Hey Aggies,

Cant believe this will be the last game between the two schools as members of the BW, unless they meet in Henderson in March. You guys have owned the Gauchos the past couple years, I think it is 5 straight. We call it the Rocak curse for Pasternack not giving him a scholarship.

UCSB has not lost since the first meeting on Jan 8. The difference is on defense and the return of PG Miro Little. His first game back was the Davis game but he was still not 100% speed wise and got beat a lot. How hot have the Gauchos been? Piping, it is some of the best hoops I've seen them play outside of their tournament teams. They have a 15 pt win over Hawaii, a 14 pt win over UCSD on the road and in between destroyed Poly by 40. They are the hottest team in the country according to Haslam Metrics: http://x.com/haslametrics/status/2018382807299715132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018382807299715132%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

The defense has been clicking; guards doing a better job of not getting beat, much better help defense across the board, especially from the bigs who seemed clueless to start the year. By KenPom offense efficiency metrics, UCSB is head & shoulders above the rest of the conference, #80 with the second best being UCSD at 153.

One of my favorite players on the Gauchos is Zion Sensley. He came last year as one of the most highly touted recruits in school history and while he could really shoot the ball from deep, the rest of his game was pretty bad. This year he's adopted this blue-collar, lunch-pail approach and is the team's leading rebounder. He competes so hard for the boards and his defense, while not elite, is much improved. He can still light it up from deep too. True freshman Shaw is already the best on the team in getting penetration and making some pretty athletic moves in the paint. But it is Miro Little who is most key to the Gaucho success.

I am hopeful that the Gauchos finally break their losing streak to the Aggies. Les has had Pasternacks number for a long time now.

Thanks for the write up about the Gauchos. No doubt we'll be definite underdogs going into this one even though it's in Davis given the way the Gauchos have been playing of late. I wasn't aware that the Aggies had beaten SB 5 straight but we'll be hard pressed to make it 6 in a row. It seems that just about every team has an opponent that consistently gives them trouble year in and year out. Our nemesis, embarrassingly, has been Bakersfield who had beaten us 4 straight until we finally broke the streak at Bake last week.

I'll miss playing the top teams in the Big West like UCSB each year. Playing in the Mountain West will bring in some exciting new opponents for us but I hope we continue to play the best teams in the Big West like Santa Barbara, Irvine and San Diego in our pre-conference schedule.

Gauchos really seem to be playing with a ton of confidence now, while we are still not quite playing, in my opinion, up to our potential. I'm not feeling great about this matchup; hoping, Saturday goes better vs Poly (who is also playing much better over this past week). Tough set of home games for sure!

If the Aggies can only play as well as they did against Irvine, they've got a chance to win this one. A long shot, but a shot nonetheLes.

3.5 point underdogs. We had our best offensive outputs against a real team down on Santa Barbara last time - can the offense repeat, or has the Gaucho defense stepped it up to another level? I think we have to muck this one up kind of like the Irvine game to pull off what would be a HUGE win.

I'm a bit of an eternal optimist and, consequently, I generally believe that our best game is yet to come. We seem to play to the level of our competition with the exception of a couple of games this season. We've only been "blown out" a couple of times: at Oregon and, most recently, at CSUN. We lost at Colorado by double digits too but we actually led in that one with 9 minutes to go before we faded down the stretch.

We're a young team and I feel like we are still learning game by game and there are some important stats that indicate that we are trending in the right direction:

- We force 14.55 TO's per game, 40th in the nation and 2nd in the Big West
- We share the ball: 16.3 assists per game, 63rd in the nation with an assist-to-field-goal-made-ratio of
61.3% which is 23rd in the nation
- We are a very unselfish team: we have 6 players averaging 9.5 ppg or more

Like Mike said, we have to be disruptive on defense and and "muck" things up a bit and, to be able to do that, we'll need some good minutes from the bench so that we can keep up the defensive intensity. Good offense can sometimes simply be better than good defense and, when that happens, you just have to tip your hat to the opponent. However, we can't have numerous defensive breakdowns against a team playing as well as the Gauchos are playing right now; we have to make them "earn their points" in order to have a chance to win this one.

i think we need to see Cooper back in the starting lineup, Chappell also. They don't look as comfortable off the bench, where Daugherty seems to be able to bring instant offense within minutes of getting into the game. I feel like the Stokes/Daugherty lineup was for defense and rebounding, but our offense didn't seem very smooth at the beginning of the half last game.

