I don't disagree that Siler is a real effort guy. My problem with him is that he acts too impulsively, driving into lanes without a good option, making erratic passes, and showing poor judgment on shot selection. In some games, his good plays are outweighed by his bad plays. Even on his good games I've seen him do this. It's disappointing in the sense that he should have matured beyond it by now. Looking at his 4-year stats, it seems like his best season was in his sophomore year when he won the 6th man award.

Wish I'd watched this. From my understanding of what some coaches will do, I'm guessing that coach Les started the players who did well in practice, showing that they wanted to compete. It also sends a message to the regular starters that they need to play better. I see that at least TJ got the message with 23 points and 11/11 from the foul line. I wonder if this game will turn their season around?

69aggie: Guess we were on campus at the same time, but to get to my point, Chima was still "with" the team through last season. A guy like that who brings a can-do attitude, upbeat personality and off-court leadership can still have a big impact. This is all speculation of course, but given the veteran nature of this team, it is one theory as to why they are not playing as well as last year.

I just got back from watching a pretty sad performance from the Ags. The passing especially was sloppy and accounted for a lot of the turnovers in the first half. I was surprised that Hawaii used their big freshmen so much. They are not very athletic but I guess the Hawaii coach, Eran Ganot, thought he could use them to an advantage over the small Ags. When the big men were in, due to their lack of mobility, Hawaii used a high number of zone defenses and they were pretty effective. During the local post-game show, Coach Ganot said he had Drew Buggs guarding TJ because he can stay with him better then the taller Drammeh, who started after being in the doghouse earlier this season and has been playing a lot better lately. All in all, it was very lonely feeling being one of the few Aggie fans to watch the game. Wearing my UC Davis sweatshirt, proudly, and clapping for each Aggie basket, I kinda stand out.

I can see why UCD is not doing as well this year. Their shooting is lot poorer, the defense is spotty (they played really well in the first half, especially Rogers Printup guarding Jack Purchase) and they seem to lack that certain toughness that gets a team to come back even when things are going badly. Tonight the defense fell apart for most of the second half. It makes me wonder if Chima's contribution to the team the previous two years was his spirit as much as his play.

Yes, Oldbanduhalum, I remember that game well. It was the only time I got some pushback from some Hawaii fans because the Ags were so hot from 3 point range. They hit over 60% that night. Ryan Sypkens, Josh Ritchart and Tyler Les were a combined 7 for 15. but Corey was on fire. I was was so convinced that Hawkins was going to make it in the NBA that I asked for his autograph when I ran into him after a game in 2015. I guess it the Aggies hit 60% of their 3s this Saturday, they might win, but Hawaii is pretty good at perimeter defense.

Gunrock: Actually I live here now and worked for the University of Hawaii for 25 years, becoming a fan of the teams, except when they play the Ags. Hawaii plays a tough man to man defense, much like UC Davis does. I expect the Aggies to give them a tough game, but I'll leave the arena disappointed. I think I've only seen the Aggies win there once, when Corey Hawkins had one of his great shooting nights.

Generally, I do not like the way that the regular season is only of value for seeding in the tournament. For this season, though, Jim Les might want to make use of that fact. This season it does not seem to be as critical to finish first in the regular season as to work the team so that they peak at tournament time. Just last year, CSU Fullerton finished fourth and won the tournament. The question is whether the Ags have the talent to do something similar. They certainly have the experience.

69 aggie. I remember Gordie well. A bunch of us went to a game at Sac State where Baranco cooly kept hitting free throws as the Hornets tried to close a gap. He really knew how to lead a team. They won consecutive FWC titles back in 69-69. That's when I got deeply involved in Aggie basketball.

AJ has seen some playing time but has missed all his shots as of near the middle of the second half.

Oldbanduhalum has it pretty well pegged. I wouldn't be surprised if the Aggies finish 4th or fifth in the Big West, nit so much because they are worse than last season but because the conference has improved. The Gauchos are 11-3 including a win over a good USF team. Irvine is 12-4 and I've seen Hawaii play a few times. They beat both Utah and Colorado, while returning a veteran team. CSU Fullerton is a disappointing 4-10 but don't forget who they have in Ahmad and Allman who are both averaging over 18 points a game. Their losses are to Arizona State, Nebraska, Wake Forest, St. Mary's and USF, so don't be fooled by their record.

Does anyone know what USC's field goal percentage was in the second half? I know they shot 52.7% for the game, but it seems like they were making almost everything down the stretch.

This rule needs to be changed to "In the case os an indeterminate time frame where one official may call and signal “Block” while the other official calls and signals “Charge” nearly simultaneously, the call will be waived and neither player will be assessed a foul." I'ver never heard of this real either nor ever seen it called, so I guess it is too rare for the NCAA to worry about it?

The Ags lost this game from the free throw line. Had they made just 3 more foul shots, but Arizona played solid defense at the end, denying TJ the ball and covering him better than they had earlier. Still, give UC Davis credit, They sure put a scare into the UofA crowd. Great game guys.

This is the kind of effort I hoped to see and to continue to se from the Ags. They're not out of this game yet, but can't expect to win without hitting some 3s. They've also missed a lot of bunnies. (Not that I expect them to beat Arizona even thought the Cats are having a down year.)

ESPN gives the Aggies a 5.2% chance to win.

I'm so past being an old-timer that I was nowhere around when the Rec Hall opened, but I loved the games in Hickey. I can't recall going to a game where we didn't pack the place. (Plus, I didn't mean that Ham was like Knight, just that being a real @#&! didn't mean you were not a successful coach in terms of winning, if not in being a decent human being.)

I have yet to see an Aggie basketball game but that will change when the Arizona game is on the PAC-12 network. I'm surprised that they are doing so poorly since they have so many veterans on the team. I can understand coach Les' frustration, but agree that he should not have gotten so public about it. As to his coaching style, I knew a lot of guys who played for Bob Hamilton (John Fryer, Mark Olson, Steve Turner, et al.) and none of them much liked him, but he always got results, so it's a style that works (see Knight, Bobby). John once told me that Ron McMillan actually hated Hamilton but learned to tune him out when he wasn't being instructive.

For what it's worth, Jeff Sagarin rates UC Davis #102 among all Div. 1 teams. (http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm). That's ahead of Illinois, Oregon State, SMU, and other oiwer conference teams.

We need to be proud of the team and its season. They played with a lot of heart against a team that had the home filed advantage and a lot of playoff experience. Great things in store in the coming years. This team will be remembered as setting the foundation.

Block that kick