We certainly did not deserve it, but not only do we have TY to thank but the Matadors missed two shots at the very end, of which the last was a missed tip in, so we got lucky. With the exception of Bostick CSUN does not seem very talented, so I think the Ags earlier crushing of them was more illustrative of the difference in quality between the two teams. In other words, the guys still seem to be in a funk and if not for TY would have dropped their fourth in a row. Maybe they'll find their mojo in Bakersfield. (By the way, anyone know why CSUN is called the Matadors?)

Whoever is directing the broadcast is pretty clueless, showing replays over live action and cameras on the sidelines when a play is going on. Maybe some media production major at CSUN?

We're lucky that CSUN is only 5 of 11 from the foul line, but their number 0 is killing us having scored almost half their points on a lot of shots in the paint. Meanwhile Pepper is 0 for 6 despite a couple of good looks. Rocak, too, seems off his game.

It's distressing that so many teams in the Big West are hitting their stride as the playoffs approach, while UC Davis has badly stumbled. I'm hoping that we see things turn around tonight.

Hawai`i managed to lose despite hitting almost 53% of their 3s while the Gauchos only hit 26.7%. Rebounding and turnovers were about the same, so the main difference in the game seemed to be the second chance points, since UCSB got 11 offensive boards to Hawai`i's 4.

Another disappointing exhibition. Everyone talks about how momentum can shift within a game, but there is such a thing as momentum across a season as well. Through their first 12 conference games, UC Davis had a lot of momentum in wining a lot of close games but also winning half their games by double digit margins. From the road trip to Hawai`i and now two home game losses, the Ags seem to have lost their momentum mojo and for no reason that I can tell. The two things that stand out are that (1) they have shot 19 of 69 from 3, a 28% rate when shooting their normal 34% (prior to those games) would have resulted in two home wins. (2) They came out flat to start both home games and the second half in Hawai`i. Of course, these two things are in themselves inexplicable. All I know is, they need to figure out how to get their mojo back.

Hawai`i did not play a single road game before Big West play and I think it is to their detriment.

Good to see the Ags come back from a slow start, but it's mystifying how this is the third straight game where they came out flat and had to try to get back late. In this case, I hope they come all the way back. It's of concern that Pepper appears worn out and the team has yet to hit a 3. Good to see Milling score.

In the covid year, Pepper played in 18 games, then the next year, only 24, so he will have had roughy 4 and half years to break the record.

The way I see it, the Aggies have to win their four games, all of which they can reasonably be expected to win even though Hawai`i at Davis and CSUN on the road will be tough. Since they finish on the road at the Beach and UCSD that would give them a 14-6 record which might keep them in second place. They cannot afford to fall to 12-8.

It must be frustrating for Pepper to carry the scoring load while Johnson, Milling and Adebayo go 7 for 34 from the floor and the bench only added 6 points. Except for Eli, Rocak and--surprisingly--Borra the whole team played poorly. I wonder if the first half was a bit of a "hangover" from their loss to Hawai`i.

Not sure what happened at the end there, but it was a very disappointing loss, as it always is when you rally from behind to pull in front then can't put the game away. The Ags missed so many lay-ups!

I wonder what switch coach Les flipped to get the Ags to settle down in the second half? Whatever it was, it worked pretty well. Of course, Pepper's great shooting helps. Now they have to hold on and put a W on the board.

It's worse than that. Ags only have 30, shooting 32.4% and doing a poor job keeping the Beach off their offensive boards. LBSU has pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.

Seeing Scott Marsh reminds me that I was surprised to see him flash me a thumbs up sign in Hawai`i when he saw me wearing my UCD hoodie. I guess he does the radio broadcast?

When Coach Les told his players that they weren't doing their jobs, I think he meant that they were too often out of position on both offense and defense. I could see him "directing traffic" when the Ags had the ball in the second half in front of the UCD bench. I had never noticed how often the players, especially T Y Johnson, look at him even as they are handling the ball. Les was not happy with the teams spacing on offense and in one in bounds play, I heard him yell out the play and when it failed, he threw his hands up in disgust at the lack of execution. Much like their game against UCSD, the Ags were having a poor game against a team that was having one of their best. I agree that it will be very different on February 29.

I had a seat in the first row, tight behind the Aggie tea. I could hear what JimLes was saying and I could see how frustrated he was getting. At one point midway through the second half he said something like "You just have to do your jobs." He would throw his hands in the air whenever a Hawai`i player got a wide open shot. Being that close to the court, I could see how often Aggie defenders were out of position in the first half and how quick Hawai'i was to close near the basket in the second half. The thing that was amazing was that the Rainbow Warriors hit so many 3s in the opening half. This is a team that barely shooting over 30% from beyond the arc and they go over 80% in that half?! Many of those shots were from unexpected sources like Justin McCoy who went 3 for 3 and the freshman from Japan, Akira Jacobs (who is like a baby-faced Rui Hachimura) and hit 2 of 2. I was certain that they would cool off in the second half and they did, but they also got a lot more points in the paint and hardly missed any free throws in the second half. These guys are going to be dangerous in the tournament as they seem to have turned things around. Bernardo Da Silva was a beast last night and dominated both Rocak and Borra. This was their best game and after they beat both us and UCSD, the fans out here are pretty excited. I hope we can beat them in Davis.

Thanks. That's what I suspected, but I always go to the game here live. Those guys should then be Kanoa Leahy and Artie Wilson. Might be the best pair in the Big West, given that Bob Williams is not always with Scott Marsh.

Could someone do me a small favor and let me know the names of whoever does the ESPN+ broadcast from Hawai`i?

I hope so. Last year I was the only one! In the past, I've seen a few but never more than a dozen were apparent.