MBB 2/21 7:30 pm: UCD (10-14 & 6-4) @ Fullerton ( 12-13 & 8-3)
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    The Aggies begin their final road trip of the regular season tonight when they travel to Fullerton for a huge game with the Titans at 7:30 pm. Irvine has essentially wrapped up the Big West title barring a completely unlikely collapse and will be the #1 seed in the Big West Tournament. The battle is on now for the #2 - #4 seeds and tonight's game is critically important in that respect for both teams. The surging Aggies have won 5 straight and 6 of their last 7 games while the Titans have won 3 straight and beat the Aggies in all 3 contests last season.

    The big question is the injury status of TJ Shorts II. TJ went down in the first half of the last game against Long Beach with what appeared to be a serious left knee injury. No official statement has been made about his injury but recently Scott Marsh stated that TJ is listed as "day to day." That's the good news but it's anyone's guess as to what that means. Is TJ's injury one that won't sideline him for the rest of the year or are the Aggies simply not showing their cards prior to tonight's game?

    Fullerton sports a high flying offense led by 3 of the top offensive players in the league: 6'4 Sr G Kyle Allman averages 18.5 ppg followed by 6'3 Sr G Khalil Ahmad with 17.7 ppg and 6'7 Jr F Jackson Rowe at 11.1 ppg. As a team the Titans average 73.7 ppg while giving up 71.0. Anyone of these 3 players has the ability to get hot and take over the game. They're all long and athletic and they play particularly well at home.

    The Aggies will need to rely on their excellent defense as usual while taking care of the ball and being efficient on offense. The Aggie offense has finally come alive after a dismal first half of the season. Joe Mooney, Stefan Gonzalez, and Matt Neufeld have all shown a new confidence in scoring the ball and Garrison Goode and Rogers Printup have been contributing also.

    The last few games between these two teams have been chippy affairs. For whatever reason, these two teams seem to get under each other's skin. Khalil Ahmad, in particular, likes to talk and is a master at giving a little push or bump after he makes a play while avoiding the eyes of the referees. Last season, Titan coach and former Aggie player, Dedrique Taylor, had words with the Aggie coaches at the conclusion of the game in Fullerton which incited Jim Les and Kevin Nosek and the players had to restrain Les and Taylor from getting to each other. The Ags will need to keep their cool and play smart basketball in the heat of the game and avoid getting into a trash talking contest with the Titans.

    The Ags lost Chima Moneke in February of last year and now the injury of TJ feels like deja vu. After Chima was suspended the Aggies responded by playing some of their best basketball of the season though and, the question now is, how will this team respond to the probable loss of TJ? Personally, I like the resiliency of this team and I think they will play with great determination with or without their diminutive star.

    Live online stream from Big West TV at 7:30 pm: http://www.bigwest.org/tv/

    Go Ags!
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    their offensive firepower is a really tough challenge for us. I'm curious to see if Les tosses out some different looks at them to try and slow them down, because it doesn't seem like we have great matchups with them on the wings. Bob Williams was saying after Saturday's game that (to paraphrase) : 'Irvine has figured out Fullerton. The rest of the conference hasn't been able to deal with them too well'. Big game, big trip. Need a split. Next week's home stand is a tough one with Irvine, followed by a Titan rematch.
    DrMike Options
  • Oldbanduhalum
    709
    Well I was going to miss tonight’s game but thanks to Southwest I’m suddenly free. Looking forward to seeing if the Ags can continue their good play!
    Oldbanduhalum Options
  • Oldbanduhalum
    709
    Looks like no tj at least in the starting lineup. Not surprising. Just saw him walk by the screen during warmups. He’s walking but with a decent limp.
    Oldbanduhalum Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    First half looked like our early struggling 3 point and free throw team. Down 5 because we’re playing good D. Really need Mooney and AJ to show up in the second half. Silar is playing like the old Silar but he’s gonna need help
    DrMike Options
  • Zander
    284
    Ags lose 62-58. They could keep up, but Fullerton played well enough in the last few minutes to keep a two-possession lead.

    Ugh. I wish we had TJ.
    Zander Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    Lose 62-58. Silar had 28! 10 from Gonzalez and that’s about it. Feel better about the rematch at our place. Really need to focus on CSUN and grab the road trip split
    DrMike Options
  • Oldbanduhalum
    709
    Pretty poor execution down the stretch. But that’s probably expected without TJ. Big game Saturday
    Oldbanduhalum Options
  • Zander
    284
    According to gauchodan on the Big West forums, we're somehow one of the last three teams who can still mathematically win the title, along with Fullerton and Irvine. Not that it's going to happen though, because Irvine just has to win two more to clinch.
    Zander Options
  • Toke69
    531
    The Anteaters have only one game remaining against a Big West team in the upper half of the league: UC Davis. It is very unlikely that they will lose any games except the one against the Aggies, so Zander is absolutely right. It would be best for the Ags if TJ gets healthy and they can capture the 3rd seed to avoid playing UCI until the finals of the tournament. Their toughest challenges will be Hawaii and UCI, but if they can win one of those home games, at least, they can finish 10-6. They would likely overtake Hawaii which has 3 games on the road of their last 4, but for the third seed, they need to beat out the Gauchos. So much will depend on TJ getting back.
    Toke69 Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    ↪Oldbanduhalum
    didn’t help that no one beside Silar could make a shot. Limited options down the stretch.
    DrMike Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    ↪DrMike
    The shots just were not falling. Defensively, we got the game we wanted by keeping the score in the low 60's but we also had trouble with our interior defense. We competed hard as usual but the offense never really got untracked and we had too many critical TO's. Mooney and Gonzalez were both cold from the field and, other than Siler, we were empty offensively.

    We could have taken this game to OT at least with better FT shooting. I'm not sure why the men shoot FT's at a poorer percentage than the women. The Lady Ags just step up to the line and drain them.

    Need to regroup and beat CSUN tomorrow which will be no easy task in their house.
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    ↪BlueGoldAg
    we were on a nice FT roll after the Hawaii debacle. We had a stretch with 23-23, 10-14, 11-12, 10-11, 11-15. The last two 9-16 and 8-16. Not sure how many of the 8 misses last night were front ends of 1-and-1, but there 4 or 5 points we gave away if we just shoot decent. Silar was 11-15 from the field, rest of team 11-38 (less than 30%). Somebody (s) have to step up. Hope this is the resurrection of Silar. Showed sparks of it vs Beach, lights out last night
    DrMike Options
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