The only reason that I can see that makes sense in not starting Cooper was that Coach Les wanted to send him a message that he needs to put more effort in his game. He seemed kind of lackadaisical recently. His only good game recently was against Riverside and we won that one by no coincidence. If he steps it up, we've got a real chance against the Gauchos.

6:00 PM: UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis — GAME OF THE NIGHT. The Gauchos (15-7, 8-3) have the 17th longest winning streak in the nation at 6 games. Santa Barbara’s last loss was to UC Davis on Jan. 8, blowing a 33-15 lead. UCSB is averaging a 15.4-point margin of victory and conceding just 64.3 points per game since that first Davis game. Aidan Mahaney (14.3 points per game) has made 13 of his last 24 three-point attempts (.542) and has made multiple 3’s in 5 straight games. The Aggies (13-9, 6-5) have just 4 home games remaining in the season, with 2 of them coming this week. UC Davis is a solid 5-7 vs. non-Quad 4 opponents but a disappointing 7-6 vs. teams outside the NET top 150. The Aggies are 2nd in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (.362) and force an average of 14.55 turnovers per game, which ranks 39th in the NCAA and 2nd in the Big West.

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I didn't realize that we were the 2nd best 3 point shooting team in the conference at 36.2%. Guess who #1 is? Yep, UCSB at 38.7%. The Gauchos also lead the conference overall in shooting at 48.1% compared to the Ags at 45.9%. Generally speaking, neither team dominates statistically on paper comparatively. This could be a nail biter with a close finish if the Ags can keep the game within reach late in the second half.

No Cooper or Chapelle in the starting lineup, but only Coach Les knows why. I know that coaches tend to reward good practices by giving the player a start?

I think the commentator has mentioned UCD kept the same lineup as the last game's lineup?

Yes

Ags playing pretty good D so far. UCSB's Mahaney has only 2 points. UCD hitting 50% from 3 Gauchos, 25%.

Ags leading at the half 40-32 thanks to hitting 6 or 11 from 3 and Gauchos very cold from the outside. I think it's partly good defense by UC Davis but Santa Barbara has missed some wide open looks. They're also not playing great defense. Look for things to change in the second half.

BlueGold nailed it when he noted that the Ags tend to play to the level of their competition and this was a great win. With Cal Poly coming in, I just hope there is no let down to their level. Wilson had a great night but it was a real team effort. Five Aggies were in double figures and six made at least one trey. The D was solid throughout although when #20 started to hit, it was worrisome. I think they took Sevilla off of him and the other players, being taller, were more effective at guarding his 3 point shot attempts. Cooper is an odd case. I almost wonder if he has mentally quit the team and waiting to enter the transfer portal. I hope not, because he began to show up late in the second half. so maybe Scott was right in thinking he has just had a lapse of confidence. Wish I could have been there and now celebrating with my friends.

For those who are old enough to remember, doesn't Coach Pasternak remind you of John McEnroe in both his temperament and appearance?

Well, that was some game to watch! Very physical. Cooper had two quick fouls that limited his usefulness for most of the first half.

In the second half what I'll call the "quick hands" line-up really made a difference - forcing turnovers, getting transition buckets, and (gasp) making free throws. The defense really harried the Gouchos after they briefly took the lead.

Definitely a good win for the Ags.

Exciting game. Fun to hang with bluengold and Dr Mike, talk some football and enjoy the bb action.

you’re right about the quick hands - they got two steals in a row leading to fast break buckets that stretch a thin lead into something more comfortable. Defense also shut down Methany over the last 10 minutes or so after he had hit 3 3’s.

