7:30 p.m. Saturday – Corban at #13 SOU – Live Stats – Live Stream
3 p.m. Sunday – Northwest Christian at #13 SOU – Live Stats – Live Stream
*All home games at Ashland High.

ASHLAND – With no clear favorite in sight and a seemingly wide-open championship race at hand, the Cascade Conference's men's basketball teams have a lot to prove as circuit play begins this week.

The three teams set to take the floor at Ashland High's Mountain Avenue Gym this weekend are no exceptions despite being among the most established in the CCC. Southern Oregon University (7-2), ranked 13^th in this week's first NAIA poll of the regular season, hosts Corban (4-2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Northwest Christian (6-3) at 3 p.m. Sunday.

SOU's school-record 26 wins last season were made possible by a 13-2 record in games that were within two points in the final two minutes, and both Corban and NCU were involved in a couple of those fights. Corban, which returns four starters from a team that went 8-10 in the CCC, twice had SOU on the ropes with a 10-point second-half lead in Salem before SOU prevailed 69-66, and had another late lead in Ashland before SOU won 70-65 in double-overtime.

NCU – which returns four starters of its own from a 17-11 team and was No. 12 in the preseason rankings – had a five-game win streak against SOU snapped in the CCC quarterfinals when the Raiders won 98-92 in double-overtime. Of the last 10 meetings between the teams, four have gone to OT and three others were decided by four points or less in regulation.

The CCC was impressive at the 2015 NAIA tournament, going 4-0 in the first round and pushing SOU and College of Idaho into the quarterfinals. Its lack of a favorite now is due to the fact that, of those four teams at the tourney, C of I and Warner Pacific both lost four starters, Concordia left for the NCAA Div. II level and SOU lost two All-Americans. In all, 19 of the CCC's top-30 scorers last season graduated.

It's pronounced 'deh-SONE-yay': SOU's team field-goal percentage has improved slightly each of the last six seasons, and the Raiders are again on top of the CCC at the moment with a 51.4% clip. No one has had a bigger hand in that than sophomore guard Ben DeSaulnier, who enters the weekend with averages of 20.7 points and 4.7 rebounds on 59.8% from the field, 58.3% from 3 and 76.8% at the line. He's scored 20-plus points six times – at this point last year, he had a total of 35 points – and capped his latest 24-point performance with a buzzer-beating runner for the win last Friday at Menlo.

Quick Hits:
– SOU is in the top-25 for the fourth straight season. Prior to that stretch, the Raiders went six years without being ranked.
– The last time SOU played an off-campus home was 1997, when the great Ashland flood moved the Raiders temporarily to North Medford High.
– The Raiders leaned on forward Jordan West last year in CCC play, where he scored in double figures in all 18 games, averaged 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot 61%. Despite a couple quiet nights early this season, his scoring average is up to 16.2.
– Senior point guard Joel Spear shot 18-of-49 from downtown all of last season but is already 17-of-32 this season, leading to a career-best average of 11.6 points. He also leads the CCC in assists per game (6.8) with 61 total compared to just 16 turnovers. His presence has apparently calmed the entire offense: The Raiders have committed only 90 turnovers, compared to 114 at this point last season, 110 in 2013-14, 116 in 12-13, and 132 in 11-12.
– Time will tell if SOU's defense has improved, but the Raiders are holding opponents to 40.4% shooting and have allowed just one to get over 50.
– Clay Sierra, a former SOU football player, has been a welcome addition to the lineup with 9.7 points and team-bests of 1.2 blocks, 6.0 rebounds and a 62% mark from the field.

About Corban: The Warriors had a strong non-league showing with wins over No. 25 Cal Maritime, Montana Western, Simpson and Willamette. Picked sixth in the CCC preseason poll with one first-place vote, they lost just one rotation player… They have the second-highest team field-goal percentage in the CCC (49.1) but are giving up 47.7%. Senior Cyrus Ward is one of the top posts in the conference at 17.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and sophomore guard AJ Monterossi has upped his scoring to 16.3 points. Seven different players average more than seven… SOU trails the all-time series, 41-39, but has won six straight overall and nine straight at home against the Warriors.

About Northwest Christian: With perhaps the most proven returning core in the CCC, the Beacons were picked second in the preseason poll one year removed from their first NAIA tournament appearance… To put it lightly, senior guard Javonte Byrd has torched the Raiders with averages 21.2 points on 21-of-35 3-point shooting in six career games, and Austin Kuemper, a transfer from University of Oregon, has averaged 17.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in the same stretch against SOU. Byrd comes in posting 15.6 points per game this season to lead six Beacons averaging double figures… SOU leads the all-time series, 26-21, but hasn't defeated the Beacons during the regular season in two years.