Awesome win by Irvine 70-64! They'll play the winner of the #12 Oregon vs #5 Wisconsin.

Irvine and K State tied at the half 30-30. The Eaters are battling hard against a very tough defense by K State.

Bakersfield beat Fullerton 66-58 in the CIT at Fullerton last night.

I think that we are a tough sell right now after the season we had.

Irvine plays their first round game today at 10:50 a.m. against Kansas State. The game will be televised on TBS.

I think the Eaters have a good chance to win this game and advance. I could see them making it to the Sweet 16 if they play like they are capable of.

Go Anteaters!

From today's Sacramento Bee:

Morgan the Conqueror – UC Davis basketball star has lineage and game

Bertsch wasn’t recruited as much as she was discovered out of Santa Rosa High School.

She was long and lanky at 6-feet-4-inches. Her red face then was evidence of how much effort she put into crashing the boards, scoring inside and defending as a centerpiece to a playoff program.

The UCD coaching staff in 2014 was reviewing game film of a potential recruit playing against Santa Rosa when Bertsch caught their eye. They didn’t focus on her shot or tenacity. They saw her stride. Aggies coach Jennifer Gross wondered, “who is that gazelle?”

The UCD coaches scouted Bertsch in person. They were underwhelmed. Bertsch was battling a flu, but the potential was there. She was worth another look, and then, ultimately, a scholarship offer.

Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/sports/college/article228227434.html#storylink=cpy

Utah Valley beat Fullerton last night in the CBI Tournament 92-84 in Orem, Utah. Lamine Diane had 27 and Terrell Gomez had 22 for the Titans. The big difference in the game was Utah Valley hitting 29-37 FT's to just 13 of 20 for CSUN. The Titans forced 20 UV TO's with 16 steals. CSUN is going to be a force in the Big West next year.

He could have been sick and they didn't want him to spread a bug to the team. He got quite a bit of playing time this year and he showed promise with some time to develop more. Les does always recruit a lot of guards though so he would have competition for the a starting spot. I would be surprised if he wasn't back next year.

Les comments on the disappointing season:

“I’m disappointed in my ability to help this team navigate success, and all the attention that it brings; being able to stay true to ourselves and true to the characteristics that have made us a successful program,” eighth-year Aggie coach Jim Les told The Enterprise.

“I think we lost our way (in 2018-19), and as the leader of the program, that’s on me.”

Les, the author of three 20-plus-game winning seasons in the last five, pondered the ups and downs before offering his next thought …

“Probably what makes the flashback more disappointing is that we showed flashes throughout the year of the type of team we could be and the level of basketball that we could play at — which was a pretty high level.

“We just weren’t able to establish a level of consistency with that.


“It first and foremost starts with our mindset and that’s what made it all the more frustrating for all of us — players and coaches. We had those moments where it was all clicking. It was pretty compelling.

“We just couldn’t find that blueprint enough.”

And hints that he is still recruiting for next year:

He confirmed that his staff will remain intact and that there’s still work to do before the April 19 signing deadline.

“We’re really excited about the recruiting class we’ve already signed. There’s going to be more to come,” Les added. “It’s a talented group. The lure of coming to a world-class university in a world-class community is really exciting.”

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/aggie-mens-season-was-not-what-we-wanted/

Excerpts from the Davis Enterprise:

In regards to the Aggie blowout loss to Stanford to start the season:

“We were barely getting our (game) together,” Song told The Enterprise. “We love the matchup. We’re very comfortable playing there (at Maples Pavilion). We’ve played there almost every year. But they’re not to be taken lightly. They are a very good team. We’re ready. We’re super-excited to be playing in the tournament.”

About ESPN leaking the bracket:

Big West Conference Player of the Year Morgan Bertsch recalled when the cat got out of the bag:

“I had just gotten out of my ethics in general engineering final. I looked at my phone and it said, ‘Brackets got leaked, come to the coaches’ office.’ So, yeah, we had known for a while.”

An appreciative Jen Gross:

“As you know, it’s been crazy and little bit of an anti-climactic day for us,” the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame guard told the throng. “Although this won’t be (us) sitting on the edge of our seats, awaiting our seed, I just wanted to thank … all of the amazing fans and community that are part of our family here at UC Davis.

“I know a lot of people were down in Anaheim — and whether you were there or here at Woodstock’s watching and supporting and believing in us — that entire game, even when things weren’t going our way, your energy, your positivity helped get (that comeback) done for us.

