DAVIS, Calif. — With two dominant wins at home and an undefeated start in the Big West conference, the UC Davis men's basketball team looks to extend their streak on the road, as they gear up for clashes with UC Riverside and UC Irvine.

Jan. 4 at UC Riverside | 7 p.m. Tip-off (Riverside, Calif.) | ESPN+
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Jan. 6 at UC Irvine | 1 p.m. Tip-off (Irvine, Calif.) | ESPN+ | Spectrum SportsNet
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LAST TIME
After a convincing win against preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara last Thursday, the Aggies followed it up with their best defensive performance of the season against Cal Poly on Saturday.

Elijah Pepper continued to impress as one of the most potent scorers in the country, recording 27 points against the Gauchos, and 25 against the Mustangs. His efficiency from all over the court has Pepper among the elite regarding scoring ranks within the NCAA. Standing as one of only two Big West players to be averaging 20 or more points, Pepper has made the most of his damage from behind the arc. Ranking 14th in the country in points per game, Pepper's most standout stat up to this point is his ninth-most three-pointers per game.

Pepper's backcourt running mate Ty Johnson has been responsible for much of the Aggies' latest success as well, serving as a prominent distributor offensively, and disruptor defensively. Tasked with guarding each team's best player, Johnson limited UC Santa Barabara's player of the year candidate Ajay Mitchell to just 12 points and served as the point of attack defender against Cal Poly; a game in which the Aggies limited the Mustangs to just 32.7% shooting from the field. Sprinkled in with his defensive prowess, Johnson showed off his ability to share the rock, dishing out a career-high 10 assists with no turnovers against UC Santa Barbara and a game-high four assists against Cal Poly.

The rest of the Aggie starting lineup which consists of Kane Milling, Ade Adebayo, and Niko Rocak have been all playing their best basketball of the season.

What started with a 16-point effort in his return to Nevada back on December 6, Milling has since been on a scoring tear, recording five straight games in double figures, while also reaching that mark in seven of his last eight games. Milling also pulled down six rebounds against the Mustangs and has been impacting the game on both sides of the ball.

Adebayo and Rocak in the frontcourt have been productive in sparking second-chance points and making it tough for opponents to create a rhythm offensively. In the Aggies win against the Gauchos, Rocak left his defensive imprint all over the game, recording three steals, and three blocks to go along with a game-high six rebounds. Adebayo on the other side has flashed off his opportunistic offensive output, going 4-5 from the field against the Gauchos, and then a perfect 3-3 from the field against Cal Poly while also anchoring the defensive rotations like he has been all season for UC Davis.


AGGIES IN THE RANKINGS

• #16 in NCAA in Turnovers Forced Per Game.
• Pepper ranked #14 in NCAA in Points Per Game, #9 in Three-Pointers Per Game and #16 in Free Throw Percentage.
• Ty Johnson and Pepper entered the season as the top returning backcourt scoring duo in the country and both are top-12 in Big West in scoring this season.
• #74 ranked Scoring Defense in the NCAA while being first in the Big West.

ELIJAH PEPPER RECORD WATCH

• Pepper is now the all-time leading scorer in Aggie history with 1,874 points and counting.
• Now with the UC Davis record in hand, Pepper trails the all-time Big West career scoring record by 438 points, a record held by Lucious Harris (LBSU, 122 games - 1989-93).
• Pepper is also now tied for UC Davis' all-time steals record with Dante Ross as both sit atop the list with 186 in their careers. His next steal will give him yet another Aggie record.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
The new look UC Riverside squad for the 2023-24 season is led by Isaiah Moses and Barrington Hargress. A balanced attack, the Highlanders make the most out of their offensive possessions, ranking ninth in the country in turnovers per game, as they only commit 9.2 per game. This paired with their 38th-ranked three-point attempts per game presents a very unique challenge to the Aggies.

UC Irvine is one of the most complete teams in the Big West with a resume to back it up. One of three teams along with the Aggies to begin 2-0 in conference play, the Anteaters have a quality win against USC and a one-point loss to San Diego State highlighting their potential. With table-setter Pierre Crockrell II ranking seventh in the country in assists, the Anteaters record 17.3 assists per game to supplement their 78.5 points per game scoring offense.


SOCIAL MEDIA
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