I went back and watched the last 3-4 minutes of the game and, probably like Russ Turner, can’t figure out how we won. Take the lead on a Niko 3 pointer, which was sandwiched by 2 of his attempts that had the patrons of the fastbreak lounge ducking for cover. We missed 3 FTs in the last 90 seconds, any of which would have put it away. Great defense, and let them get TWO tip-in’s - one from a guard over our center! Run an inbounds play with 7?seconds designed to get it to Conner or Carl…
bad pass, but deflected right back to Cooper (who then misses one of those aforementioned FT’s).

But, it’s a win. Good, tough defense was the key again. Nice to see a BIG game from Omar especially with Cooper sitting a lot.

Watching on TV you can really see how teams are just beating up on Connor on offense. We’ll set up something for him where he is cutting through the key, and everyone in the vicinity lays an elbow on him. I think this is where not having a real inside threat hurts - Niko is out on the perimeter and his guy sags to clog things up.

Another observation that’s more obvious on TV - our crowd likes to show up late. At tip off, the seats behind the scorers table (mostly season tickets) are half full. By the 10 minute mark, it’s full. Cmon people - get there before 2! I know getting into the parking lot can be frustratingly slow, but plan for that! Be nice to have everyone there to greet the team during introductions!

probably a little gun shy after getting burned on something similar vs Seattle

Scott Marsh said the SCHOOL is undefeated in Tahoe Blue. Football, both basketball and maybe soccer? We won’t switch until we lose

Hopefully we’ll be wearing Tahoe Blue the rest of the season - undefeated!

The ticket office called me yesterday to thank bd for being a season ticket holder and to ask about my experience this year. ‘Anything you’d like to see different?’ ‘Yes, how about an easy win!’

Seems like every real home game except NDSU has come down to the last minute (or worse!)

Ugly start to the half on both sides. I think we bring out the worst in teams- except the guy from Bakersfield who scored 32

surprisingly they didn’t say anything . He’s starting second half

I missed him being out. Dang. Our offense struggles with him. Omar is too gun shy right now to really contribute on that end. I’d like to see more Stokes - he’s tough on the boards.

Let them get on a big run to take the lead; Daugherty makes the bomb to tie it.

No feeling too good about second half - hope they prove me wrong

to have the visitors shooting into the band/student area in the second half. The ‘lounge’ didn’t offer an intimidating backdrop for free throws late in the game.

According to a department post, opponent FT percentage is dropping about 10% in the second half.

I miss the Irvine asst. coach with the big Afro! Turner is so much more animated when he plays us

Oddsmakers have this as irvine 2.5 point favorites. They are more optimistic than I am at how we’ll match up, especially if we’re missing Nils.

I’ll have to miss this one in person - granddaughter has a play.

I suspect that they will increase softball scholarships (I think they are now allowed 30) to match title 9 requirements, which has to be cheaper than hosting another sport.

I haven’t seen them play. They are 13-5 with some nice wins. Their coach left and a bunch of players left. According to AI:

‘ The UC San Diego (UCSD) men's basketball team experienced a massive roster overhaul in the 2025 offseason after former coach Eric Olen left for New Mexico, leading to almost the entire roster, including starters like Chris Howell, Nordin Kapic, and Hayden Gray, entering the portal and many landing at New Mexico, while UCSD hired Clint Allard and brought in key transfers like John Camden, Milos Ilic, and Chris Bell for the 2025-26 season. The team effectively reset, bringing in new talent alongside incoming freshmen to rebuild under new leadership after a significant exodus. ’

Hawaii, I thought, was heads and shoulders above the other 5 teams we played. Poly wasn’t as talented as last year, and Santa Barbara doesn’t seem as good. The other 3 were really flawed.

If you go back into the archives, they announced the transfers (JC and portal) as part of the late signing in February. There's a couple names on the transfers that I don't remember hearing during the season:

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2025/2/5/football-introduces-latest-signing-class-19-incoming-freshman-and-nine-transfers-make-up-aggie-class.aspx

Sign up here:

https://paybee.io/quickpay.html?handle=ucdfootball#campaignList

I’d strongly encourage those who are planning to attend to sign up soon. There are blocks of rooms now at both the Palace and Hyatt Regency, both short walks from event. If you haven’t received a flyer with information, I’ll post here

I was told that we can’t officially announce transfers until signing day. Of course, there’s no stopping the players from spilling the beans.

Hopefully Cooper is at 100%. He returned but wasn’t moving too well. Offense really stagnsnted without him down the stretch.

intersecting. I was wondering why the cheerleaders left early. That seemed really odd.

Call me an old fart, but it bothers me when members of the band don’t stand for the anthem.

I was listening to Les on the postgame on the ride home - sounds like the flu has had a big impact this week. Probably why no Stokes tonight, and perhaps some of the reason for the early turnovers (they struggled to have enough players at practice)

Sluggish game up 32-24 at half. 13 TOs for us, 22 for them. Not much flow. Feels like we should be up way more. Pace of the game has taken a lot of the crowd energy away