As hard as it was to see the Aggies get blown out by Pepperdine, it's not much fun seeing them outscore an overmatched team at a 3:1 ratio. But I'll take it. If UCD keeps scoring 3 points a minute they'll wind up with over 120. The school record is 123.

Jac Mani in the game. He shoots! He scores!

After their mauling in Malibu, I don't think the Ags will be overconfident in this one as they were a few years back.

I wonder why the odd starting time. I like it because out here in Hawai`i it's mid-afternoon, but in California it runs into dinner time for some, no? ESPN gives the Ags a 99% chance of winning. Seems low.

Game of Dec. 25

Hawai`i (home, 8-4/0-1) 73, Oakland (4-9) 70, OT

Games of Dec. 23:

North Dakota State (11-4) 94, CSU Bakersfield (away, 6-8/0-2) ,60
Nebraska (9-2) 69, Hawai`i (home, 7-4/0-1) 55

Technically, Hawai`i is playing in a tournament so this is a neutral site, but not really.

Games of Dec. 22:

Missouri State (7-5) 68, UC Santa Barbara (away, 7-5/0-2) 56
Wyoming (7-5) 73, CSU Fullerton (home, 4-9/0-2) 69
Long Beach State (home, 6-8/2-0) 83, La Sierra (0-15) 57
Hawai`i (home, 7-3/0-1) 78, Charlotte (6-5) 61

Just a comment about my earlier point: I see that Steph Curry went off for 31 points on 10 for 21 shooting after his dismal performance against the Grizzlies. It never ceases to amaze me how anyone can be so cold in one game then so hot in another, even though I've been there and done exactly that many times. Wish I had found the magic formula to stay hot, as I'm sure most ballplayers do.

Late games of Dec. 21:

Omaha (5-9) 86, Cal Poly (away, 6-8/0-2) 82
UC San Diego (away, 11-2/2-0) 77, San Diego (3-9) 71
Portland State (7-5) 59, CSU Bakersfield (home, 6-7/0-2) 58

So, every higher seed won every game after the first round?

Well, the sad truth is that most teams have games like this. Note the Warriors recent loss to Memphis by 51 in which Steph Curry was 0-7 from the field. This is not to say that the team can just shrug it off. Coach Les' comments already indicate that he is going to give his guys the old chewing out over their sloppiness and lackadaisical play what with Big West play to arrive shortly. I think the Ags will be ready.

Early games of Dec. 21:

Duquesne (4-8) 70, UC Irvine (away, 10-2/1-0) 54
UNLV (6-5) 66, UC Riverside (away, 8-5/2-0) 53
CSUN (home, 8-4/1-1) 81, Chicago State (0-14) 57

It's gone from bad to ugly. I'm out.

65-33 and I'm tempted to just stop watching. Ags just had one of those days when the shots just weren't falling and the other team was having what might have been their best game this season, given that the Waves were 0-4 against the Big West before today.

Rocak is the leading scorer with 5 points on 2 for 3 shooting. Meanwhile, TY is 1 of 7 and Sevilla is 2 of 7.

Ags have had a tendency to start slow then rally and Pepperdine will likely cool off on offense, but being down 43-19 will require a historical comeback by UC Davis. I hope Coach Les can figure something out, but I think this is going to down as an L.

Ags should have gone to a zone and not a matchup zone. Waves are getting a lot of mismatches. Their height advantage also shows on their defense. Pepperdine players on full scholarship are saving $77,000 in tuition! No wonder they're playing well.

Ags off to a rough start, especially Leo who has 3 turnovers and a foul in the first four minutes.

Out of curiosity, I googled Russell Turner and found he's been at UCI since 2010. He had a rough start but turned it around in the 2012-13 season going 21-16 and a spot in the CIT. I was surprised, though, to see that he's only taken the Anteaters to two NCAA tournaments in 2015 and 2019, despite 8 20+ win seasons. It shows how competitive the Big West has been.

Games of Dec. 19:

UC Irvine (away, 10-1/2-0) 92, Belmont (9-3) 80
Long Beach State (away, 5-8/2-0) 79, Pepperdine (5-8) 76

Anteaters roll all the way in Nashville.