Thanks, my bad. I fixed it.

I see that Cal Poly has beaten Bakersfield. Good for us in that it moves us three full games ahead of the Roadrunners. Bad for us, because if Hawai`i is paying any attention to the Big West scoreboard, it really puts them in danger of missing the tournament. A loss to UCD tonight ties them with the Mustangs and Cal Poly has a very easy final two games, whereas Hawaii is on the road at Bakersfield and CSUN. The Warriors are going to be desperate for a win.

As things now appear, it is probable that the 5 through 8 seeds will go to UCSB, UCD, Bakersfield and Hawai`i with Cal Poly having a decent chance of bumping Hawai`i. Bakersfield has a realistic chance of finishing 9-11, so at first glance the Ags would need to win one game to stay out of the 7th seed where they would then face the Roadrunners in the first round. But if the Aggies do win dup at 7, who will be 6? CSU Bakersfield. Thus the most likely scenario has us playing Bakersfield again, a team that has beaten the Ags twice this year. It looks like the only way to avoid that is to pass UCSB. The Gauchos are likely to finish 11-9 as they face CSUN and UCI. A win over Hawai`i tomorrow would mean we would have to beat either UCSD or UCI next week to even tie with UCSB. Seems like a long shot.

Games of Feb. 27

UC Santa Barbara (home, 19-10/11-7) 96, Cal Poly (home, 11-18/5-12) 77
UC Irvine (24-4/14-3) 76, CSU Fullerton (home, 6-23/1-16) 51
UC San Diego (25-4/15-2) 77, CSUN (home, 20-8/12-5) 71
UC Riverside (19-11/12-6) 82, Hawai`i (home, 14-14/6-11) 76
CSU Bakersfield (13-17/7-11) 88, Long Beach State (home, 7-22/3-14) 87 OT

The UCR victory over Hawai`i puts the Warriors in jeopardy of not making the Big West Tournament, which is not good news for Aggie fans. I watched the game and can say that Hawai`i is not suffering any after effects from their blow out loss to UCSD. They’re going to play UCD tough.

As expected, the Matadors gave UCSD a real tough battle, but there were no real surprises today. The score by which Cal Poly lost is a mild surprise since they’ve been playing well lately and are fighting for an 8th seed, which is still within reach. That’s more than you can say for both the Beach and the Titans, who will not make the cut. Bakersfield kept their hopes alive on a buzzer beater by Jemel Jones.

I won’t be posting on this discussion on Saturday since I’ll be watching the UCD-Hawai`i game in person.

Good catch. I see that UCSD not only got 14 votes from the coaches but racked up 8 in the AP.

My crystal ball says that no one is going to beat UC San Diego in the Big West. Not only are they alone in first but they are peaking, it seems if you look at the scores of their last 6 games. CSUN is going to give them a battle on Thursday but after that, the only team they play with a current winning record is the Ags. I predict that they are going to reel off 6 straight wins, wind up in the AP top 25 and get the only spot in the NCAAs, since Irvine has faded.

Next yer the Aggies will be without four current starters, returning only Sevilla. Between the returning players and the new recruits this will be one of Coach Les' biggest challenges in molding a new team. Then, too, I wonder who we meet lose to the transfer portal?

This is not meant as a criticism of TY Johnson, but it just struck me that one of the main problems that the Aggies have had recently is the lack of a true point guard. TY is really more of a shooting guard, yet he usually brings the ball into the front court. He only averages 2.8 assists per game, which is 15th in the Big West. Devin Askew of Long Beach State is first with 4.7 apr. TY's assist to turnover ratio is 0.72. Leo DeBruhl, meanwhile, has a 2.1 ratio and leads the Ags in that category as well as apr, 2.1. Maybe Coach Les thinks of DeBruhl as his point guard, but I haven't had the sense that Leo really has that role. Thus UCD ranks 9th in the conference in assists per game and 8th in assist/turnover. Eli Pepper was not a true point guard either, but his presence really gave the Aggies a great 1-2 scoring punch and it placed TY in the point guard role last year in which he averaged 3.3 apg.

Yes, I addressed both of these points in the discussion about the Big West post-season.

Games of Feb. 22

UC Santa Barbara (18-10/10-7) 58, Long Beach State (home,7-21/3-13)
Cal Poly (home, 11-15/5-11) 110, UC Riverside (18-11/11-6) 100 OT
UC Irvine (23-5/13-3) 73, CSU Bakersfield (home, 12-17/6-11) 64
UC San Diego (home, 24-4/14-2) 83, Hawai`i (14-13/6-10) 44

It’s scary to note that the Tritons have now won their last 3 games by an average of 26 points and have won 10 in a row. Hawai`i, the Aggies next opponent has gone in the other direction having won only 2 of their last 9. I note that this discussion has not drawn much interest lately, so unless I hear from those of you who like it, this will be my last post here.

With today's loss a four seed for the Aggies is likely out of reach even with Riverside’s loss to Cal Poly. UC Santa Barbara's win makes the fifth seed less likely although the Gauchos could finish 10-10 and would lose the tiebreaker with the Ags. For that to have a slight chance, UC Davis has to beat either Hawai`i on the road or UCI or UCSD. Whether or not they beat Hawai`i, I don't see us falling below a 6 seed unless Bakersfield edges us out. The way CSUN is playing right now, one has to think they could edge out the Anteaters for the second seed. Looks like UCR and UCSB will fight it out for the last top 4 spot.

I get that the Aggies played well for most of the game and the Matadors need to have full credit for coming on strong at the end and winning. If I were a CSUN fan I would be very happy. Still, I did not see fatigue toward the end as much as a case of panic setting end when the Mats started their run. It was similar to the way we lost to the Roadrunners. Good teams are able to find ways to win in the clutch. Right now, UCD appears to be headed for a 9-11 season and a probable 6 seed. I'm hoping for 10-10 if we can beat Hawai`i.

I'm still doing a slow burn after the game. It's like the whole season is in the toilet, but I'm still going to the game next Saturday hoping the Ags can beat Hawai`i.

That was the worst collapse it has ever been my misfortune to see. How do you blow a 12 point lead with less than 7 minutes to go? I'm beginning to think that what this team lacks is that psychological toughness it takes to win in the clutch. Second straight game that they've let one of the role players on the opposition take over the game. I'm pretty disgusted.

Terrible time for the Ags to fall apart and let CSUN go on an 11-0 run. Time to settle down, guys. Pull this one out.

Ags continuing to play solid D plus making 80% of their foul shots. Where was this on Thursday? Now up by 10 with 11 to go.

Decent first half, but I wish we were up by a lot more than 3 at the half. CSUN is not likely to have 13 turnovers in the second half.

Ags have come out with a lot more energy in this one. They're going to need to sustain it and shoot better.

AGs offense was sporadic for reasons I can't guess. They opened the first half hitting 8 of 12 from the floor including 4 of 5 from trey range and getting out to a 5 point lead, then they went stone cold until midway through the second half only making 5 of 16. They ended the game with another decent shooting effort. I can see how a team can go hot and cold for short stretches but this seemed unusual. Could it be attributable to the changing tactics of the coaches? If so, why didn't Coach Les make adjustments earlier, especially at halftime?

I envy all who can attend the games in person at Davis. I'll be going to the game next week in Hawai`1, where I will be cheering for the Aggies in the middle of a hostile crowd seeking revenge for the Warriors loss at Davis, but it won't keep me from voicing my support. I've seen more Aggie men's basketball both live and on ESPN than any other sport.