Aggie fans will say goodbye tonight to 3 seniors when they host Hawai'i at 7 pm in the Pavilion. Chima Moneke, Michael Onybalu and Arell Hennings will be honored before the start of the game in a pre-game ceremony. Typically the players are escorted onto the court by their family members while the PA announcer reads a bio about them and their accomplishments during their years in an Aggie uniform. Sadly, Chima, who hasn't seen his parents in nearly a decade, will be in street clothes with his family as his suspension continues.
The Ags have two games remaining: Hawai'i tonight and then at Irvine on Saturday and both of these games are huge. In order to have at least a chance for a piece of the Big West title the Aggies must win out. These games also have enormous implications for how the Ags get seeded in the brutal 3 day Big West Tournament next week.
The first game at Hawai'i was hotly contested with the Warriors finally winning 77-72. These two teams have established a good rivalry in the past few years and Hawai'i seems to always play the Aggies tough and the games often get a bit chippy. I would imagine that tonight's contest will be no different especially considering all that is a stake for both teams.
There are a lot of promotions happening tonight also:
- Bright Out: First arriving fans will receive a free t-shirt, courtesy of West Village
- Military Appreciation Night: Current, and former members of the military can purchase tickets for $8
- Fan Appreciation Night: Purchase a hot dog, soft drink and chips for $5 before tipoff
The Aggies can control their own destiny in the race for the conference title and it starts tonight. This game will be intense from the start to finish. Bring your family and friends out to support this highly deserving team as they continue to fight for the Big West Championship despite all the adversity of late.
Hawaii has a 9-5 series advantage over UCD and that includes being 3-3 at Davis. The Honolulu paper stated that the team was preparing two game plans, one including Chima, just in case. In the lead of that article, it mentioned that the Hawaii players considered Chima to be their MVP in the game out here because of his 9 turnovers. I hope that's a good locker room bulletin board post for the Ags on Senior night. A real shame for Chima, too.
Hawai'i will be tough despite their 7-7 record, 3-3 on the road. This team is hard to figure. They beat Irvine at Irvine then lost to them here. An X-factor for you folks to watch for is Zigmars Raimo, a very tough Latvian power forward whose game has developed well lately. He is a rugged board man who can score inside. I doubt he will start but he has been logging more minutes recently and could come off the bench early. Also watch for Brocke Stepteau, their regular point guard who missed the game against the Aggies in Honolulu. He's not as quick as TJ and is not as clever in going to the hoop, but he can defend and contributes on offense. Look for him to be part of a 3-guard starting lineup. I hope Jack Purchase will be as cold in Davis as he was against the Anteaters.
I’ll start a ‘Chima, Chima’ chant if he’s not! In my college days KDVS played a song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’. Catchy Ska song. Substitute Chima Moneke and it works. I was singing it last night for my wife (her favorite player). Google it
Lol- that works Dr Mike, Freeee-eeeee Chi-ma Mo-neke.
Regarding the suspension, I like to think Chima went full Led Zeppelin style trying to get pumped up for the game- thrashed a hotel room and threw a TV into the pool.
Chima was on the bench. He was always the first one up to congratulate anyone coming out. If you didn’t know better you’d think he was just another red shirt
I'll wait for gauchodan's seeding scenarios, but it still looks like dropping to a #4 seed is still a real possibility if we lose to Irvine. It looks like beating Irvine clinches first seed.
Deishuan Booker's layup with no time remaining to beat UCSB 70-69 is just what the doctor ordered. So now we play at Irvine for all the marbles...the winner takes the crown. This is the same scenario as last year and the Anteaters trounced us by 30. Time for some payback!!
By the way, that was the 1000th win in LBSU basketball history...good for them.
If UCSB, CSUF and UCI all win how would that work? Would the Ags be in 4th place because they have the worst record against the other two? That would be bad because we would most likely play Long Beach, a much better team than any of the lowest 3. If that is the case, we must beat Irvine because I do not see either Fullerton nor the Gauchos losing on Saturday. Of course, this is the wacky Big West.