I remember a few years ago watching this matchup...the Ags got caught up trying to match the frenetic pace of SS. I don't think this years team does that. With all the experienced leaders and the quality depth, we should be able to dictate the pace and take care of business. Of course, I'm sure I thought the exact same thing 2 years ago. Go Ags!

Just got back from the game. Late arriving crowd, but decent size for a Wed in November. Really got into it late in the game.

Ugly game throughout, but good teams learn how to win these types. Changing to a zone really slowed down UNC's offense, and we finally got some rhythm. Shorts was really big down the stretch.

I guess you could call this a trap game...facing a team you've already beaten in between two Pac-12 games, so it was good to pull out the win.

Beat the Cougs!

From ESPN Mid-Major Ranks article here

6. UC Davis (6-0)

A Thanksgiving week road swing through Pacific, Southern Utah and Seattle produced three wins by a combined 84 points. The names of those opponents won't turn heads, but that's a lot of travel and basketball in the span of seven days to manage without getting distracted. Focus doesn't seem to be a problem for this team; it opened its season with a win against Washington State, the same team that ended UC Davis' previous season in the WNIT.

As far as consistency goes, it's difficult to do better than Morgan Bertsch of late. One of five returning starters for the Aggies, she has scored at least 20 points in each of the past five games and shot 60 percent (32-of-51) on the recent road trip.

Last week: NR

The FAQ that I saw is here.

The length that UW had at the top of their zone kept us from easily getting the ball into Chima in the paint. We had to find the soft part (baseline corners) and then pass it back into the paint to Chima. It worked a couple of times, and John got a couple of 3 pt shots from the corner. It's good that we faced it now so that we may be more prepared for it if any BW team utilizes it.

Watching at the Grad. Ags playing tough.

It’s going to be big numbers if Seattle continues to single cover Bertsch.

It was earlier but it’s fine now

Totally agree with everything you wrote. Siler also takes at least one, if not several, charges each game. He is really good at reading the drive, getting his feet set, and taking the charge.

Regarding your questions:
-Mooney seemed a little tentative last night. I thought he was really getting comfortable with looking for his shot in earlier games, so maybe this was just one of those nights. We'll need his outside shooting when teams continually triple team Chima.
-Printup...honestly, I root for the kid, and he came into the program with a great shooting reputation, but the game just seems to be a little fast for him at this moment. He's going to be someone that will have to prove himself in practice before Les gives him any meaningful minutes.
-Russell is probably the next big guy off the bench. He has a little more experience playing at this level, so I'm guessing Strom red-shirts this year (barring any injuries to other "bigs").
-Good question about John. I think we won't see a starting lineup of Shorts/Siler/AJ/Chima/Goode unless we happen to be facing a very large opponent. Les likes Michael's defense (he had a couple of nice offensive plays last night, too) so we'll probably see him in the starting lineup for a while. But, we will be seeing John and Jackson coming in very early in games if the offense sputters out of the gate. And we also saw the Chima/Jackson/Shorts/Siler/Michael for a long stretch near the end of the game last night. That's a group that can really play tough defense and set up some big mismatches on the offensive side.

Looking forward to seeing how this team does against a couple of Pac-12 teams (UW and WSU) on the road. Go Ags!

Good win. Clearly John and Jackson’s best game. Chima was frustrated at not getting some calls but still put up 19 pts and 15 boards. Getting better all the time.!

Sac and UCD seem to always play close games. Even last year at Golden One, if I remember correctly, we seemed to be in control for most of the game, but it was never a comfortable lead. I expect it to come down to the last few minutes again tonight.

I think you're probably correct with the best team in D1 era (or ever). We've had teams with dominant players (Mintun, Fipps) with good supporting casts, but nothing that comes close to the quality depth we have this year.

I'm going with the kids. Looking forward to seeing the Ags in person in a game that counts. There is a good write up on Chima in the Sac Bee. As always, he'll be the focal point of our offense, but we'll win or lose based on our defensive energy.

Go Ags!

I ran Pluto through the PlayStation connected to the big screen, with the b-ball game on the laptop.

They looked a little tired down the stretch. Hopefully they learn from this one

Ags up by four at halftime. Good defensive pressure has been the key. I’ve got football on the big screen and basketball on the laptop. Not a bad Saturday

Age win by 12! PSU was playing a very soft zone and the Ags eventually started nailing the 3's. Nice win!

One of the big things this team will have to learn how to do is close out games. If you watched enough games down the stretch last year, and especially the championship win over UCI, when the game came down to crunch time, we gave the ball to Lamar, set a high pick for him and he'd either drive to the bucket or lay it off. That's how we would use the clock and still end up with a productive offensive trip. Last night, we were in that same situation, use the clock but still get some points, and we really didn't have a good consistent play to run. But that's what these out of conference games are for, to learn how to win. It'd be good if we get put in enough of these types of situations so we can figure out what works and what doesn't, and guys get used to their roles.

And the lack of bench depth is a little worrisome. It'd be nice to get another big guy in the rotation, and some more time for Jackson.

Go Ags!

Not the prettiest ending, but you've got to love road wins. Hopefully they continue to learn how to win down the stretch.

None of our backup bigs were impressive against Bethesda...but Russell looked like he could rebound, set picks and move a bit on defense. Granted, that's a very small sample size, but I suspect he get's more time. I really liked what I saw from Strom, smooth is the best word to describe him, but I'm just guessing that with a decent number of bigs this year, he might RS. Les seems to like a four big man rotation, and with Chima/Goode/John penciled in, that only leaves one spot left, so the freshman may have to sit for a year. I do think he has a future, though.

PA, thanks for posting that video. What a great day that was! Plus, I get to see my son and his friend jumping around, trying not to get squashed.