UC San Diego at UC Davis
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: University Credit Union Center, Davis
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 97.3-FM
Records: UCSD is 14-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big West Conference. Davis is 11-7 and 4-3.
Last time out: Forward Leo Beath snapped out of a slump, leading the Tritons in points (20) and rebounds (nine) Saturday on the way to a 83-62 Big West win at Cal State Bakersfield. Guard Tom Beattie had a solid all-around game with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and a career-best four steals. Guard Alex Chaikin had 14 points and forward Bol Dengdit added 12 points. Bakersfield shot just 32% against the Tritons’ defense, and UCSD matched a season-high with 13 steals.
Series history: UC Davis leads the all-time series 23-9 and has a 5-4 edge in NCAA Division I meetings.
Tritons update: UCSD is 4-4 since opening the season 10-1. Chaikin ranks third in Big West Conference play with a 47.9% mark on 3-point attempts. Beath leads UCSD in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game, although he had scored only 46 points over five games previous to his 20-point outing on Saturday. Beattie is second among the Tritons in scoring (10.7 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Chaikin is third in scoring (10.6 ppg) and has scored 108 points over the past seven games. Dengdit is averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game and has scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games with two double-doubles.
Aggies update: UC Davis won two close games at home last week, defeating Cal State Fullerton 74-69 and UC Irvine 75-72. Five Aggies are averaging in double figures, led by 6-6 junior guard Nils Cooper, who is hitting 57% of his shots from the floor and averaging 14.4 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. He is backed by junior guard Connor Sevilla (13.6 ppg), senior guard Carl Daughtery Jr. (10.5 ppg) and freshman guard Marcus Wilson (10.4 ppg). Niko Rocak, a 6-9 graduate forward, averages 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Next up: Saturday vs. UC Irvine, 7 p.m., LionTree Arena.
— BILL CENTER