Sac State, UC Davis on pace for improved seasons in men’s basketball

Midway through conference play, the Sacramento State and UC Davis men’s basketball teams look to maintain the momentum they built in January.

The Hornets went 4-2 in the Big Sky Conference and the Aggies 5-1 in the Big West Conference in January, although both lost on the road Thursday night.

Sac State fell to Eastern Washington 77-72 after leading 26-23 at halftime. UCD’s 74-70 loss at Cal Poly dropped the Aggies out of first place in the Big West, a spot they had wrestled away from UC Irvine last Saturday with a 74-65 home win.

A bright spot in the Aggies’ loss Thursday was forward Chima Moneke, who scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his conference-leading ninth double-double of the season.

In the Hornets’ loss, Marcus Graves (21 points) was overshadowed by EWU’s Jacob Wiley (game-high 38).

While UCD (13-9, 5-2) sits No. 2 in the Big West, Sac State (7-13, 4-5) is eighth among 12 Big Sky teams. The Hornets are 1 1/2 games out of fifth. The top five teams advance to the second round of the Big Sky Conference tournament in Reno beginning March 7.

Both Sac State and UC Davis are on pace to improve upon last season’s conference records.

The Hornets are two wins shy of their Big Sky win total of six from the 2015-16 season. The Aggies also won six Big West games last season and will equal that number with their next victory.

UCD plays at UC Santa Barbara (3-17, 1-7) on Saturday night while Sac State tips off at Idaho (11-10, 6-4).

Sac State’s home game against Weber State (13-7, 8-1) next Thursday will mark the Hornets’ fifth game in a row against an opponent with a winning conference record.

Women – UC Davis (16-6, 7-2)moved into first place in the Big West with Thursday’s 61-53 win at Cal Poly. The Aggies lead the conference with 54.9 points allowed per game, and their offensive production at 68.3 per game is second behind Cal Poly.

UCD is positioned to replicate the success of last season, when the team went 10-6 in league play before falling to Hawaii in the Big West tournament championship game.

The Hornets’ 72-65 loss to EWU on Thursday dropped Sac State’s home record to 5-5. The Hornets (8-12, 4-5) are eighth in the Big Sky.

UCD plays at UC Santa Barbara (11-10, 6-2) on Saturday, a 2 p.m. tipoff to start a doubleheader ahead with the men’s game. Sac State hosts Idaho (11-10, 6-4) at 2 p.m.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Sac State, UC Davis on pace for improved seasons in men’s basketball."