“I know our players said every score that we got during that run, they ran back on defense, feeling tired for a second. But then they looked up at our crowd — going crazy and standing on their feet — and (the players) said it willed them to get that next defensive stop.”

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/so-much-for-a-surprise-aggie-women-heading-to-stanford/

That's a really interesting post. I just saw that ESPN3 will be televising the Ags at UC Irvine on May 17 & 18. I hope they play well on national tv.

It was simply a draw based on geography and money for the NCAA and not on the strength of the Aggies. I read where the Stanford coach, Tara VanDerveer, was not happy with the draw either. She had this to say:

She also said she was “not excited” about playing the Aggies because their head coach, Jennifer Gross, and her staff were a huge help to the Stanford coaches several years ago when they were learning the Princeton offense, which UCD has used for many years. VanDerveer wanted to open up the offense after All-American Chiney Ogwumike left in 2014.

“I’ve been rooting for them all year,” VanDerveer said. “It’s hard to play someone you’re close to and want to win, too.” But she added, “It’s every woman for themselves.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesports/article/Stanford-women-will-host-UC-Davis-ESPN-botches-13698532.php

Who knows? I would think that we won't see such a stacked schedule but I hope we don't water the schedule down to the point that the wins are essentially meaningless for our RPI and SOS and any loses to weak teams brings the RPI and SOS way down real fast.

I believe we are already scheduled to play in the Hardwood Classic again next season so we will be playing at Indiana and Arkansas again.

The 64 team WNIT field is set:

I think the Aggies would have made a deep run into the WNIT if they had not gotten into the Big Dance. Most likely they would have hosted St Mary's in the first round and, if they beat them, I think they would have hosted again against the winner of the Pepperdine vs Cal Baptist. I think they just may have hosted the third round also.

https://www.womensnit.com/tournaments/brackets/index.aspx?bracket_id=87

Hawai'i travels to St Mary's for their first round game on Friday night in the WNIT.

Apparently UCSB and Hawai'i had offers to play in a post-season tournament but turned them down. Those other tournaments are pay for play with little exposure so they must have felt it's not worth it.

The 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
All Times EST

First Round

MONDAY, MARCH 18
NJIT 92, Quinnipiac 81

TUESDAY, MARCH 19
Cornell (15-15) vs. Robert Morris (17-16) 7:00 pm

Jim Phelan Classic
IUPUI (16-16) vs. Marshall (19-14) 7:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20
Texas Southern (21-13) vs. New Orleans (19-13) 8:00 pm
Grambling (17-16) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (19-16) 8:00 pm
Presbyterian (18-15) vs. Seattle (18-14) 10:00 pm

Hugh Durham Classic
Green Bay (17-16) vs. ETSU (24-9) 7:00 pm

THURSDAY, MARCH 21
FAU (17-15) vs. Charleston Southern (17-15) 7:00 pm

Coach John McLendon Classic
Saint Francis Brooklyn (17-15) vs. Hampton (16-17) 7:00 pm

Riley Wallace Classic
CSU Bakersfield (16-15) vs. Cal State Fullerton (16-17) 10:00 pm

Lou Henson Classic
Kent State (22-10) vs. UL Monroe (18-15) 8:00 pm

FRIDAY, MARCH 22
Drake (24-9) vs. Southern Utah (16-16) 8:30 pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 23
FIU (19-13) vs. Texas State (24-9) 7:00 pm

Second Round
NOTE: Top 3 seeds will get a bye after first round

Quarterfinals
March 27-31

Semifinals
April 2

Championship
April 4

http://www.2019cit.com/schedule-results.php

Kevin Blue is on the CIT Selection Committee:

CIT SELECTION COMMITTEE
The CIT Selection Committee consists of 12 current NCAA Division I Athletic Directors and Conference Commissioners.

Kevin Blue, UC Davis
Jim Donovan, Cal State Fullerton - Committee Chairman
Ted Gumbart, Atlantic Sun Conference
Tim Hall, UMBC
Kelley Hartley Hutton, Fort Wayne
Ryan Ivey, Stephen F. Austin
Lenny Kaplan, NJIT
Eugene Marshall, Jr., Hampton
Jeremy McClain. Troy
Ed McLaughlin, VCU
Bob Moosbrugger, Bowling Green
Peter Pilling, Columbia

Hawai'i is going to the WNIT (opponent TBD) and Riverside is in the WBI and will host Utah State.