UCI clutches it out. The chalk is holding across the bracket, but barely.

Ostensibly yes but we've had a loss or overtime vs every team left in the field so I'll be scared no matter who we draw

LBSU had every opportunity to do us a favor by forcing overtime but missed something like 5 layups in a row to lose by 2

That's what I have marked down on my calendar. Also I think the Friday game will be shown on ESPNU on tape delay in the nightcap.

Works for me on Fox Sports Go. I'm using Hulu Live TV as the login.

Great for Mooney to step up. Everyone will have to contribute quality minutes to win it all this weekend.

Good point about the theatrics not necessarily being a fit for every fanbase. That being said, I imagine recruits like that sort of thing.

Hi def would be nice but I'd settle for 480p if it runs smoothly with clear audio. Even better if it's supported by streaming devices.

Aggie Pack needs to be more aggressive in getting the students to make noise. We don't push the home court advantage enough. And students need to be constantly barraged with reminders to go to games -- make the Pavilion the "happening" place that night.

There are things we could do to improve the arena environment. SDSU has some very impressive theatrics before the game (lights out -> 10 minute pre tip-off dance party, giant banner draped over the student section, searchlights pointed at the bench when the team is announced). Anybody who goes to a game for the first time just gets "wow'd" by the sheer spectacle. That only happens during ESPN games for Aggie fans.

I would also really, really love to see a local TV deal to raise awareness of the program and help recruits feel like we're "big time." I know Sacramento Republic has one with the local CW station where their league-mandated live stream -- equivalent of Big West TV -- is directly aired on the network. Of course this requires a much higher quality streaming infrastructure than what UCD currently has, but it goes without saying that we need that.

TJ is probably going to be conference PoY. First team for sure.

I agree that it seems reasonable that some under-the-table deal was made so Chima had an idea of where he stood with possibly getting reinstated (or not), but I don't think it's disgraceful that the team picture didn't include him. The school has a lower threshold of required evidence for disciplinary action than the legal system, which means that they could be much closer to resolution than LAPD and be reasonably sure of the outcome already. It's also kind of hypocritical to suspend someone then still use his likeness as a promotion.

Also if Chima leaves the team or hires an agent that could mean he regains control of his image. I'm not entirely sure how the rights work in that scenario.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how Chima's role gets remembered in the annals of Aggie history. (Of course the results of the investigation will play a huge role in that.)

Can't take away from the fact that he's one of them most talented players the team ever had and was the star during 1.75 out of the 3 most exciting seasons of D1 MBB. If he's innocent people will remember him for that hopefully. And if it turns out he's guilty of something very bad then the suspension will be an example of the standard the program holds itself to in both conduct and on-court performance.

And someone on the Big West Boards even pointed to the short Aggie bench about why rest can be critical for the 1 seed.

Not looking forward to playing Riverside, Fullerton, and Irvine consecutively after the series with CSUF and how close we came to losing against the other two. Come to think of it I'm terrified about every team in the bracket.

The thing too about the Hawkins team was that we knew roughly how high its peak could be, even before the season started. (It was always a question of who was healthy) And we were so dominant in conference play that about halfway through it was pretty clear what the most likely outcome was.

This season though. . . Well, I woke up this morning and still couldn't believe it. This might have been one in a thousand considering everything that happened. So many things had to go right to set us up for this, and even then the team had to play the game of the decade to pull it off.

I wonder if the decision-makers at ESPN feel regret about not picking up an Aggie home game this year?

Ha!! I was just thinking about that the other day, if I could have any Aggie player's career I might want Michael's. He also has far and above the best W/L record during his tenure of any Aggie D1 player (something like 70-20) although unfortunately he only played in probably a third of those. It's been really fun to see him turn into a solid player this year.

Correct. No way we get an at-large bid with this record.

Having the NIT to fall back on is nice though

ESPN3 has it up on their website. You may need to log in with your cable account to see the replay, or if you don't have one you can get a trial with https://www.sling.com/ that will provide credentials to log in

Joe Pasternack (spelling?) is going to get looks for CoY because of how bad UCSB was expected to be. But Les taking a team with so many stars from last year gone to the championship is a tremendous accomplishment.

Can't see Gross and Bertsch failing to win the awards.

I can't believe it!!!

Two championships and three postseason bids in four years!