With a new year under way, the men's and women's basketball teams at Sacramento State and UC Davis have made a few resolutions.
"Win the ball," Sac State men's coach Brian Katz said. "That's been our focus for about two weeks now. What's the difference between a loose ball and going for a rebound? Nothing. There are X amount of balls to win in every game, and we have got to get them."
Before Thursday's games, the Hornets (6-5) led the Big Sky Conference in rebounding margin (plus 10) but were last in steals (3.5 per game).
The Hornets will host Southern Utah on Monday and then play their next four games on the road. "We'll be playing in the warm garden spots such as Pocatello, Idaho, Cheney, Wash., and Ogden, Utah," Katz said.
UCD men's coach Jim Les said his team's resolution is to start the process of becoming relevant in the Sacramento area again.
While Les said he can see improvement in the Aggies (4-8), who host Pacific on Saturday, he knows there's a big learning curve, too. In their Big West Conference opener last week against UC Irvine, the Aggies allowed a basket with three seconds remaining and lost in overtime 69-58.
"We're right there," Les said. "We're doing good things out there. It's growing pains from learning, but we've got to learn how to close out games."
Sac State women's coach Jamie Craighead said her team's resolution is to "win the home games and get splits on the road." If the Hornets do that, she said, they'll have a good chance of a high seed for the Big Sky tournament.
The Hornets (6-5) visit Southern Utah on Saturday and then open a four-game homestand – their longest of the season – Thursday against Portland State.
"It'll be nice to get a look at conference teams at home the first go-around," Craighead said.
UCD women's coach Jen Gross said her team's resolution is to dominate in defensive rebounding, a goal since the season started.
Though the Aggies (5-6) were outrebounded 52-50 in a 66-65 overtime loss at Sac State on Sunday, they won the battle on the defensive boards 34-32.
The Aggies open Big West play Saturday at Pacific.
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