CSUN'S CARR CAN'T DO IT ALL HIMSELF.

Byline: BILLY WITZ

Markus Carr led the nation in assists last season, but he's trying to earn his biggest one this season: pulling the rest of the Cal State Northridge basketball team up to his level.

By just about any measure, Carr is one of the best point guards in the West. If UCLA could swing a deal for Carr, perhaps sending CSUN the rights to Evan Burns, the Bruins could book their tickets to the Final Four right now.

The past two years, Carr wisely directed Northridge to 20-win seasons, putting the ball in the hands of scorers like Brian Heinle and Jeff Parris, playing outstanding defense (he led the Big Sky in steals) and making a big shot when needed, like the 3-pointer that sank UCLA.

In his match-ups last season with UCLA and USC, Carr outplayed his much more publicized opponents, Earl Watson and Brandon Granville.

Now, in his senior season, Carr leads the Matadors in scoring, assists, steals and (with the suspension of Ryan Sims) rebounds. But it doesn't matter how well Carr plays. It won't until the five freshmen and three other newcomers catch up.

Carr, who is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, was near flawless on Saturday night (14 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one turnover in 36 minutes) and it was just enough for the visiting Matadors to squeak past 2-8 Idaho 57-56.

Carr, whose only mistake was to step on the half-court line with eight seconds left, giving Idaho a chance to win the game. But he redeemed himself by double-teaming Moe Jenkins on defense, and forcing Idaho into a desperation shot at the buzzer.

It was the first win in a month for the Matadors, who play at Brigham Young tonight, and their first win over a Division I team.

``He did just about everything on the floor for us tonight,'' CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said. ``And he had to make every one of those plays for us to win.''

Braswell and Carr had a heart-to-heart talk a day earlier, as the team waited at the Salt Lake City airport after getting thumped by Utah State in the Big West opener.

The topic was trust. From the first day of practice, Carr has watched the ball go into the post and off someone's hands. The wings might catch it, but they can't shoot it.

``I told Markus, `You're going to have to make them better,' '' Braswell said. ``They got to believe that he trusts them. I told him, `The post guys have to know that if they run the floor hard, you'll get them the ball. If the wings work to get open, you'll get them the ball.' By trusting his teammates, he's forcing them to execute.''

It was certainly evident Saturday night, when all of Carr's contributions came within the flow of the game. Nothing was forced or done with a sense of urgency.

He hit four 3-pointers, all when the ball was swung his way. He pushed the ball upcourt only when CSUN had an advantage and he threw a 40-foot pass not when Jermar Welch was ahead of the pack, but one dribble later, when he was in better position to score with it.

``It's not the losing that's been the toughest,'' Carr said of the adjustment. ``It's more my patience. I have to make more big plays this year - my role is different. For three years I had the same role, get the other guys the ball, play defense and score last. I've got to be a leader, too. But we're getting better. As long as we keep working hard, things will take care of themselves.''

--Never too late: Pepperdine assistant Jim Nielsen is a college basketball anomaly - a 51-year-old rookie coach.

In a world where the neophytes of the business are young hustlers just out of college, Nielsen, the long-time coach at Redondo High, figures he has a lot to offer, too: extensive contacts with local high school and AAU coaches, and an experienced eye in evaluating talent.

Nielsen took the plunge last spring when Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal, whom he had known since their days as South Bay prep rivals, offered him the job. Nielsen, who played at Washington State for Marv Harshman (whose assistants included Jud Heathcoate, Dale Brown and George Raveling) passed up an offer from Brown to join his staff at Louisiana State in the late '70s because of family considerations.

``I thought it was over,'' Nielsen said of his college opportunity. ``When I started, college coaches never hired assistants who weren't high school coaches first. That's where you paid your dues. It's really changed now. I'll be forever grateful to (Westphal).''

--Roaring start: A new feature at Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion is the few rows of mid-court seats that are enclosed by a chain link fence, known as The Cage (as in caged Lions).

Students, who had to interview to be chosen for seats in The Cage, had to pledge to attend every men's and women's home game, said athletic director Bill Husak, who is trying to give his team a home-court advantage.

If the Lions, who are 6-5, continue to improve under second-year coach Steve Aggers, it won't be long before The Cage becomes The Rage.

--Double dribbles: Cal welcomes Amit Tamir, a 6-foot-10 freshman from Israel, to its team. Tamir is expected to team with Solomon Hughes and Jamal Sampson, giving the Bears three talented 6-10 or taller players. ... Arizona's 105-75 loss at Oregon was the worst in Lute Olson's 19 seasons at the school. ... Oregon forward Luke Jackson scored 55 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had 10 assists in the Ducks' sweep of the Arizona schools.

