I'll miss this one live, but I'll be watching the replay later.

It was good to see TY hit those 3s. Hope it puts him back in his groove.

Games of Jan. 16:

UC Irvine (home, 16-2/6-0) 82, CSU Fullerton (5-14/0-7) 62
UC San Diego (15-3/5-1) 80, Long Beach State (home, 7-11/3-3) 54
CSUN (12-6/4-3) 83, Hawai’i (home, 11-6/3-3) 60
UC Santa Barbara (home, 12-5/4-2) 66, UC Riverside (10-8/3-3) 63

Only one surprise here and that was in Hawai`I, where the Rainbow Warriors couldn’t figure out how to keep the Matadors off the boards despite a big height advantage. I watched part of this game and Keonte Jones—the same guy who grabbed 20 against the Ags-- was jumping out of the arena. The top two teams continue to roll over the rest of the West. The Tritons held Devin Askew (who got 32 against the Ags last week) to 11 points in their mauling of the Beach at the Pyramid, while UCI didn’t allow a single Titan player to score more than 10. Those two teams play defense.

I feel bad for Cal Poly because their next game against UCI means they will set a new record. On the other hand, it was good to see the Ags shooting improve in the second half and hope it bodes well for UCSB. They really held the Mustangs with their defense. I mean 20 turnovers! Koonce only got 6 points and I can't helkp but think that Coach Les must have told his guys to clamp down on him. I noticed how quick they were to switch on him and how even the guards kept him from getting good looks.

A poorly played game on both sides so far. Cal Poly has mishandled the ball several times, although some credit goes to the the Aggie defense for the 10 Mustang turnovers. Cal Poly is only in it because they are 6 of 12 from the 3 point line. UCD has done well on the offensive boards, but not that many second chance points.

Shooting woes continue. Leo and TY have shot 2 of 13 after 15 minutes of play.

Cooper starting in place of Rocak. Coach Les must have wanted to shake things up. Maybe get more offense into his starting lineup?

It's an odd statistic that Pepper shot below the team average but that he was with the team during the three prior years when their shooting percentage was so much higher. This is especially surprising given that the guys who shot a better percentage them he did are around this year.
Could one possible answer be in the assists? Last year the three guards averaged 7.3 assists per game. This year it's 5.9.

The Pepper Effect?

The new logos are very cool, if I may use outdated vernacular.

Hawai`i went to the foul line 38 times against Fullerton and canned 36 of them.

Watching the telecast, I felt that the refs were missing a lot of stuff that the Beach players were doing including traveling and a couple of egregious personal fouls. They didn't cost us the game but it sure added insult to injury. Of course, I was swayed by what Scott was saying, but I don't think he was wrong.

Games of Jan. 11:

UC Irvine (15-2/5-0) 60, UC San Diego (home, 14-3/4-1) 52
Hawai’i (11-5/3-2) 95, CSU Fullerton (home, 5-13/0-6) 86
UC Santa Barbara (11-5/3-2) 75, Cal Poly (home, 6-12/0-6) 72
CSU Bakersfield (home, 9-9/3-3) 94, CSUN (11-6/3-3) 90 - The Roadrunners were down 20 at the half.

The game between UCI and UCSD was a key contest in the Big West this year. Looks like the Anteaters are in good shape with a road win.

Big West Conference Standings:

Long Beach State is a lot better than advertised. Devin Askew should be playing for a power 5 team. It would seem that their coach has brought them along very well from the earlier part of their season. They might challenge the top teams down the road. On the other hand, it's hard to believe that they can sustain a 64.7% three-point shooting average. Still, the Ags did not lose only because of that. The Beach had a 24-12 point advantage on points off of turnovers, but the big problem again was the Ags went cold from outside in the second half.

Looks like the Ags second half woes continue.

I was glad to hear Scott Marsh and Bob Williams mention John Frost, who I watched in his senior year at UCD. He was the best pure shooters I saw in my seven years in Davis and he still ranks #12 after TY passed him today.

We can only hope that the Ags will find the range from outside. Their collective shooting slump has to end sometime, no? Possibly not, but the thing about basketball that makes it both exciting and frustrating (to play or to watch) is how streaky outside shooting can be. Even Steph Curry has bad days. We'll soon find out if someone besides Sevilla can bring it.

Whatever the cause, it's happened only over the past three games that the Ags have done worse in the second half, not coincidentally in Big West games. Against Cal Poly and UCSB, the Ags came back from a tie and down by one in both those games. Makes me wonder if opposing coaches in the league are doing something since then. If so, I hope Coach Les can figure it our because I sure can't.

Fatigue could explain the lack of shooting efficiency in the second half, but then why was Sevilla not affected? Anyone who has played the game knows how much more tiring it is to play defense than offense, but these guys should be in shape for the kind of defensive intensity such defense requires. If both Lose and Mani were sick, I wonder if there are others who have a touch of some kind of virus that is affecting them? The only other explanation is that some of them need better conditioning.

Games of Jan. 9:

UC San Diego (home, 14-2/4-0) 95, Cal Poly (6-11/0-5) 68
UC Irvine (14-2/4-0) 77, CSUN (home, 11-5/3-2) 67
Hawai’i (10-5/2-2) 83, UC Riverside (home, 10-7/3-2) 76
UC Santa Barbara (home, 10-5/2-2) 78, CSU Bakersfield (8-9/2-3) 66

Tritons and Anteaters still looking very tough. Look at how UCI handled the same CSUN team that beat the Aggies last week.