UC San Diego at UC Davis
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: University Credit Union Center, Davis
TV: ESPN2
Records: UC San Diego is 27-4 overall and 17-2 Big West play, and has been assured at least a tie for the conference’s regular-season title after winning Thursday. UC Davis is 15-5 overall and 9-10 in Big West play.
Tritons update: The Tritons have won 12 straight, are coming off a 70-63 home win over Long Beach State and have wrapped up at least a share of their first Big West regular-season title. They can clinch it outright with a win over the Aggies, who are coming off an 88-59 home loss to UC Irvine on Thursday. UC Irvine (26-6, 16-3) trails the Tritons by a game in the standings and closes its season at UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Tritons rank first in the Big West and ninth in the nation in scoring defense (62.1), second in the nation behind only Duke in scoring margin (plus-18) and third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83). They have won the turnover battle in 30 of 31 games on the season. Guards Tyler McGhie and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led the way in the win over Long Beach State with 20 points each and have been steady scorers all season. Hayden Gray leads the nation with 103 steals. McGhie has made 106 3-pointers on the season; he needs five more to match program single-season record holder Tyrell Roberts (2019-20). The Tritons are 23-0 this season when leading at halftime.
About the Aggies: They have lost five straight and fallen out of contention for a top four seed and first-round bye in the Big West tournament. Guard Ty Johnson is the leading scorer in the conference, averaging 22.7 points per game. Johnson was held to 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting when the teams last played on Feb. 15, a game UCSD won 85-60. The Aggies rank 10th in the 11-team Big West in field goal percentage (41.3) and 3-pointers made per game (6.2).
Next up: UCSD has qualified for the Big West Conference tournament semifinals, which take place at 6 p.m. Friday inside Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev.
— IVAN CARTER