TV WATCH

Stanfod vs. Michigan State at the Pete Newell Challenge

Saturday, 7:30 p.m., FSN 

For those who can't wean themselves away from football, it's alway a pleasure to put on eye black and watch the Spartans.

FAST BREAK

Numbers game

4

The number of Jesuit schools in the Top 25: Boston College, Marquette,Georgetown, Gonzaga.

27

The number of consecutive losses by Washington State to ranked teams.

13,280

The state-record number of fans who turned out in Grand Forks, N.D., to see North Dakota native Jeff Boschee and his Kansas teammates defeat Division II North Dakota.

WHO'S HOT

Oregon at McArthur Court, where the Ducks are not only 7-0 but have won by an average of 28.6 points. The only game closer than 24 points has been a 103-90 win over Arizona State.

WHO'S NOT

North Carolina, which needed the absence of Marvin O'Connor (injury) and Bill Phillips (ejection) to beat St. Joseph, is 3-5 and in danger of not making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1973-74.

WORTH THE DRIVE

UCLA vs. Georgetown at Pauley Pavilion, Saturday, 1 p.m. A new addition to the bowl lineup - The Nostalgia bowl: The team of the '60s and '70s vs. the team of the '80s.

IF THE FINAL FOUR WERE TODAY:

East: Duke ... Unbeaten but not unbeatable.

South: Kentucky ... Point guard no longer a problem

Midwest: Kansas ... Drew Gooden plenty

West: Florida ... No. 2 in coach's poll - and SEC?

UCLA vs. COLUMBIA

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m., at Pauley Pavilion.

TV/Radio: No TV; 1150-AM.

UCLA (7-2) update: The Bruins, who are ranked 15th, have won five in a row. Jason Kapono's next 3-pointer will be the school-record 198th of his career, breaking the mark set by Tracy Murray from 1990-92. Freshman point guard Cedric Bozeman, who has not participated in a full practice since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Dec. 3, was cleared Wednesday to participate in ``limited minutes'' tonight, a team spokesman said.

Columbia (7-4) update: The Lions, who haven't had a winning record since 1993, should contend for their first Ivy League title since 1968. They return five starters, along with guard Treg Duerksen, who started in 1998-99 and sat out last season with an injury. Craig Austin, a 6-foot-6 forward and the returning Ivy League Player of the Year, is averaging 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Nearly half of the Lions' shot attempts (240 of 510) are 3-pointers. Senior guard Victor Munoz, who is averaging 2.3 points off the bench, was a Harvard-Westlake teammate of ex-Stanford stars Jason and Jaron Collins.

- Billy Witz

USC vs. WASHINGTON

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m., at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

TV/Radio: No TV; 1540-AM.

USC (8-2) update: The Trojans open Pacific-10 Conference play, and it will be interesting to see if coach Henry Bibby continues to use reserve point guard Robert Hutchinson in an expanded role while decreasing the time of starter Brandon Granville. Hutchinson has averaged eight points and 25 minutes in USC's past two games. Freshman point guard Derrick Craven finally is expected to be able to play after missing the first 10 games with a stress fracture in his right leg. Senior forward Sam Clancy is shooting just 54 percent on free throws.

Washington (6-4) update: The Huskies were off to a 6-0 start before losses to Gonzaga and UCLA. Forward Doug Wrenn leads Washington, averaging 17.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Guard Curtis Allen averages 13.0 points and 4.4 assists.

- Scott Wolf

CSUN vs. BYU 

Tipoff: 6 p.m., at Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.

TV/Radio/Internet: No TV; 88.5-FM; on the Internet at www.gomatadors.com.

CSUN (2-7, 1-1): The Matadors broke a losing streak of six games with a 57-56 Big West Conference win over Idaho on Saturday. This is CSUN's third consecutive road game and seventh of its past eight. Senior guard Markus Carr lead the team with 18.8 points per game. Twelve players have started for CSUN. For the first time this season, the Matadors outrebounded an opponent - Idaho - and that was without leading rebounded Ryan Sims, who is on indefinite suspension for behavior detrimental to the team.

BYU (7-2): The Cougars upset then-No. 13 Stanford (now No. 16) at the Las Vegas Showdown on Saturday and is receiving votes in the AP poll. BYU has won its past five games and has won 25 consecutive home games. BYU presents matchup problems for CSUN as it starts two players - center Jared Jensen and forward Eric Nielsen - who are 6-foot-9. Sophomore forward Mark Bigelow averages 17.2 points per game and guard Travis Hansen averages 15.3. Matt Montague averages 7.2 assists per game.

- Jill Painter

CAPTION(S):

4 boxes

Box:

(1) FAST BREAK (see text)

(2) UCLA vs. COLUMBIA (see text)

(3) USC vs. WASHINGTON (see text)

(4) CSUN vs. BYU (see text)