UCSB will be hoping to rebound Saturday after being upset at home by UCSD. — Toke69

I don't think the UCSD win was an upset. The Tritons are a really good basketball team and they showed it by beating the Gauchos in their house. I think they are just as good as if not a smidgen better than Santa Barbara. I'd rank the top 3 teams in the BW currently as #1 Irvine, #2 San Diego and #3 Santa Barbara.

I think they were pretty upset about losing at home :). Seriously, though, the Gauchos were favored by 2.5.

I think I will, regrettably, missing this one. I’m heading up around 9:30 this morning for football….not sure I can convince my wife to stick around to around 7:00 for basketball.

If they can figure out how to get a victory today, that would be quite an upset, even though Gauchos are only 2.5 favorites

The point spread I noted was for UCSB's loss to UCSD. Today they're favored over the Ags by 3.5.

If you attend the football game, where does it say you get in this basketball game for free? I presume it's general admission?

Yes. General admission. Join us!!

The bloody volume for the “music” is overwhelming my noise cancelling phones. This sucks. They drive us out of the football stadium and now it’s worse here. And no band, of course.

Ags open hot! Maybe they're drawing some energy from the football team.

Tied at 28 at the half.

Dusty Baker in the house.

Neither team shooting very well so far.

are you joking?

Rocak rocks!

ESPN+ showed Dusty Baker sitting under the Aggie basket.

Congratulations to Coach Les on his 200th win at UC Davis! Ags played well today in all areas. Hope it carries over into the rest of league play. Great day for Aggie sports' fans.

No.

Ags played well, big win. They play solid defense.

On another communications front, the massive video board in the Pavilion malfunctioned a good chunk of the first half.

did the same on Thursday night.

Les runs a very complex offense and defense, and it usually takes months for the players to all learn the schemes and become comfortable. Last year the out of conference games were rough, then the Big West games were like a different team. Not sure we’ve seen the best yet from this team, but it’s clear they are starting to put it all together. Go Ags!

I sometimes wonder if having a complex offense and defense makes it more difficult to get people from the transfer portal.

Good point. I guess it takes a certain type of player to not go somewhere that is solely one on one or screen and rolls all day long, but rather ball movement, cutting, sharing. And you’re going to find a bunch of time on the bench if you miss your defensive assignment.

smart players like Sevilla and DeBruhl really thrive in this program. If you told me last year that Conner would be playing 33 minutes and score 11 points vs the Gauchos, I think i would have doubted you. He's grown QUICKLY into very solid contributor to this team. If we can get consistency from Daugherty and Chappell, we might be finishing higher than I had thought.

Have to be encouraged by having only 11 turnovers last night.

no doubt. I see a lot of quotes from players saying that the reason they came to Davis, and/or stayed here, is because Les knows what it takes to play in the NBA and they want learn from him. As for Sevilla, he’s starting to remind me of Stephan Gonzalez. Gonzo had a little more size, and developed a better interior game (not just a spot up shooter), and was a higher recruit, going to St Mary’s before transferring, but Connor’s game has taken huge steps in such a short amount of time. It’ll be really interesting to see how his game continues to develop.

No surprise that guys who play for UC Davis are pretty smart!

I didn't like Joe Pasternack walking onto the court during the game.

"Siddown Coach!" was the Band-uh! cheer for coaches like that.

It's nothing new; he does it all the time. I've seen him 4 feet inside the court and less than 10 feet away from the action before. He'll continue to do it as long as the Big West officials continue to allow it. Some Big West fans joke about him being the 6th player on the floor for the Gauchos.

I watched Sevilla play several times in high school and really liked his game, but questioned his ability to play at this level due to size/strength. Apparently, my expertise as a basketball talent evaluator is not, thankfully, at the same level as Les! Over the past 6 games, where he's been playing over 30 minutes, he's averaging around 14 points. Over that span, he's had 6 turnovers, 4 against Cal Poly. He has really become a big contributor for us. Not just from beyond the arc, but as a passer - he just seems to make the right pass to keep the offense flowing. I am very impressed at the improvement in his all around game and the increase in his strength. He's now able to contribute on both ends for the bulk of the game. Its similar to Leo's growth. As freshmen, both kind of scared me when they were out there (and coaches seemed to attack them on both ends); now, they are scoring big baskets, and playing solid basketball.

Spot on, Mike. Les has a keen eye for underrated, potential talent and, when he gets those players, they usually grow into solid contributors. Sevilla, Tamba and DeBruhl are prime examples on this year's team. Look at Rocak also. Santa Barbara couldn't find a way to use him but Les saw an elite defender and even has him shooting some 3's now. Of course, we have a history of having some of the top guards ever to play in the Big West too and none of them were heavily recruited before they came here yet they grew into elite players. Sometimes I get frustrated and wonder what the heck Les was thinking but I think I just need to shut up...Les is a damn good evaluator of talent and he's an excellent head coach.