BlueGold: Your sentiments reflect mine exactly.

As did eastcoast, I watched the game anyway. I think it was an odd loss. Coach LEss had told the TV guys that is the score was in the 50s, the Ags would win. I'm sure that was predicated on the way the Titans are able to hit their 3s. Allman and Ahmad are prolific scorers and the latter hit something like 56 points in their two victories over UCD earlier. If you had told me that they would be held to only 18 points between them, I would have said "Aggies win!" But no. Up by 12, I am totally confused as to why they list their mojo from about 12 minutes to go in the second half. They held the ball too long and had to rush shots and I think that put their offense totally out of rhythm. Too, they relied way too much on perimeter shooting throughout the game. TJ Shorts was not as aggressive as he usually is and, of course, they missed free throws at the end. No one thing cost them the game but the compounding of those factors. ucdavisaggie05 sent a link to the NIT and it does predict Stanford to be in it. I suppose the Ags could still draw Arizona State, but the NIT likes to match teams in the same region, so Stanford is still my prediction and hope. The Cardinal could well do what Cal did last year (losing to CSU Bakersfield) and feel so deflated by missing the NCAA that they don't show up. Ags win!

So I start to watch the delayed broadcast of the game tonight and what do I see? The end of the UCI-UCSB game in which they show that UCI will play CSU Fullerton tomorrow! What are they thinking at ESPN? SO I wAs doubly disappointed in finding out the score and knowing the Aggies lost the game. I'll probably watch it, but have nothing to add to this site except my guess that the NIT will have UC Davis matched against Stanford, who is not likely to make the NCAA. I agree with Zander, not a disappointing season given the loss of four (and with Chima, five) starters from last season. We have reason to have high hopes for next year. Go Ags!

Zander, Thanks. I can watch the game on ESPNU out here at 9:00 Hawaii time.

Looks like Fullerton. Kyle Allman is one scary scorer. Ags defense needs to be really solid on him.

I had to watch the game on my DVR due to having a commitment in the morning (game was on at 10 out here), but wow, what a nail biter at the end. Noticed that the Ags were hitting only 2/3 on their foul shots, but they really got clutch at the end when they had to stave off the Highlanders 3 point hotness. Does anyone know what station will be showing the semifinal (against Cal Poly, I hope) tomorrow? I did not see it on ESPNU through my service.

The Hawaii paper today noted that the University of Hawaii team has beaten every team in the Big West this season, which is oddly true. They also lost to every team oddly, half on the road and half at home. The column pointed out that Hawaii has as good a chance as any team to take the tournament. What it pertinent to this chat group is that only two regular season champs have ever won the tournament title. Given that this season the crown is up for grabs--an assessment which has more veracity than in most years--I think no team can match the Aggies for their spirit, team-work and the most important factor in the post-season: a very good point guard. They first need to get by UCR which might be their toughest match-up.

TJ's skills and confidence have developed significantly this season. When I first saw him play at the Pavilion in November, my friend and I noted his speed and ability to score off the drive. At the same time, his defense was just okay and he had trouble passing the ball out when he got to the basket. Since then not only has his defense improved but so has his ability to spot the open man when he drives and kick it out or in for the open shot when he gets double-teamed. He's also developed an uncanny knack for rebounds for a guy his height and weight. He got 7(!) rebounds against the UCI, the best rebounding team in the country. I think some of all this is attributable to his having to step up after Chima's suspension, but a lot of it has to be credited to Coach Les.

I took the original question to mean improving the program on the court, so I have not added any comments. The best thing for that is to keep Jim Les. Since his first season in which UC Davis went 5-26 to now, he has had better and better teams, with three 20+ win seasons in the past 4 years, two Coach of the year awards and 3 post-season national appearances including our first ever NCAA tourney victory. This season...well, I don't think I need to preach to the choir. As for getting other areas improved, I think quadshock has some great ideas. Is the AD reading this?

