Gauchos win, 78-72. Sorry Dr. Mike

UCSB 35, CSUN 28 at the half.

We have often bemoaned the lack of big men on Aggie squads over the years, but Coach Les seems to like the 6'6" to 6'9" power forward types who are quick and athletic such as Josh Fox, Chima Moneke and Christian Anigwe. They were good defenders, rebounders and scorers. While Niko was good at two of those three, he had little offense and the lack of any other good scorers besides TY this past season amplified that problem. I don't see anyone on the current roster who can fill that role, so maybe one of the new recruits or a transfer can do that. A big question is whether that strategy will work in the MWC. \

That's a really good question and I hope someone who has some coaching experience can answer it because it seems like an odd thing to do.

ditto

When a team seems to lack energy after coming out for a second half with a 9 point lead, to me there's something psychological going on. It's not the first time either. I certainly don't blame Coach Les. One bad season and it's "time to fire the coach?" A sports columnist our her has publicly called for the firing of Eran Ganot, after Hawai`i failed to make the tournament. We're talking about two proven coaches who both won NCAA tourney games.

Sure. He's only 62.

I would not be at all surprised if Cal Poly makes a deep run in the tournament, possibly getting to the semifinals. Riverside is favored by 4.5.

A dismal end to a dismal season. It's a real mystery how this team could be so much poorer than last year's team with three starters and a key 6th man returning. It's not just the injuries. There seems to be some kind of lack of will somewhere. I suspect that Coach Les knows about it and has tried to address it, but it's tough to fix a team's overall chemistry when things just aren't coming together. Next year a lot will change if only because there is only one returning starter.

Credit also needs to go to Cal Poly. After settling for 3s for a lot of the first half, they started to drive into the key and on defense they're being a lot more aggressive.

I can't understand how a team that played so well for a half can completely fall apart in the next half. This is awful.

It's a little bit troubling that TY has 3 unforced turnovers (one a bad pass to Sevilla for which Seville got the TO). WHat's really good is that the offense is coming from the whole team so TY does not have to carry the load.

What cow tipping team are they talking about? The defense has gotten better.

The Ags are shooting the lights out, 88.9% from the floor and the foul line. They can't keep this up so I hope the defense improves. They need to guard the perimeter.

Tamba!

Has the game started?

I'm getting a message that the game has ended!? Has the game been delayed or what?

Final Score: UCSB 71, Bakersfield 66. Gauchos get to face CSUN tomorrow.

Cal Poly is a 2.5 point favorite (updated at game time), probably on the basis of recent performances as opposed to seeding. Winner gets to play UC Riverside at 8:30 tomorrow.

Jdur got it. Also, I note that the only Aggie to receive Big West honors was TY: first team all conference.No one else even got an honorable mention.