Big West Play Begins for Gauchos; Host Tritons, trip to UC Davis

SANTA BARBARA, California – The UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team (6-1) begins Big West play this week, facing UC San Diego (6-2) at home on Thursday night before facing UC Davis (3-4) on Saturday night. starts. Thanks to the conference’s new “Bold Week” initiative, which is akin to attending conference games in early December, the Gauchos will get their first taste of Big West action earlier than usual.

LAST TIME

UC Santa Barbara picked up two wins last week while hosting the Mountain to Sea Showcase. A strong second half from the Blue and Gold earned them a victory over Eastern Washington in the opening game of the MTE (multi-team event). The Gauchos outscored the Eagles by 14 points in the second half Deuce Turner And Stephen Swenson combined for 23 of the Gauchos’ 37 points in the second half.

In the “Mountain to Sea” finale, newbie Zion Sensley Scored a season-high 16 points, leading all scorers, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Joining Sensley on the All-Tournament team was Jason Fontenet II And Deuce Turner. senior Kenny Pohto was named Mountain to Sea Showcase MVP.

Looking for the Tritons

The Tritons won their fourth game in a row and did so in convincing fashion. UC San Diego defeated Division III La Verne 109-33 on Saturday, November 30th. The Tritons are 6-2 overall and ranked 78th in the first NET rankings of the year. The Tritons are third-highest in the conference in NET rankings, behind only CSUN (73) and UC Irvine (29).

The Gauchos and Tritons will meet for the fourth straight year in the opening weekend of Big West action. Over the past three seasons, UC San Diego has maintained a 2-1 record in Week 1 contests.

This season, the Tritons are led by senior Tyler McGhie. The Denton, Texas native is averaging 18.5 points per game, which ranks third in The Big West. He also grabs almost four rebounds per game and dishes out 2.0 assists per game. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (17.0) and Nordin Kapic (10.1) are also in double figures. The trio combine for 45.6 points per game, which is nearly 60 percent of their team’s scoring average.

Looking for the AGGIES

The Aggies enter the tough week with a two-game deficit after losing two straight games to Norfolk State and Oregon State, respectively. Before the consecutive losses, the Aggies had won three of their last four games, including a road win against Grand Canyon. GCU is currently ranked ninth in College Insiders’ Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

UC Davis is led by Big West leading scorer Ty Johnson. The Chicago, Illinois native ranks eighth nationally with a 22.4 per game average. Before being eliminated in two games, the senior averaged over 25 per contest. Johnson accounts for nearly a third of the Aggie offense. If you include Davis’ other two double-digit scorers, Pablo Tamba (12.3) and Leo DeBruhl (10.4), the three account for 65 percent of the points.

FOLLOW WITH

UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego tip off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 5th at The Thunderdome. The Gauchos then travel north to face the Aggies of UC Davis on Saturday, December 7th. The competition starts on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. For those unable to attend or make the trip, both games will be streamed on ESPN+.