UC Irvine looks to extend streak vs CSUN

UC Irvine (18-10, 10-2) vs. Cal State Northridge (11-16, 6-5)

Matadome, Northridge, California; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine looks for its 11th straight win in the head-to-head series over Cal State Northridge. UC Irvine has won by an average of 15 points in its last 10 wins over the Matadors. Cal State Northridge’s last win in the series came on Feb. 22, 2014, an 81-75 win.

STEPPING UP: Cal State Northridge’s Lamine Diane has averaged 22.6 points and 8.7 rebounds while Terrell Gomez has put up 20.3 points. For the Anteaters, Collin Welp has averaged 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds while Eyassu Worku has put up 12.3 points.

RAMPING IT UP: The Matadors have scored 76.8 points per game and allowed 75.5 points per game in conference play so far. Those are both substantial improvements over the 69.7 points scored and 84.1 points allowed per game to non-conference foes.CLUTCH COLLIN: Welp has connected on 42.1 percent of the 76 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 4 of 12 over his last five games. He’s also made 84.9 percent of his foul shots this season.

WINLESS WHEN: UC Irvine is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 61 points and 18-4 when scoring at least 61.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: Cal State Northridge is a perfect 5-0 when it turns the ball over six times or fewer. The Matadors are 6-16 when they record more than six turnovers. UC Irvine has created 10.8 turnovers per game in Big West play and 11.4 per game over its last five.

DID YOU KNOW: The Cal State Northridge offense has recorded a turnover on only 16.3 percent of its possessions, which is the 27th-lowest rate in the country. The UC Irvine defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 17.4 percent of all possessions (ranked 296th among Division I teams).