UC Davis Aggies
Big West (22-12, 11-5)
UC Davis is going to their first ever NCAA Tournament. Just one week after losing to UC Irvine 79-49 with a regular season Big West title on the line, Coach Jim Les’ team beat the top seeded Anteaters 50-47 in the conference tournament final to earn their spot in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/12 at Santa Clara (63-58), 2/25 Long Beach State (75-71), 3/11 vs UC Irvine (50-47)
Bad Losses: 1/12 at UC Riverside (55-61), 2/2 at Cal Poly (70-74), 2/18 at Cal State Fullerton (72-79)
Coach: Jim Les
Why They Can Surprise:
Junior college transfer Chima Moneke has been a big reason for the success of UC Davis this season. The 6-6 forward averages 14.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He may be a little undersized, but Moneke is tough and plays much bigger than he is. Brynton Lemar and Siler Schneider are also double digit scorers. Lemar is a prolific shooter and it will be imperative that he knocks down three-pointers consistently in the NCAA Tournament. UC Davis will need to keep their defensive intensity up too. The Aggies are good at forcing turnovers and do a decent job making the opposition work for all of their points. In a low scoring game, UC Davis can keep within striking distance.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Aggies did not have much success in non-conference play. Their best win by far was at Santa Clara back on the second day of the season. This group has very little experience playing the type of team they are going to see in the NCAA Tournament. While the scorers will shoulder much of the pressure, Darius Graham needs to have a good game too. The senior guard dishes out a team high 3.2 assists per game and it will be partly his job to keep this team under control and make sure the Aggies slow the game down and get the most out of every possession.
Probable Starters:
Darius Graham, Senior, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 3.2 apg
Brynton Lemar, Senior, Guard, 16.1 ppg, 2.6 apg
Lawrence White, Senior, Guard, 7.6 ppg, 1.5 apg
J.T. Adenrele, Senior, Forward, 5.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Chima Moneke, Junior, Forward, 14.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Key Role Players:
Garrison Goode, Sophomore, Forward, 2.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Mikey Henn, Freshman, Forward, 4.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Arell Hennings, Junior, Guard, 1.9 ppg, 1.0 apg
Siler Schneider, Sophomore, Guard, 10.5 ppg, 2.1 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.4 (224th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.2 (122, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.4 (180, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.1 (150, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (252, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.1 (131, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.3 (290, 8)
Rebound Margin: 0.7 (166, 3)
Assists Per Game: 13.3 (194, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.2 (276, 7)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 NIT First Round loss to Stanford
*all team stats through 3/5
