Buckle up, the thrill ride that is Cal State Northridge basketball is set to take off against Hawaii tonight in the Stan Sheriff Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
The Matadors top the Big West in scoring (75.0 per game), with 65% of the points coming from gravity-defying Lamine Diane and unapologetic-launching Terrell Gomez.
“Northridge is coming in with one of the best offenses in our league,” UH head coach Eran Ganot said. “I don’t know if there are any teams in the country with two 20-point scorers. They’ll be coming in here with a lot of confidence, and they’ll present a lot of challenges.”
At 5 feet 8, Gomez is an off guard whose green light is always “on.” He has the quickness to burst from a screen’s shadow into the lane, and the aggressiveness to fire early in the shot clock. Gomez is averaging 20.7 points on 42.1% shooting from behind the arc. He has a made a league-best 157 treys this season.
CSUN was 3-10 when Diane was inactive because of an eligibility issue. In the 10 games since, the Matadors are 6-4, with 6-foot-8 Diane averaging 27.7 points and 9.9 rebounds. In 13 fewer games, Diane has attempted a team-high 109 free throws.
“He does it in so many ways,” Ganot said. “He gets to the line. He’s making more 3s. And he makes tough shots. That’s where we have to continue to make these guys work for those tough shots.”
The ’Bows’ most active post defender, 6-9 Bernardo da Silva, is iffy after missing the past two games with a foot injury. But the ’Bows might challenge Diane with one of their three 7-foot centers, or 6-9 power forward Zigmars Raimo, or by assigning 6-7 Justin Hemsley as a tracker. The past game against UC Davis, Hemsley moved to the three in place of ailing Samuta Avea, and posted career highs in points (14) and rebounds (seven). Avea practiced this week, and is expected to play tonight.
The ’Bows, who have won four of their five Big West games, have received a boost from a captain and a reserve in recent weeks. In the past two games, Drew Buggs has a combined 23 assists against three turnovers.
“Double-digit assists do not happen very often at the Division I level,” Ganot said. “It’s a 40-minute game. To have that back to back, and only have three turnovers, and to play both sides of the ball, that’s impressive.”
Buggs was averaging 3.1 turnovers the first 17 games when he vowed to reduce his giveaways. “I focused on not trying to be a hero,” Buggs said. “I don’t want to hunt-and-assist too much. Or hold the ball too long. I want to make the right play, the smart play, and if you do that, more times than not, you won’t make turnovers.”
Buggs hones his playmaking in practices, during which the reserves provide energetic defense. In particular, Buggs noted, second-year freshman Zoar Nedd sparks the workouts.
“Zoar is the heart and soul of our team,” Buggs said.
Raimo said Nedd “brings huge energy to the team. Without him, I don’t think we’d have as many wins.”
Nedd, who is 6-7, said he relishes practices, during which he’ll play guard, wing or the post.
“I’ve accepted my role and I support my teammates every day,” Nedd said. “It’s part of the grind. You have to take every day and lose yourself in your team. I like to watch everybody, and pick Buggs’ brain, and just go hard every day, and when my number’s called, just be ready.”
