GAME 24
UC DAVIS (14-9, 7-4 BIG WEST) AT UC RIVERSIDE (15-9, 8-4 BIG WEST)
THURSDAY, FEB. 9 | 6 PM | SRC ARENA
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
GAME 25
UC DAVIS (14-9, 7-4 BIG WEST) AT UC SANTA BARBARA (18-4, 9-2 BIG WEST)
SATURDAY, FEB. 11 | 7 PM | THE THUNDERDOME
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE RADIO | LIVE STATS
Davis, Calif. – Riding momentum from a huge, 75-63 win at home against the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors, the UC Davis Men's Basketball Team is gearing up for maybe their most important two-game stretch of season. Just the second time this season in Big West play where the Aggies will have consecutive road games, UC Davis is set to take on the UC Riverside Highlanders Thursday night, before heading to The Thunderdome to play Big West No. 1, UC Santa Barbara.
Sitting at 7-4 in Big West play, the two games this week present huge implications for seeding at the Big West Championships in Henderson, Nevada.
Losing their first matchup to UC Riverside, the Aggies are looking to split the season series and capitalize on the recent Highlanders skid. Losing their last two contests; albeit, both were road games; the Highlanders have been susceptible lately to giving their opposition too many attempts at the free throw line, and some inefficiencies in the half-court when presumptive All-Big West First Team Member Zyon Pullin struggles to create for himself. While one of the most balanced teams in the conference and possessing a player of the year candidate in Pullin, the Aggies have been one of the most aggressive teams in the nation when it comes to getting to the charity stripe, and are looking to make it three straight losses for UC Riverside this Thursday.
Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson are playing some of the best basketball in all of the nation and have the numbers to back it up. Pepper is currently the leading scorer in all of California among Division 1 players. His 20.4 points per game is 21st in the nation and first among Big West players. He has recorded 28+ points in three consecutive games. Johnson has been electric as well, ranked fourth in the Big West in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game, he has recorded seven straight games of double figure scoring, with the highlights being a 32 point outburst against Long Beach State and a 22 point outing last game against a tough Hawai'i defense.
After their game against UC Riverside, the Aggies will hop back on the road and visit UC Santa Barbara, hoping to end their five game series losing streak against the Gauchos.
Dealing with one player of the year candidate in Riverside on Thursday, the Aggies will be yet again tasked with stopping another star in the Big West as UC Santa Barbara is paced by sophomore Ajay Mitchell. A crafty guard with a unique smoothness to his game, Mitchell impacts the game every night for coach Joe Pasternack's squad. The one-two punch Mitchell and senior big Miles Norris provide the Gauchos is something to look forward to as UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara arguably have the two best duos in the Big West with Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson lighting it up recently for the Aggies. While not only a team known for their two top scorers, the Gauchos possess the second best scoring defense in the Big West, allowing only 62.4 points per contest, and then come at you on the offensive side of the ball with pure efficiency, as UC Santa Barbara is ranked 16th in the nation in field goal percentage, knocking down 48.7% of all of their field goal attempts.
The Gauchos are coming off a loss to CSUN and will have a road game against Long Beach State Thursday before hosting the Aggies on Saturday night.
Each of the games this week can be caught on ESPN+. For radio, Thursday's contest at UC Riverside will be aired on KHTK while Saturday's game can be heard on the Varsity Network.
