Men's Basketball 11/9/2010 12:00:00 AM

Aggies Tip Off Season vs. Florida Atlantic

Nov. 9, 2010

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UC DAVIS MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
UC Davis (0-0, 0-0)
vs.
Florida Atlantic (0-0, 0-0)

Friday, November 12, 2010
4 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.
- Florida Atlantic went 14-16 in the 2009-10 season, with a 10-8 record in the Sun Belt, finishing fourth in the East Division. The Owls were picked to finish 2nd in the East division of the SBC 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.
- Both teams have played two exhibition games this season and both teams have lost vs. Non-Division I member schools.
- After defeating Menlo College 84-78, UC Davis fell 67-62 vs. Academy of Art, a Division II school that competes in the Pacific West Conference.
- Florida Atlantic lost in their first exhibition game, 85-81 vs. Northwood, a NAIA Division II school. Northwood is currently coached by Rollie Massimino, who is best known for leading Villanova past Georgetown to win the NCAA championship in 1985.
- UC Davis is 2-5 in season openers under head coach Gary Stewart.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Friday's game marks the first all-time meeting between UC Davis and Florida Atlantic.

HEAD COACHES
Gary Stewart is in his 18th year as a head coach and his 8th season with the Aggies. He currently owns a 220-247 overall record and a 78-128 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.

Mike Jarvis boasts a 383-244 overall record after 21 years as a head coach and holds a 20-42 mark with Florida Atlantic in two seasons. The storied coach for the Owls has led three different programs into the NCAA Tournament, including Boston University (1985-90), George Washington University (1990-98) and St. John's University (1998-04).

FAU SCOUTING REPORT
The Owls had an eight game improvement last season, from the 6-26 year in 2008-09, which also marked head coach Mike Jarvis' first season. FAU returns four starters from last season's 14-16 squad and 10 letterwinners. Sophomore Greg Gantt led last year's team in scoring with 15.6 points per game. The Owls were picked to finish second out of six teams in the east division in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Friday'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 4 p.m. PT.

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 - 964 career points
Joe Harden - 908 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