Teams: UC Davis vs. North Dakota State
Records: Aggies, 2-2; Bison, 1-2
Where: The Pavilion
When: Today at 7 p.m.
Radio: KFSG 1690 AM
Who to watch: In UC Davis’ home opener against UC Santa Cruz, senior center Dominic Calegari stepped up when the Aggies needed him the most.
The Berkeley, Calif. native ended a 12-1 Banana Slug run with five points of his own to end the first half, including an emphatic dunk over the opposing center.
“Obviously being the lone senior, we rely on him for a lot of things,” said head coach Gary Stewart. “We needed him to step forward at the end of the half. His basket at the end was very important.”
Calegari finished the game with 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Even better news for Aggie fans is that Calegari isn’t at full strength yet and has been working his way back from a groin injury.
“Dominic is just trying to get his feet underneath him,” Stewart said. “He’s been limited to date in terms of what he can be.”
Did you know? Tonight’s game will be the first meeting between the Aggies and the Bison.
Preview: Free throws and fouls have been areas of concern for the Aggies so far this season. If the Bison keep the game close, expect free throws to loom large in the result. The Aggies enter tonight’s contest committing an average of 22 fouls per game, while the Bison have committed 17 per game so far this season.
That could be an issue for UC Davis, which is making just 60.6 percent of its free throws through four games this season. North Dakota State is shooting 73.8 percent from the line through three games.
Despite shooting a meager 56.3 percent from the charity stripe Wednesday night, much of the Aggie lead against UC Santa Cruz can be attributed to the Aggies’ ability to get to the line. UC Davis shot 22 free throws in the first half alone and 32 for the game.
The Aggies have yet to make more than 61 percent of their free throws in a game this season. The poor foul shooting is a surprise, especially since the Aggies shot over 77 percent from the line as a team last season.
“It’s an area of concern,” said assistant coach Kevin Nosek after the win over UC Santa Cruz. “It’s an area that’s being addressed. We will spend as much time as we need to spend on it to get that number back up among the top 5 percent in the country.”
If you can’t get to the game or to a radio, follow on GameTracker at ucdavisaggies.com.
–Richard Procter