Thanks for the info on Jackson. I agree that depth is nice to have, but mostly in the event of injuries or other problems. In my experience, though, what really matters is effective depth, meaning that you have to have 8-10 players with enough ability and game minutes to create a good bench. So UC Davis had at least 10 prior to Moneke going out. Two factors weigh against the Aggies in this respect: first, they play a very tight defense and that requires a lot of stamina. Second when games go into overtime or you have to play in 3 consecutive games, i.e., the tournament final, depth can be a factor. It is worth noting, on the other hand, that whomever they face in the final (assuming they get there) will also have played two previous games and the schedule favors the Aggies, e.g. if they beat Riverside, their game ends around 2 p.m., but their next opponent will have played until about 10:30 that same night. As for overtimes, it seems that the Ags have a knack for keeping it together in their 3 OTs (without Chima) this season. I'm trying to be optimistic.

Just for memory sake, because everything is different now: Bob Hamilton used to schedule not only teams like Santa Clara (when they were very strong), but would take the team on a 3-game road trip to the east. If my memory serves, they played teams like Ohio State, Minnesota and Memphis. I knew a few players on those teams and they told me that Coach Hamilton's philosophy was that if you play the best teams you learn a lot more, even if you get smacked by them.

Interesting story. Back in 1968, when Santa Clara was a rival for western dominance with UCLA, Sports Illustrated ran a story about Santa Clara noting that they had "swatted a few mosquitoes" like UC Davis. A friend of mine, Dave Crawford, wrote in umbrage to SI and his letter got printed! He wrote about the Aggies then dominance of the Far Western Conference. He showed that issue to everyone he knew.

I have not seen Delveion Jackson play this season so all I know about him is from his bio and stats. Sounds like he was a pretty good high school player, but he does not seem to have done much this season. Can I ask one of you to fill me on why this group is so focused on him? Does he pass the "eye test?"

Not to try to "one-up"BlueGoldAg" but I've been watching Aggie basketball for over 50 years now and their teams have given me more excitement than any team in any sport I have ever followed (this includes the 49ers). There have been some very solid teams, coached by some excellent men from Bob Hamilton to Jim Les, but this team is the best for their ability to reach down for that something extra when the game is on the line and the situation seems hopeless to pull it out. They certainly did that last night in the first overtime. While giving TJ Shorts all the credit that is due to a phenomenal performance (drawing fouls, grabbing rebounds, two great steals, and his shooting) this was a total team effort. Goode and Schneider stepped up in the first half, and when Irvine tried to shut them down, TJ and AJ took over. Mooney, Russell, Onyebalu, Printup, they all did their part, Coach Les making good use of his bench to keep them as fresh as a double OT can allow. This is a team for the ages, even better to watch than the 1998 team, no matter what happens next.

Heart and grit!!!!!

UCSB is up by 24 on Cal Poly with 5 minutes left, so the Ags win or settle for 3rd seed.

UCI up 35-32 at the half, but it's been a dogfight.

Hawaii just beat Fullerton 68-60.

According to ESPN, the Ags have a 29.6% chance of winning the game tonight and, of course, the chances of getting the #1 seed a certain berth in the NIT if they do not win the Big West Tournament. I am not sure how ESPN gets these probabilities, but assuming they are even remotely accurate, I figure that if they lose, their chances of getting the #2 seed are 1%, the #3 seed 18% and the #4 seed 48.6%. These percentages are based on gauchodan's analysis of what CSUF and UCSB need to do, plus a multiplication of ESPN's probabilities of their doing it.

The Aggies are 5-11 against the Anteaters in Irvine, but only 2-8 since joining the Big West.

Probabilities and history, however, do not tell the story. BlueGoldAg paints a scary, but accurate picture of UCI's prowess, but in games like this, it often comes down to heart and grit and I have never seen a team with more of both than this year's team, especially after Chima was suspended. I agree that this will be a war with both teams playing well lately. I hope the officiating is not a factor.

Drammeh was the guy who hit Chima in the face with the ball out here in Hawaii. He's basically a poor sport.

Zander, Yes, that was my analysis, but thanks for sending me the link to gauchodon's breakdown. That was a very thorough explanation of every team's scenarios and he did it more than once last night. He's really on it. Bottom line is what bluegoldag wrote: UC Davis controls its own destiny and that's the best way to go. Glad my fellow fans had a better time of it against Hawaii than I did out here in Honolulu, but honestly, the Warriors are a mystery. Good team then bad team. Who knows which team will show up at Fullerton? Hope the good ones arrive to beat the Titans.