It'll be interesting to see if Squire is back healthy, and if so, does he regain his starting spot. Ba has done a good job in the starting lineup, so it wouldn't surprise me if they decide to bring Squire off the bench. And do we see Adebayo or Hogland at all?

In an earlier message I mentioned that the Aggies were on a 6-game winning streak against Cal Poly and that a sweep would give them the longest winning streak against any Big West opponent ever. That was in error. I forgot that they beat the Mustangs in a tournament game back in 2017, so yesterdays victory did set that record and they should extend it today, especially since they should play better on this Saturday.

Aggies playing a lot better today, especially their shooting which is 54.5% with about 12 minutes to go in the first half.

you jinxed it! Missed 6 in a row. Both teams a bit sloppy the last few minutes

Ags take a 32-26 lead into halftime in a game that is about as ugly as it could get since the refs are whistling fouls like crazy. The team has the deepest bench will probably win this one as the fouls continue to pile up on both teams.

Seems like Saturday games have a lot of fouls. Lazy defense and a desire to keep tempers at bay?

I think that this is one of the most over-officiated games it has been my misfortune to witness.

We have several guys in foul trouble with 12 to go. I’m following via game cast cuz 3 grandkids are here. Not big bball fans at 4,4 and 6!

Ags are no longer playing better on Saturdays, which makes sense since the rust of the long layoff has worn off. They were lucky to win today and it took Cal Poly not scoring at all in OT to do it. As ugly game with a combined 44 turnovers and 55 fouls called. I did like the guys doing the broadcast, even though they were Cal Poly guys. They did a fair game and know basketball as well as anyone at any level of college ball. The Mustangs will be good next year. They have a lot of young talent.

I was following on live stats and the thread line showed ‘Davis scoreless in last 2:30’ then ‘last 3:30’ and finally ‘last 4:45’. Luckily they were scoreless in last 5:00!

44 TO's and 55 fouls = U G L Y! Although we got the win, it was not a fun game to watch. The Poly TO with 13 seconds left in regulation cost them the game. All they had to do was hang onto the ball since the Ags were trying to foul.

After watching these two Poly games I must agree that their announcers are extremely good. They know the rules, the stats, the history, the teams style of play and the intricacies of the game. And they are very fair. I love our guy, but I must say that they are at least very comparable and much fairer and more basketball know how. Our guy should try and be more like them in terms of basketball knowledge and not so much a homer guy. I must say, he is not that bad. Everyone needs improvement. IMHO

Via the Big West site, we are in 3rd winning percentage wise. Not sure how that will translate to seeding when cancelled games get mixed in. Love to see a season ending sweep of Hawaii but think split is more probable

I believe the Big West Board folks think we're mathematically alive for first and a sweep guarantees us third seed. This week's women's thread features some nice calculations by cmt, who is currently calculating an extra loss via formula to be counted for the Women so we can expect at least the same for the Men.

So men's side. If all games get played, the average would be 14.5 games. We max out at 10. So unless 4 games get cancelled that aren't ours, we'll pick up a loss on the adjusted record.

I believe the only way we could get first is if four games get cancelled so we don't get tagged with a loss. If not enough games get cancelled, we win twice and end at 7-4 adjusted record (.636 winning percentage). UCSB would have to lose twice to go 11-5 (.686 winning percentage). If 4 games get cancelled, we'd finish at 7-3. We'd also need Irvine to lose at least one game or have their games get cancelled. That being said, UCSB plays 1-13 Cal Poly so they probably aren't even losing once, let alone twice.

As for the three seed, let's say we win twice and 3 or fewer games get cancelled. We finish 7-4. If UCR wins twice, they finish at 8-4 (.667 winning percentage). So they'd be ahead of us. If they lose once, we'd finish third. So we're not guaranteed the third seed if we win twice. If we finish tied with UCR, which would require them to play only one game and win it, they'd have the tiebreaker because they beat UCSB and we didn't.

The one caveat is the interpretation of the rules. It says:

If any team plays more than four (4) games less than the average number of games played by all Conference teams, said team will add losses to their win-loss record (losses only added until minimum threshold is met) to create an adjusted winning percentage for Conference play.

I take that to include fractions of a game. So if all games get played, the average is 14.5. We'd play 10. So the difference is 4.5 and based on the math I was taught in school, 4.5 > 4.0, so we'd tack on a loss to get the difference between average games played and our games played under 4. If they interpret that to mean you'd have to play 5 full fewer games than the average before a loss is added on, then it changes things. Then if we win twice we'd be the 3-seed since we'd be 7-3 (.700) and UCR could max out at 8-4 (.667).

Assuming I'm looking at the right Big West board (guy posting stuff is named "gauchodan"), it appears they think that the extra loss only comes if you've played 5 full games less than the average.

What’s the format? I would think 4 bottom seeds ‘play in’ to set up an 8 team tourney? I don’t recall seeing the plan.

I used to like the old format where top two seeds byed into the quarters, 3-4 got one bye. Gave the regular season more emphasis

You're right, 7vs10 and 8vs9, winners play 1 and 2 with 3vs6 and 4vs5.

Here's the complete breakdown including women's games:

https://bigwest.org/sports/2020/12/29/MBB_1229202152.aspx

thanks!