walter Pyramid
Need to know: The Cougars swept Long Beach State (5-0, 2-0) in 2015 and own an all-time record of 30-24 against the 49ers. LBSU’s last win against BYU came on March 7, 2014, a 3-1 win inside the Walter Pyramid.
The 2016 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men’s Volleyball Coaches’ Poll picked BYU to finish on top of the conference this year. The Cougars are currently sitting at the No. 3 spot in the country, one place behind LBSU.
LBSU’s blockers will have to watch for sophomore Ben Patch, who recorded 45 kills over two games against then-No. 11 Stanford over the weekend. The opposite hitter leads BYU with 4.71 kills per set.
