The Aggies will be looking for their 8th straight win when they play the Gauchos today at 2 pm in the Thunderdome. Santa Barbara is the most improved team in the Big West this year and would be assured of at least a tie for first place with a win over the Aggies. Meanwhile, the Aggies have shown a lot of maturity in their last 2 games by finding ways to win even when they are not playing their best ball. A win today by the Ags would keep them in first place by at least 1/2 game over Long Beach State who is tied with UCSB for 2nd at with a 6-2 record.

This shapes up to be a very tough road game for the Aggies. The Gauchos have been at the bottom of the conference for a few years and their new coach, Bonnie Henrickson, who is in her 2nd season at UCSB and previously was the HC at Kansas for 11years, has turned the program around and has them competing in the thick of the title race. So the Gauchos will be highly motivated to knock off the first place Aggies in front of their home fans.

The Ags will need to match their opponent's intensity and play aggressively on defense and on the boards while taking care of the basketball. Solid defense is always the key factor in placing yourself in a position to win on the road. If they are fortunate, the Aggie's offense will be firing on all cylinders too and, when that happens, the Ags are a very tough team to beat.

Live stream at 2 pm: http://www.bigwest.org/tv/

Go Ags!