Big West Conference Player of the Week Larry Anderson and the Long Beach State 49ers return home after more than one month to host the Northridge Matadors in the 49ers’ first home game of the conference season.

We’ll be live-blogging tonight’s game from Press Row, with frequent updates and insider tips and notes. Check back here shortly for previews and predictions.

Long Beach State rides an impressive opening week to the Big West schedule after winning at conference-favorite Santa Barbara and then taking care of business at Cal Poly SLO. Anderson earned conference POW with a 25-point, 9-10 FG performance at UCSB after missing five games with a broken hand. The 6’6″ guard looked as aggressive as ever and his return was welcomed by a 49er squad that seems primed for a good start. Beginning with the Northridge game tonight, Long Beach plays their next four conference games at home.

But the Matadors are not to be overlooked. They haven’t exactly been fearsome this year, but scored a big win over DePaul in November and then defeated visiting UC Davis last week. I have them currently ranked fourth in the conference in my bi-weekly Power Rankings, but over time I suspect they’ll fall into the 6-7 range.

Northridge’s lethal duo of Lenny Daniel and Rashaun McLemore average 44.8% of the team’s total scoring, with 16.2 and 15.9 PPG respectively. Northridge is still searching for support and has had to rely on freshmen at times this season.

For Long Beach, the return of Anderson coincides with predictably stellar play from forward T.J. Robinson and guard Casper Ware. The former averages a double-double and is second in the conference in rebounding, while the latter leads the Big West in both assists and steals. The 49ers are still relying heavily on their starting five and head coach Dan Monson has tightened his rotation to seven players in recent games, so a key point to watch is the development of the team’s depth as the season progresses.