Matador Madness 2014

  • Crowd goes wild.

    The crowd was at a feverish pitch throughout Matador Madness 2014. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • The crowd before entering.

    A brief look at the crowd before doors opened to Matador Madness 2014. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • The Blacktop at The Matadome.

    This was the first public event for the new Blacktop at The Matadome. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • CSUN women with championship trophy.

    The CSUN women's basketball team brought its 2013-14 Big West championship trophy to The Matadome. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Basketball team holds surfboard.

    The CSUN men's basketball team showed off a surfboard courtesy of the Maui Invitational. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Taking a selfie

    Senior Cinnamon Lister and Power 106's Yesi Ortiz take a selfie during introductions. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Basketball teams in group shot.

    The CSUN men's and women's basketball teams together for a group photo. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Stephen Maxwell for the dunk.

    Stephen Maxwell went up for a dunk during a scrimmage. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • CSUN cheerleaders.

    The CSUN cheerleading squad performed on the new Blacktop. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Coach Flowers at the mic.

    CSUN women's basketball coach Jason Flowers talked about the great season past and the big expectations ahead. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Banners for CSUN women.

    The banners for the 2014 Big West title and NCAA Tournament appearance were unveiled for the CSUN women's team. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Maxwell arms raised.

    Stephen Maxwell urged on the crowd before tossing T-shirts to the fans. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Coach Theus at the mic.

    CSUN men's basketball coach Reggie Theus revved up the crowd. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

  • Jerron Wilbut took a three-pointer during the Matadors' scrimmage. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

The anticipation for the 2014-15 CSUN men’s and women’s basketball teams has been high since the end of their respective seasons back in March. With the women’s team winning the Big West Conference and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, and the men going to the conference tournament’s final seconds before coming up short of playing in March Madness, CSUN fans are hoping for even bigger things in the coming season.

So when given the first chance to see the new editions of these teams at Matador Madness on Oct. 3, students and alumni packed The Matadome was packed with students and alumni. The energy was great, with Power 106 personality Yesi Ortiz as the host and DJ Malski pumping up the volume on the music. With player introductions, words of encouragement from coaches Reggie Theus and Jason Flowers and an impromptu scrimmage from the men’s team on the new Blacktop, the night was a high-octane preview of things to come. Here are photos from the evening.

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