In what will be the final regular season game for four starting seniors, this game will be a must to watch as it will be on ESPN2 (note the new starting time). The Tritons bring one of the strongest teams in recent Big West memory and will be looking to shine on national television to get a high seed in the NCAAs. And even if they don’t win the Big West tournament, they’ll be there, bringing with them a 12 game winning streak.
It has to be said that it has been a disappointing season for UC Davis men’s basketball given the experience those seniors brought. It’s a bit of a mystery why they did not do better, but it would seem that the main problem was the lack of any offensive punch aside from TY Johnson. Nothing illustrated this better than the final two games in which TY scored a combined 50 points but had almost no support and pressed himself into five straight missed shots at the end of the game trying to bring the team back.
I think the big difference between this year and last was no Pepper. Tough to guard both Pepper and TY when they were both on the floor. Unfortunately, we’re looking at 6 losses in a row.
and lack of depth. We had Leo coming off the bench. Now we need 30 plus minutes. No backup for Rocek. Nobody close to Adebayo as a defender/rebounder.
I think we were counting on Roberson to fill much of Eli’s scoring. We got none. I think we were counting on Borra to be a solid backup. Nothing there. We were desperate for scoring so Sevilla was elevated and was playing BIG minutes. To my eye, both he and Leo look physically worn down. I thought I heard commentators in the Oregon State game mention that he has to deal with knee soreness. Averaging 30 plus minutes against bigger guys can’t be helping that.
We need a BIG influx of experienced players and hope Roberson will be healthy next year.
Thank you for the info! I do remember him playing for a few minutes in a game. Agreed that hopefully he comes back healthier.
I did have a question if you happen to have some insight. Do freshman ever play? I saw Jacob Gilchrist on the roster and I recognize him on the bench, but I don’t see that he’s played any minutes. Thank you!
It's unfortunate that Roberson only played that briefest of times, because according to the crazy NCAA rules, he can't redshirt. The only freshman to get any amount of playing time this year was 6'9" Isaiah Chappel who got hurt but looked pretty good. He should be a factor next season.
Wow, I didn’t realize it was so strict! I wonder why he played then… On his profile on the Davis roster, it still says he’s a Redshirt Junior. It’s only when you click one of the tabs (Historical, Career) that it says he played a few minutes.
It looks like the Athletics Department has done a good job of promoting this game. I think that we just may have the largest crowd of the season which is a good thing. However, we may also get run out of the building considering the the polar opposite directions that these two teams are currently heading and that would not be a good thing especially if it happens in front of a big crowd on national TV.
The Ags have lost 5 straight and we were completely outmatched in the blowout loss to Irvine on Thursday. Irvine was on fire and our defense did little to slow them down. The Eaters were simply a superior team.
We were never in that game from the start and the team looked absolutely demoralized. Les exited the floor quickly after the game and did not come out for the post-game, radio interview either. We've seen him do that before when he is very disappointed with the team.
Maybe the fact that this is the final game for our seniors combined with it being played in front of a big crowd on national TV, will be motivational enough for the Ags to make a competitive game out of tonight's contest. Fingers crossed...
I think you've got it right in your last paragraph. The team knows how good UCSD is and won't want to embarrass themselves on national television and in front of a large crowd of their fellow students on senior night. They might not win, but I would be surprised to see them fold like they did against UCI. Go Ags!
I don’t like the word ‘fold’. I think they were physically outmatched AND Irvine couldn’t miss. I didn’t see any quit (although based on how Les bolted off the court and kept them in the locker room for so long, he might disagree). They just look worn down. The combo of the bad UCSD loss followed by losing 2 winnable games at home has zapped their confidence. Lack of depth has caught up with them too.
Make it a game into the second half. We were shellshocked and basically out of it 8 minutes in on Thursday. Can’t remember Les using 2 TO’s instead of waiting on media timeouts.
I was mostly agreeing with Bob Williams assessment of the teams performance in the first half when he noted the lack of energy and the body language that suggested the team was demoralized. Still, I agree with you that the guys did not fold in the sense that they gave up in the second half.
Irvine’s entire team was up for that game. The guys on the bench were cheering and boisterous when there guys made bucket after bucket. But i just didn’t expect them to shoot 70%, or close to it, in the second half. We need at least one more hot hand tonight if we’re going to make it close.
2 little league games in the books, one more followed by the (hopefully) 90 minute drive up. Dollars to donuts the tip off is delayed for TV. Gonna be a long day
Hopefully there’ll be a parking spot in the team aggie parking area for you. I’d save a spot for you if i could. We’re planning on getting there early just in case.
I’m hoping we play hard and don’t give up. It will 100% be a tough game and knowing that this game will be televised, it won’t just be Davis playing extra hard.
Cal Poly just beat LBSU tonight (Devin Askew decided to sit out during the second half). Keeping my eye out on the Hawaii v CSUN game…
45 minutes to tip off and the students are arriving. Hope they keep coming. The upper sections are pulled out and the seats on the floor at the south end are marked reserved.
A group of about 30 guys, maybe a frat, just came in and are sitting behind the south basket and are wildly cheering every Aggie dunk and our players really put on a show. It’s so good to see them having fun!