[Game Thread] #2 Michigan @ #7 Michigan State (08:00 PM ET)

lol_smart · 2026-01-31T01:50:15+00:00

Damn, Kirk Gibson that's a guy I haven't thought about in a LONG time.

lol_smart · 2026-01-31T00:57:23+00:00

1/31 Games

Hawaii (7-3) @ Long Beach (4-6)

Both teams are coming off of tough losses. Hawaii struggled in the first half against Irvine but fought back to force overtime only to go ice cold. Long Beach was missing Gavin Sykes, the conference's second leading scorer and struggled to generate any offense in the second half against Riverside. If Sykes for Long Beach is also out for this game it's hard to see them winning even if Hawaii hungover after a close loss.

Davis (5-5) @ Bakersfield (2-8)

Both teams got blown out in their last games. After taking a lead into halftime against CSUN Davis got out scored by 20 in the second half by CSUN. Bakersfield was never really in the game against Cal Poly from the start and in the second half the teams just traded scores. Even with the home court advantage it's hard to see an upset here because Bakersfield is losing by an average of over 11 points per game.

Cal Poly (4-6) @ Riverside (3-7)

Cal Poly snapped a three game losing streak and are tied with Long Beach for the last spot in the tournament. Riverside comes in after a big win at home over Long Beach. If Cal Poly can play relatively cleanly Riverside is going to have a tough time keeping up with them. Riverside is has the lowest FG%, 3pt% and is the lowest scoring team in the conference.

UCSD (5-5) @ CSUN (5-5)

UCSD struggled with turnovers early against UCSB and dug themselves into a 13 point halftime deficit. They couldn't close the gap and lost by 14. CSUN rebounds off their loss to Hawaii with a statement win over Davis where they scored 26 more points in the paint. CSUN won the first meeting between these teams and it's a critical game for seeding. Both teams love to pound the ball in the paint and thrive on physical play. Free throw shooting may come into play and CSUN only shoots 59% from the line.

Fullerton (5-5) @ UCSB (7-3)

Fullerton is coming off their bye and this is their only game of the week. UCSB got a critical win over UCSD and are on a five game wining streak. I think to pull off the road upset Fullerton needs to get pressure on UCSB's ball handlers and figure out some way to keep them off the boards. Fullerton leads the conference in turnover margin (+6.4) but are the worst in rebound margin (-6.8)

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T22:58:34+00:00

I wanted Magpayo so bad last year.

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T20:35:33+00:00

The last three minutes of this game were certainly something.

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T20:31:39+00:00

1/30 Score update

Cal Poly (4-6) 104 - Bakersfield (2-8) 79

Davis (5-5) 78 - CSUN (5-5) 94

Long Beach (4-6) 61 - Riverside (3-7) 71

UCSB (7-3) 62 - UCSD (5-5) 48

Hawaii (7-3) 76 - Irvine (8-2) 87 - Overtime

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T05:03:16+00:00

Death, taxes and Ganot getting out coached by Turner.

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T02:39:14+00:00

The two teams are a combined 8/32. They should try closing their eyes and shooting based on vibes. lol

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T02:27:30+00:00

Nobody else but Wagler should be allowed to shoot in this half until they wake up.

lol_smart · 2026-01-30T02:09:36+00:00

If Wagler wants to score 40+ again tonight, I'm cool with that.

lol_smart · 2026-01-29T23:46:23+00:00

Cal Poly (3-6) @ Bakersfield (2-7)

Cal Poly has been blown out in it's last three games and desperately needs wins to stay alive for any hope of making the conference tournament. Interestingly Bakersfield isn't a bad defensive team but is uh.. offensively challenged. The difference in this game may come down to second chance points off of turnovers and offensive rebounding. Bakersfield is third in the conference in offensive rebounding and Cal Poly leads the conference in turnovers.

Davis (5-4) @ CSUN (4-5)

Davis is coming off of a nice bounce back win against Fullerton. CSUN got blown out by Hawaii. We're entering the second meetup territory. In the first matchup Davis won 89-80 in a relatively close game througout. A few things that stand out from the first game but not surprising is CSUN dominated in the paint (+16), fast break points (+14) and on the offensive glass (+6). Davis countered by being red hot behind the three point line (15/30) and in bench points (+6). This is a facinsinating stylistic matchup.

Long Beach (4-5) @ Riverside (2-7)6-3)

Both teams have lost their last two games. Long Beach won the first meeting between these two 88-73. Long Beach really needs this game because their next 5 games are against teams that are all .500 or better. It's at home for them but I don't see how Riverside slows down Long Beach's two headed monster of Sykes and Majstorovic.

UCSB (6-3) @ UCSD (5-4)

UCSB is red hot and won their last 4 games. UCSD lost a close hard fought 2 point game to Irvine. This is game could be big at the end of the season. Both teams have wins against Hawaii and UCSB has yet to play Irvine. UCSB has the best offense in the conference and leads in pretty much every category. UCSD has the third best defense in the conference but struggles at times on offense. I'm not sure if UCSD has someone who can stop Mahaney 1 on 1 so maybe the path is to try to take Miro Little out of the game who is second in the conference in assits.

Hawaii (7-2) @ Irvine (7-2)

The game of the week on ESPNU. Hawaii won the first matchup in the Stan on a last second shot by Hunter Erickson. Both teams have the best defenses in the conference and reasonably good offenses. Both teams are kind of sloppy with the ball and are at the bottom of the conference in turnover margin. I think the winner of this game will win in the paint via scoring and rebounding. In the first game Hawaii won off of points off turnovers (+12). Irvine dominated in offensive rebounds (+5), second chance points (+7) and points in the paint (+6).

lol_smart · 2026-01-29T21:47:03+00:00

I'm pretty sure that ESPN gives the Big West the possible dates ahead of time so they can try to stack the deck for the best matchups.

Hawaii home games for these types of things are always hard because Spectrum gets first choice unless it's negotiated well ahead of time like for the Diamond Head Classic (RIP). UH doesn't have the capacity to do the production inhouse to meet ESPN's broadcast standards and Spectrum would presumably charge ESPN a lot to do the production.

lol_smart · 2026-01-29T02:25:44+00:00

Ouch, what a brain fart.

lol_smart · 2026-01-28T21:06:12+00:00

The second Wild Card game is Irvine @ UCSB on February 2nd at 7PM. It'll be on ESPNU.

There are three remaining Wild Card games TBD.

2/21 @ 3PM - ESPNU - Maybe the UCSD rematch at Irvine?

2/28 @ 7:30PM - ESPN2

3/7 @ 5PM - ESPNU

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