UC Davis (2-1) vs. Arkansas State (2-1)
FRIDAY, NOV. 18 | 6:00 P.M. PT | UNIVERSITY CREDIT UNION CENTER | DAVIS, CALIF.
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Davis, Calif. — The UC Davis Men's Basketball team returns to the University Credit Union Center Friday evening when the visiting Arkansas State Red Wolves come out West for a matchup between two, 2-1 squads.

GAME NOTES

• The 2-1 Aggies look to bounce back and get into the win column against Arkansas State during the last home game at the University Credit Union Center in 2022.
• The Aggies boast three double-figure scorers; Elijah Pepper (24.0), Ty Johnson (17.3), Christian Anigwe (13.0).
• UC Davis is still in the top half of the nation in Pace but Arkansas State presents a unique challenge as they rank out as one of the slowest teams in Pace to date.
• Elijah Pepper erupted for 32 points against LMU while also bringing down seven rebounds.
• Ty Johnson has been electric for UC Davis recording 15 or more points in each of the three games so far. Johnson also leads UC Davis in rebounds.
• Off the bench Leo DeBruhl continues to lead all Aggies in assists with 12, after recording three against LMU.
• Christian Anigwe has been efficient to start his senior campaign, a career night against Cal has #4 among the top half of Aggies in most scoring categories while leading the team in blocks with four.
• The versatile Kane Milling has taken a leap from last season and is one of three Ags to start every game this year. After starting in half of the games a year ago, Milling has been a reliable piece of the rotation that can impact the game in multiple ways.
• The Ags are averaging 80 points a game through three contests.
• After recording nine steals in the opener at Cal and eight against Cal Maritime, UC Davis will look to be disruptive yet again on the defensive side of the ball Friday night after only recording one at LMU.
• UC Davis is coming off a 85-75 defeat to LMU.

ABOUT THE RED WOLVES

• Arkansas State opened up the season with a win against Division 2 Harding University 86-55.
• They followed that victory up with a nine-point loss to LSU in Baton Rouge with the score being 61-52 in favor of the Tigers.
• The Red Wolves latest game was a 82-58 win against NAIA opponent, Lyon College. They will be looking to pick up their first win against a Division 1 opponent when they travel to Davis.
• Arkansas State boasts one double digit scorer in the form of Omar El-Sheikh, a graduate student who also leads the Red Wolves in rebounds with 6.7 per game.
• Arkansas State is also led by Caleb Fields who was a Preseason All-Sun Belt Team Nomination.
• The Red Wolves lean heavily on their defense and creating turnovers as they come into this match with 36 steals and rank 14th in the nation in STL% at 17.6%.
• Offensively, the Red Wolves have been sharing share the rock. They only possess one double-figure scorer and rank 9th in the nation in AST% as nearly 70% of their points are by way of assist.
• Even with this assist rate, the Red Wolves rank near the bottom in the nation in pace and will present a clear clash of play styles as Davis has been trying to push the pace all year.

SERIES INFO

• The matchup will only be the second time the Aggies have faced Arkansas State and the Red Wolves hold the hammer after winning the lone contest by a score of 80-67 back on Nov. 15, 2019.

MILESTONE WATCH

• Elijah Pepper erupted for 32 points against LMU and keeps inching closer to eclipsing the 1,000 career points mark.
• He enters with the contest with 953 points to his name and has appeared in 76 games throughout his time in Davis; starting in all but two games.
• Pepper has entered the top-10 in career points scored for Aggies during the Division-1 Era after overtaking former Aggie J.T. Adenrele's 947 points scored mark.

UP NEXT

• UC Davis and Sacramento State square off in the Causeway Cup Game at Golden 1 Center on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 P.M. PT.
• UC Davis and Sacramento State have met each other 14 times throughout history where both schools were classified as major schools and Davis holds a record of 6-8 throughout that time.
• This is the sixth straight game between the two schools at Golden 1 Center with Sacramento State winning the last three matchups.
• Tickets for the Causeway Cup Game can be found here.