By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Here's a look at the week ahead (Jan. 6-12) for the Bridgewater State University athletics teams:
MONDAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, Wesleyan University, 7:00 PM: The nationally ranked Cardinals (13-0) visit the Tinsley Center for BSU's next-to-last non-conference game of the season.
Wesleyan is ranked No. 16 in the country. After going 13-12 last season, the Cardinals have already matched that win total.
The Bears lost to Wesleyan, 98-65, a year ago. The Cardinals have won all six road games this season.
BSU (5-6) is playing at home for the first time since a Dec. 7 loss to UMass Dartmouth.
WEDNESDAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, Salem State, 5:30 PM: The Bears open the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference scheduled by hosting the Vikings.
BSU swept the season series a year ago with a 96-82 road win and a 90-69 victory at home.
Salem State is off to a 3-10 start, 1-6 on the road, and has dropped three straight games.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, Salem State, 7:30 PM: The Vikings (6-7) visit the Tinsley Center to begin the MASCAC schedule.
The Bears won twice against Salem State in the 2023-24 season by scores of 77-69 and 100-70 on Alumni Day.
The Vikings enter the MASCAC season with a two-game winning streak, defeating Lasell and Thomas by double digits last week. BSU (7-5) will be looking to end a four-game losing streak and give Coach Bridgett Casey her 400th career victory.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD, at the Bryant Indoor Throws Competition: The Bears will take part in a competition hosted by Division I Bryant in Smithfield, R.I.
SATURDAY
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD, at the Suffolk Invitational, 10:00 AM: The Bears travel to Boston for their first meet since Dec. 14 and the third of the season.
BSU took part in the Early Bird Invitational and the Mini-Meet, both in Boston, last month.
WRESTLING, Tri-meet at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Noon and 2:00 PM: The Bears, idle since the Dec. 14 Scott Viera Open in Rhode Island, return to action with a pair of meets.
BSU will go against Wesleyan University in the opener and then face host WPI.
The Bears were swept by those two teams in a tri-meet a year ago.
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at Framingham State, Noon: The Bears play their third game of the week and fourth in eight days.
BSU defeated the Rams, 109-86 and 90-60, last season. Framingham State is 6-7 with four straight losses this season.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, at Framingham State, 2:00 PM: A rematch of last season's MASCAC championship game takes place.
The Rams won their third title in four seasons last year, defeating BSU, 74-62, in the final at Framingham.
The teams split the regular-season series, BSU winning at home, 54-47, and losing on the road, 59-58.
Framingham State is 7-5 and had a three-game winning streak stopped by Saint Joseph's of Maine on Saturday.