The Aggies play their second conference road game against another tough opponent in UCSB. Statistically, the Gauchos are not much better than UC Davis. Long time Aggie fans, however, know that UCSB has dominated the series 14-30. Recent fans note that we have a four game winning streak, having swept the Gauchos for two years in a row now. For those two years, Santa Barbara’s combined conference record was 20-20, a mediocrity uncharacteristic for them. Setting past history aside, the Gauchos have not been doing well. On Saturday, they lost to CSUN 65-74, the same team the Ags just beat. But coach Joe Pasternak’s record prior to the last two season was an impressive 64-30. He seems to have rebuilt the team with some talented transfers (6) and four freshmen. The Gauchos started the season well, but at this point they have only defeated one team with a winning record, at home against Seattle, whom the Aggies should also have beaten at home. They have faltered badly in recent weeks due to an injury as noted below. ESPN as of this writing gives them a 76.5% chance of beating UCD. I’m inclined to think our chances are better than that.

The top scorer for the Gauchos is guards Aidan Mahaney, a senior transfer from UConn (14.9 ppg). He not only hits 43% of his trey attempts (and does not lead the team in that category) but over 83% from the foul line. Zion Sensely is a very good rebounding “guard,” who is 6’ 8” and leads the team with nearly 8 rpg. The third guard is freshmen C. J. Shaw, who was the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year. He is their 3-point leader making over 45%.Veteran guard Jason Fontenenet II, who started all 34 games last year, is no longer a starter, but contributes over 25 minutes a game. Coach Pasternak has lost Utah transfer and point guard Miro Little, who was averaging double figures in scoring and had an assist to turnover ratio of over 2.0. There is no timetable for his return. They sorely miss his floor leadership as they have gone 2-4 in his absence.

The starting front court consists of forwards Hosana Kitenge and Colin Smith, both 6’8”. Smith returns as a part time starter from last season. He trails only Shaw in his ability to hit the 3. In fact, the Gauchos have four regulars who make over 40% from beyond the arc. I’m not sure why they only score at about the same rate as the Ags. Kitenge hails from England and most recently from the University of Louisiana, where he averaged 6.5 rpg and 11.9 ppg. At UCSB both numbers are slightly down, but he leads the team in blocked shots, although it’s a relatively low 10 or 0.7 per game. He’s no Pierre Geneste or Niko Rocak, for that matter.