Nov. 14, 2010

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UC DAVIS MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
UC Davis (0-2, 0-0)
vs.
Wisc.-Milwaukee (0-2, 0-0)

Sunday, November 14, 2010
3 p.m. (PST) - Portland, Ore.
Chiles Center (4,852)
KFSG (1690 AM)

OPENING TIPS
- UC Davis finished the 2009-10 season with a 14-18 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the Big West, finishing tied for 3rd in the conference. The Aggies were picked to finish 4th in the BWC this season.
- Wisc.-Milwaukee went 20-14 in the 2009-10 season, with a 10-8 record in the Horizon League, finishing fourth in the conference. The Panthers were picked to finish 5th in the Horizon League this season.
- The Aggies were eliminated in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament after a 76-62 loss to UC Santa Barbara, while the Owls lost in the first round of the Sun Belt Tourney, falling 61-51 to South Alabama.
- UC Davis dropped their first two games of the season, falling in 70-63 vs. Florida Atlantic, before a 75-60 defeat vs. Portland at the Athletes in Action Classic.
- Mark Payne had a perfect 13-13 performance at the free throw line vs. Florida Atlantic, en route to 19 points and 10 rebounds for the game. Payne had just eight points vs. Portland and now needs only nine points to reach 1000 career points.
- Wisc.-Milwaukee has also lost both of their games at the Athletes in Action Classic, falling 80-60 vs. Portland, before an 85-76 loss against FAU.
- Both Wisc. Milwaukee and UC Davis had large first half deficits against Portland en route to losses.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Sunday's game will mark just the second time that UC Davis and Wisc.-Milwaukee have met, with the Panthers holding a 1-0 series advantage. In the first all-time meeting in 2008-09, the Panthers got past the Aggies with an 81-75 win.

HEAD COACHES
Gary Stewart is in his 18th year as a head coach and his 8th season with the Aggies. He currently owns a 220-248 overall record and a 78-129 mark on the sidelines with UC Davis. Stewart was with the Aggies during all four years of the transition to Division I and is set to lead the program into their fourth year as a D1 member.

Rob Jeter holds an 82-76 overall record as a head coach. Jeter has been a head coach for five seasons, all of which have been with the Panthers. After starting his head coaching career with a league title and an NCAA Tournament win, Jeter has rebuilt the Milwaukee roster back into a league-championship contender. He has increased the number of wins in each of the last three seasons and, this past year, directed the Panthers to just the 10th 20-win season in school history.

WISC.-MILWAUKEE SCOUTING REPORT
The Panthers dropped an 80-60 decision in their first game vs. Portland at the Athletes in Action Classic. In game two vs. FAU, they lost 85-76. In the loss vs. Portland, they fell behind early and never recovered. They trailed by just two against FAU in the second half, before the Owls took control for good. Wisc.-Milwaukee finished last season with a 20-14 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Horizon League, good enough for a fourth place finish in the conference. The Panthers were picked to finish fifth out of 10 teams in the Horizon League preseason poll.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Saturday's contest will air on KFSG (1690 AM) with Bill Herenda on the call. The broadcast will also be simulcast on ucdavisaggies.com through Game Central by Stretch Internet. Live stat are available via portlandpilots.com, with a tip time set for 3 p.m. PT.

LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies dropped their second game at the Athletes in Action Classic, falling to the host school Portland 75-60. The Pilots put on a shooting clinic vs. the Aggies, shooting 62 percent from the floor and 64 percent from three point range for the game. Portland jumped on UC Davis early, shooting 7 of 9 from behind the arc in the first half. UC Davis trailed by 26 at one point in the first half and never could recover, despite out scoring the Pilots by seven in the second half.

WINNING BREEDS WINNING
There has been a common theme for the UC Davis men's basketball team over the past three years: consistent improvement.

2007-08 season: nine wins, two conference wins. 2008-09 season: 13 wins, seven conference wins. 2009-10 season: 14 wins, eight conference wins.

Coach Stewart is hoping that the Aggies will look to improve on that mark again this season.

"The theme is return and advance," said Stewart. "We want to get to the upper echelon of the conference, return to the conference tournament and advance farther than we did last year. The charge again is to continue to move the program forward, trying to build on some of the successes that we had last year. We feel like if we can remain healthy, we have a golden opportunity to do that."

NOTABLE NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Cal and perennial national power UCLA highlight a schedule that features three non-conference teams that reached the 20-win plateau. Pac-10 regular-season champion Cal, which beat Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national champion Duke in the second, finished 24-11. The Bears will host the Aggies on Dec. 1 at Haas Pavilion as the teams meet for the first time since the 1986-87 season. The Aggies and Bruins will play on Dec. 13 at legendary Pauley Pavilion, facing each other for the second time in the past four seasons. Cal joins Wisc.-Milwaukee (20-14) and Portland (21-11) as 20-game winners on the Aggies' upcoming non-conference schedule.

TELEVISED GAMES
UC Davis has a guarantee of three televised games this season, with the possibility of more to come. Currently, the Aggies will make appearances in games vs. UCLA, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. In the Dec. 13 matchup with the Bruins, the game will be televised on Prime Ticket. ESPNU will cover the Long Beach State game on Jan. 12, while the Feb. 2 tilt with UC Santa Barbara will also be on Prime Ticket.

1000 POINT WATCH
Seniors Joe Harden and Mark Payne are nearing the 1000-point plateau, with each player entering the 2010-11 season with over 900 points. The dynamic duo shouldn't need much time reach the milestone, but their progress will be updated on a game-to-game basis.

Mark Payne - 991 career points
Joe Harden - 926 career points

HARDEN'S PRESEASON PLAUDIT
Senior guard Joe Harden was named to the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team, voted on by a panel of media members. Harden has been selected to the Big West All-Conference Second Team the past two seasons. Last season, he was also named to the 2010 Big West All Tournament Team and he was named the 2009-10 Best Hustle Player in the Big West. Entering the 2010-11 season, Harden was third in active career leaders in points (908) and rebounds (445).

NO PAYNE NO GAIN
Despite missing eight games due to injury last season, senior guard Mark Payne is the Big West active career leader in three separate categories entering the 2010-11 season, including points (964), assists (352) and steals (149).

COACH Gary Stewart ON TWITTER
This season we will keep up with head coach Gary Stewart on Twitter, "retweeting" his latest tweets, starting with the most recent ones.

"I am fired up! Go Ags!"
15 Oct

"First day of "official" basketball practice! We are two hours away from taking the floor........."
15 Oct

"Coach Gross is an incredible teacher/coach. Without question, she will continue the long line of outstanding wbb coaches to lead the Ags!"
8 Oct

"and.......Congratulations to Jennifer Gross, who was named the Head Women's Basketball Coach for the 2011-12 season and beyond!"
8 Oct

"I am looking forward to seeing him coach one last season at the helm of the Ags!"
8 Oct

"On behalf of the entire men's basketball program at UC Davis, we wish him a retirement filled with joy and great health."
8 Oct

"UC Davis Women's Basketball Coach, Sandy Simpson, announces his retirement. Simple put, he is an outstanding coach and a wonderful person."
8 Oct

"First day of school, 2010-11. Go Ags!"
23 Sep