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UC Davis basketball fans enjoyed two perfect home records in the last four seasons, and watched the Aggies win three Big West titles throughout that same timespan. Create a home court advantage like no other, purchase your tickets for a men's basketball home game today!
The bright lights seem to be shining once again on UC Davis men's basketball.
Winners of three straight and four of their last five games, the Aggies have battled their way back into Big West relevance after facing a tough non-conference schedule
Now standing at 4-4 in BWC play, fifth-place Davis finds itself in the enviable position of having six of their last eight regular-season games at home — a place where Pavilion crowds have been loud and the Aggies' record has been proud.
Over the past five years, UC Davis sports the best home record among Big West schools. With a 47-12 mark (a 79.6 winning percentage), only UC Irvine (74.3) and Hawaii (70.9) compare.
As recent Aggie hops seem higher and the shots more likely to find net bottoms, those who know college basketball are taking note.
This week, reigning Big West Player of the Year T.J. Shorts II was named the league's Player of the Week for his 19.5-point average in wins over Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
Then, almost simultaneously, ESPNU called and said it had so much fun televising Saturday's 61-57 UC Davis win at Santa Barbara it would like to do it again when front-running UC Irvine comes to Davis on Feb. 28. The last time the two met in Southern California, it was a typical Anteater-Aggie classic — UCI barely winning 71-69 in overtime.
So what about this resurrection? Remember, UC Davis (now 8-14) won the Big West regular-season championship in 2017-18. It had four starters returning this season. Yet, there was that woeful start.
In Aggie coach Jim Les' world, there are no excuses. But to casual observers, it was clear that the pre-Big West schedule was hellacious — road games with Arizona, Indiana, USC, Arkansas and LMU. Then six of the team's first eight conference games were on the road, including at UCI and UCSB (schools with a combined 38 victories).
Still, Les was having none of it. His guys needed to improve — and in recent weeks there have been shakeups. Men who were starters were held in reserve. Role players were on the court for opening tip-offs. Even Shorts II twice came off the bench twice, each time fueling victories.
Les got everybody's attention ...
"Especially winning three in a row, it's defense," the coach told me, referencing the fact that Davis has held recent foes to under 40 percent shooting overall and in the mid- to low 20s on 3-pointers.
"Cal Poly scores 53, Santa Barbara 57 at home … you're going to give yourself a chance to win, regardless of what we do offensively, if we defend with purpose, energy and activity like we did this last trip."
Against the Mustangs, 15 turnovers resulted in 25 points for the Aggies.
"That's a good recipe for us," says Les, smiling about the return of his team's hard-nosed play. "It's not only just the defensive numbers, but it's that defense is creating good opportunities for us."
So, knowing that some three-year starters had to wait to get into games, are there any long faces when the coach looks down the bench?
"What I think (shaking up the lineup) is doing is showing that we have confidence in our roster," the former Bradley player and coach reports. "Guys are ready to step up, it's that next-man-up mentality.
"I think the integrity of our practices over the last couple of weeks has been pretty good. Guys are coming to practice with a purpose, competing hard, knowing that their practice production is going to lead to minutes … or no minutes.
"Their focus has been really good. We, as a staff ... we're not stressing who starts and who doesn't start. We're stressing quality of play, buying into the system.
"If you do those things in practice, we know you'll do it in the game and you'll be rewarded with minutes."
Two former reserves — Joe Mooney and Matt Neufeld — have been keys to the Aggies' resurgence.
Since Big West play began, Mooney — a product of Les' alma mater Notre Dame College Prep (Niles, Ill.) who played there for Jim's brother Tom — is averaging 16.4 ppg. Neufeld, a Canadian native who transferred from Saint Louis, is hitting for 10 points a game since being inserted into the lineup in December.
With the all-hands-on-deck approach, it may be a little late for UC Davis to make a run at pack-leading UC Irvine (21-5, 9-1) for regular-season honors, but the big prize is well within hand: a Big West Tournament victory and a return to the NCAA Big Dance. Fans will remember that two seasons ago the Aggies won a First Four game before falling to then-No. 3 Kansas.
"The attitude has been great, and no more evident than watching our bench, the support," Les continues. "Maybe guys who were used to starting and are now on the bench … their energy and support of their teammates, cheering for their team, has been really evident.
"I look at that when I watch the tape — those guys that were starting are coming into the game … with really good focus and energy and not pouting.
"Those are all really good signs. This isn't about any one person, nobody's fault."
UC Davis will look to break that fifth-place tie with CSUN (10-14, 4-4) Wednesday night, then hosts Long Beach State (9-16, 3-6) on Saturday. Both games are at The Pavilion with game times set at 7 p.m.
— Bruce Gallaudet is the former sports and managing editor of The Davis Enterprise and has been covering UC Davis athletics for 40 years. Reach him at 530-320-4456 or bgallaudet41@gmail.com. Read "Inside Aggie Nation" weekly at ucdavisaggies.com
