LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Both Biola Men's Basketball and Biola Women's Basketball got off to fantastic starts to the 2016-17 season, but the true season is just beginning for both teams this Tuesday evening as they get back to Golden State Athletic Conference play with a massive home doubleheader against The Master's University.

The women's game comes first as the 10-3 Eagles host the 9-3 and No. 16 Mustangs at 5:30 p.m. The Mustangs have played two GSAC contests already this season and suffered a home loss to Westmont and road loss to Arizona Christian. This will be just the second conference matchup for the Eagles, who are 1-0 following a Dec. 10 win over William Jessup.

Biola is coming off its best defensive showing of the year so far with its 64-38 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns this past Thursday. The Eagles held the visiting Horns to nine points or less in three separate quarters in the win and stole the ball 25 times in the win. Forward Khadidja Diakite led the team in interceptions with eight.

Smart defense is going to be a necessity again tonight against a very skilled Master's University team that averages 78.4 points in its victories. The Mustangs have three players who average 11 points or more per game and have a forward in Bianca Cubello who has posted five double-doubles on the year. Cubello came into the season with All-GSAC and NAIA All-American recognitions and had 12 points and 17 rebounds in The Mustangs' most recent game.

The way this game goes may be determined by the way the Mustangs resist Biola's attempts to force turnovers. The Mustangs had at least 12 turnovers in each of their three losses this year and lost the ball 21 times in the 78-68 overtime loss to Arizona Christian on Dec. 10. These teams share a 3-0 record this year against their three common opponents. But The Master's has had the advantage in recent head-to-head matchups with a 5-0 record against Biola in the last two years.

The men's game will follow about half an hour after the women's tilt and has a scheduled start time of 7:30 p.m. This is the first meeting between these two sides since the Eagles hosted the Mustangs on Feb. 9 of last year. The Eagles and Mustangs both come into tonight's game with one loss on the season, and it just happens that both teams' lone loss came in their first GSAC game of the year. The No. 1 Eagles are eager for a chance to put their first W in the conference table tonight, while TMU had a chance to pickup a conference win when they played at Arizona Christian just three days after their double-overtime loss to No. 9 Westmont.

The Master's has won four in a row since its loss against No. 9 Westmont, including a road victory over No. 25 Arizona Christian and Biola has won three straight since its upset against Jessup. The Eagles have outscored their last three opponents by an average of 33 points-per-game and seemed to be at the absolute top of their game in last week's 88-56 win over Fraser Valley. The Mustangs have an average win margin of 18 points in its current four-game winning streak. That number would be a lot smaller if not for a 123-70 blowout win over La Sierra in Riverside just before Christmas break. Biola also has a win over La Sierra this season, beating the Golden Eagles at home 85-53 in the team's season-opener.

The key to the Mustangs' success so far this season has been its offense. TMU is averaging over 93 points-per-game, which ranks them inside of the top-10 of all programs in the NAIA Division I. This Master's team knows how to spread the ball around too, with six different players all scoring double-digit points-per-game through the first half of the year. Dynamic guard duo Lawrence Russell (#2) and Reid Shackelford (#4) lead the attack with 17.3 and 16.9 points-per-game, respectively. Russell is a serious GSAC Player of the Year contender as he is almost averaging a double-double (9.0 rebounds-per-game) and also leads his team in assists.

Biola is 73-22 all-time against the Mustangs and has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including both of last year's matchups. If the Eagles can play their traditional hard-nosed defense and force TMU to miss shots and lower its .503 season shooting percentage than BU should be able to establish the pace of play and really take over the game.

Biola students, staff, faculty and alumni receive free admission to both contests this evening. All fans are invited to join us by watching the games online if you cannot make it out to Chase Gym.