TODAY’S GAMES

Long Beach State (0-0) at North Carolina Charlotte (0-0), 4:30 p.m. PST, KRLH (590) -- Two 49er teams do battle. Charlotte, with six players back from last year’s NCAA tournament team, is the favorite. Guard Demon Brown averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 assists last season and guard Curtis Nash averaged 10 points and 3.6 rebounds.

UC Irvine (0-0) vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (0-1), Sooner tournament, Norman, Okla., 5 p.m. PST, KUCI-FM (88.9) -- Will 7-foot center Adam Parada, a potential NBA prospect, play much? He was yanked from the starting lineup of last week’s exhibition by Irvine Coach Pat Douglass, who has not been happy with Parada’s efforts in practice. Oklahoma committed 18 turnovers and was outrebounded by Alabama in a 68-62 loss. Princeton and Western Michigan are also in the event.

Pepperdine (0-0) at Bradley (0-0), KPLS (830), 5 p.m. PST -- Pepperdine opens the season with high expectations. The Waves have four starters and the top five scorers from last season’s 22-9 team that reached the NCAA tournament. Senior forwards Jimmy Miggins and Boomer Brazzle lead a balanced lineup for second-year Coach Paul Westphal. Bradley has four starters from a 9-20 team and, like Pepperdine, favors an up-tempo style. Former Bradley and NBA guard Jim Les makes his debut as coach.

CS Fullerton (0-0) vs. Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi (0-0), Hawaiian Tip-Off tournament, Honolulu, 7 p.m. PST -- Fullerton’s Pape Sow, a 6-foot-10 center, has been slowed by an ankle injury and his cousin, 6-11 Babacar Camara, has an Achilles’ heel problem. Titan forward Brandon Campbell is out indefinitely because of foot problems. Corpus Christi has 10 lettermen and three starters returning. Hawaii and Arkansas-Little Rock round out the field.

CS Northridge (0-0) at Portland State (0-0), 7 p.m., KCSN-FM (88.5) -- First-year Coach Heath Schrover and the refurbished Stott Center, which underwent a $1-million renovation, will be formally introduced tonight by Portland State. Northridge and Portland State are former Big Sky Conference opponents and each posted 12-16 records last year. The Matadors split two exhibition games and want to avoid a start like last season, when they went 1-8.

Loyola Chicago (0-0) at Loyola Marymount (0-0), 7 p.m., KXLU-FM (88.9) -- Former UCLA player and coach Larry Farmer begins his fifth season as coach of Loyola Chicago, which was 17-13 and nearly reached the NCAA tournament last season, losing in overtime on a last-second shot in the Horizon League tournament final. Point guard David Bailey, a 5-foot-8 senior, averaged 21.2 points and 4.6 assists for the Ramblers. Loyola Marymount has nine new players, including seven freshmen. Sophomore forward Andy Osborn is among three returning starters for the Lions, coming off a 9-20 record.

UC Santa Barbara (0-0) vs. Weber State (0-0), Top of the World tournament, Fairbanks, Alaska, 8 p.m. -- Guard Nick Jones begins the season as a starter for the first time in three seasons for the banged-up Gauchos. Bray Skultety, a 6-6 senior, is lost to a knee injury. Guard Branduinn Fullove has a strained left knee and freshman Josh Davis has been hurting. Guard Jermaine Boyette and Ohio State transfer Slobodan Ocokoljic, a 6-8 forward, lead Weber State.