Chappell was much better off the bench today; Copper’s fast 2 fouls limited him. I think Les likes Stokes out there for his physical play on defense and around the boards - keep the opponent from getting a quick start. That will be critical Saturday since Poly has been approaching the 100 point mark with regularity.

Football players in the ‘barn’ brought a lot of energy….didn’t rub off on the good size student section! Need a Darius to amp them up.

Pasternik’s antics in the first half were crazy. Yelling at his coaches, throwing clipboards and, I think, engaging with gestures at the barn. We bring out the worst in him (like we do with Turner). I found myself watching him instead of the game!

Looks like an awesome crowd! Was about to buy tickets and drive up but the north bay to Davis at 5 pm sounded dreadful. Great game! Despite my frustrations with les (some founded, some me just being cranky) I loved that he jumped in with the student section after the game

is Pasternik that animated every game or do we bring out the worst in him? At first, I thought we was yelling nonstop at players, but it looked like he was venting his frustrations on the coaches. Just wouldn’t stop!

I worry a bit about Sevilla’s lingering leg issues. It didn’t look like an ankle thing last night - prior to the injury, he had his thighs wrapped in some type of warming sleeves. Talking to his dad a couple weeks ago, he said many if his issues are due to hydration - coaches can’t keep his out of the gym and weight room and he doesn’t always make sure he takes care of himself. Kind of explains how he went from walk-on to starter who averages double figures!

This was a super fun game to at and one of the best wins of the season for this team against a very good SB team who came in on a 6 game winning streak. The thing that impressed me the most was that this was a complete game by the Ags from start to finish on both sides of the ball: tough, hard working, physical defense and great 3 point shooting and FT shooting. Watching our defense when the players are locked in and communicating is a thing of beauty. They pressure the ball relentlessly and create disruption as well or better than any team in the league.

I feel like the team is beginning to hit their stride with our younger players settling into a good fit with our more experienced players. Les is doing a great job of substituting for matchups and giving players a blow.

You can clearly see the growth of some of our younger players too. Jalen Stokes brings a tough physicality to the lineup especially for a true freshman and is getting better by the game. Marcus Wilson had one of his best games ever and is really beginning to shine offensively. He scoring through contact on his drives to the basket. Omer Suljanovic looks more confident and is playing more physical in the paint in his limited time on the floor also.

Braydon Fagbemi is as good an on-ball defender as there is in the league. His ability to keep his man in front of him and play harassing defense is a lessen on how to play great defense. And, how about Carl Daugherty? He's playing as well as he ever has as an Aggie at the moment.

I don't think I've ever seen a coach as revved up as Joe Pasternack was during this game. He was an absolute maniac from the get go screaming at his players, the officials, his assistants and his bench, jumping up and down, running up the sideline to half court frantically waving his arms...it was like watching someone go completely bonkers. Irvine's coach, Russ Turner, takes the cake for his constant complaining to the officials but Pasternack is the wildest most animated coach I think I've ever seen when it comes to just pure, manic energy. Crazy!

UC Davis 85, UC Santa Barbara 75: DAVIS — Marcus Wilson scored a career-high 24 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and handed out 6 assists to carry the Aggies (14-9, 7-5) past the depleted Gauchos (15-8, 8-4). UCSB, playing without Miro Little, Marvin McGhee IV and Koat Keat Tong, led 56-54 with 12:02 remaining. UC Davis rallied by making 8 of its final 11 shots from the field and all 12 free throw attempts, scoring 12 points off of Santa Barbara turnovers in the final 11 minutes. CJ Shaw scored 18 points for UCSB, which saw its 6-game winning streak end. NEXT UP: UC Davis hosts Cal Poly and UCSB hosts UC Irvine, both on Saturday.

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Pasternak is just like John McEnroe, right?

That's a pretty good comparison, Toke!