UC Davis basketball coach Jim Les understands the Aggies’ fan base.
“There are very few college towns on the West Coast,” Les said. “Davis is a college town. We have a large population of students, and our community really supports us.”
According to school figures, UC Davis’ enrollment is 40,848. A recent U.S. Census report estimated the population of Davis, Calif., at 67,000.
“We have a nice niche with our fan base,” Les said. “I think our players are really accessible in and around town.”
Les’ hope is a large turnout of students will attend tonight’s final regular-season home game for the UCD seniors. Tip-off against Hawaii is at 4 p.m. HT in 7,600-seat University Credit Union Center on the UCD campus.
“Whenever I’m interacting with the students,” Les said, “I’m like, ‘hey, you need a study break. Come and get two hours, have some fun, have some pizza, and yell and scream and vent and get out some energy and emotion at the games. It’s good for the mental health of studying.’”
Tonight’s game will have impact on the seeding for next month’s eight-team Big West Tournament. At 11-6 with three games remaining in the Big West, UC Davis currently is the second seed behind 13-3 UC Irvine. UH, at 8-8, is the fifth seed with four games to go. The ’Bows remain in the mathematical hunt for the second seed, which is accompanied by two byes in the league tournament. The third and fourth seeds earn a single bye. The fifth through eighth seeds would need to win four games to claim the tournament title.
“I’m taking the approach that I’ve talked to our team about: focusing on what’s in front of us, controlling what we can control,” Les said. “And that’s this game against Hawaii. Everything else will figure itself out if we stay focused on the task at hand instead of getting too caught up in the results and scenarios.”
It is a position the ’Bows also have embraced. “Our mindset hasn’t changed going into these next four games,” guard Juan Munoz said. “We’re taking it one game at a time. Hopefully, we can do what we’ve been doing lately.”
Last month, the ’Bows fell to 2-6 in the Big West and lost 7-foot-1 rim protector Mor Seck for the season because of an ACL injury.
“We gathered our focus together,” Munoz said. “We had a lot of talks, a lot of meetings, just watching film about what we hadn’t been doing well.”
The ’Bows quickened the offensive pace; received a boost in weak-side rebounding from guards Noel Coleman, Ryan Rapp and Tom Bettie, and watched North Carolina transfer Justin McKoy emerge as a leader on both ends. During the ’Bows’ 6-2 run, McKoy is averaging 15.6 points on 57.5% shooting and 5.4 rebounds. He has hit 30 of his last 34 free throws.
Munoz was a senior and McKoy a freshman as Panther Creek (Cary, N.C.) High teammates. “You could definitely see the skill, definitely see the potential in him,” Munoz said. “It’s been amazing to see his journey and how far he’s progressed to here.”
In the meeting between the teams on Feb. 10 in Honolulu, the ’Bows held on for an 87-70 victory. UCD guard Elijah Pepper, one of the league’s most prolific scorers, missed 17 of 25 shots. But Pepper hit eight of nine free throws and found a way to amass 27 points.
“He’s not going to stop shooting,” Munoz said of Pepper. “Even if he’s 0-for-10, he’s going to keep shooting. For guys like that, you’ve got to make shots tough. He’s going to keep shooting. He’s going to keep getting his shots up. Just trying to make his night tough is what we’re going to focus on.”
Les said of Pepper, who will play his final game in the University Credit Union Center: “He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s about winning. He puts in a lot of effort, energy and intensity into the game, which we love about him. He has support from his teammates and coaches that regardless of how things are going, we want him to keep being aggressive. We want him to keep seeking out his shots, and generally good things will happen. He’s been a joy to coach. He’s been an unbelievable player and unbelievable representative of our program. I couldn’t be more proud of him and the progress he’s made.”
Big West Basketball
At University Credit Union Center, Davis, Calif.
Hawaii (16-12, 8-8 BIG WEST) at UC Davis (16-12, 11-6)
>> When: Today at 4 p.m. HT
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1420-AM, 92.7-FM
