Around the Big West

Idaho and Utah State will join the Western Athletic Conference next season and their timing appears to be perfect. The WAC is expected to join ESPN’s Big Monday lineup next season. … Pacific (14-2, 9-0) visits second-place Cal State Northridge (9-8, 7-2) tonight. Pacific knocked off the Matadors in the Big West Tournament title game last year. … Pacific, which received 19 votes in the AP poll, has won 10 straight and carries a 22-game conference winning streak. “I definitely think they’re the best team in the league,” UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams told the Stockton Record after losing to the Tigers last week. “I’ll be amazed if they go through this league unscathed.” … Big West road teams are 10-28, with Pacific earning four of those wins. … UC Irvine made a season-high 62.5 percent of its shots in a win over UC Davis on Monday. … Cal Poly’s losing streak is at seven, in part because the Mustangs haven’t outscored an opponent in the second half in 10 consecutive games. … Utah State’s Spencer Nelson is one of four players in school history to have 1,000 career points, 650 rebounds and 200 assists.