2023–24 UC Davis Aggies men's basketball team

2023–24 UC Davis Aggies men's basketball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	20–13 (14–6 Big West)
Head coach	Jim Les (13th season)
Associate head coach	Kevin Nosek
Assistant coaches	Kyle Vogt Jonathan Metzger-Jones
Home arena	University Credit Union Center

2023–24 Big West men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UC Irvine	17	–	3		.850			24	–	10		.706
UC San Diego*	15	–	5		.750			21	–	12		.636
UC Davis	14	–	6		.700			20	–	13		.606
Hawai'i	11	–	9		.550			20	–	14		.588
Long Beach State †	10	–	10		.500			21	–	15		.583
UC Riverside	10	–	10		.500			16	–	18		.471
UC Santa Barbara	9	–	11		.450			16	–	15		.516
Cal State Northridge	9	–	11		.450			19	–	15		.559
Cal State Bakersfield	8	–	12		.400			13	–	19		.406
Cal State Fullerton	7	–	13		.350			14	–	18		.438
Cal Poly	0	–	20		.000			4	–	28		.125
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period
† 2024 Big West tournament winner

The 2023–24 UC Davis Aggies men's basketball team represented the University of California, Davis in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies, led by 13th-year head coach Jim Les, played their home games at the University Credit Union Center in Davis, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 20–13, 14–6 in Big West play to finish in third place. Due to UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Aggies were the No. 2 seed in the Big West tournament, where they defeated Hawaii in the semifinals before losing to Long Beach State in the championship game.

Previous season

The Aggies finished the 2022–23 season 18–14, 11–8 in Big West play, to finish in sixth place. They were defeated by UC Riverside in the first round of the Big West tournament.[1]

Elijah Pepper scored 697 points to break the program's single-season scoring record, which had been held by Randy DeBortoli since 1987–88.[2] He also became the 10th UC Davis player to score 1,000 career points since the school transitioned to the NCAA Division I level.[3]

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Joaquin Strong	1	F	6'7"	215	Freshman	Playa del Rey, CA	No longer on team roster
Christian Anigwe	4	F	6'9"	220	Senior	Phoenix, AZ	Graduated
Robby Beasley III	5	G	6'3"	190	Sophomore	San Ramon, CA	Transferred to San Francisco[4]
DeAndre Henry	15	F	6'7"	225	Junior	Phoenix, AZ	Entered NCAA transfer portal[5]

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Marsalis Roberson	5	G	6'6"	200	Junior	Oakland, CA	California
Pablo Tamba	8	F	6'7"	210	Junior	Málaga, Spain	Indian River State
Drew Carter	15	G	6'3"	195	Sophomore	Portland, OR	Colorado
Lukas Prongos	32	F	6'6"	235	Junior	San Rafael, CA	College of Marin

2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Connor Sevilla PG	San Ramon, CA	Dougherty Valley High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	N/A
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Preseason

Big West coaches poll

The Big West Conference coaches poll was released on October 19, 2023. UC Davis was picked to finish fifth in the Big West Conference with 69 points.[6]

Coaches poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	UC Santa Barbara	92 (9)
2	Long Beach State	82 (2)
3	Hawaii	80
4	UC Irvine	75
5	UC Davis	69
6	Cal State Fullerton	58
7	UC Riverside	45
8	Cal State Bakersfield	36
9	UC San Diego	31
10	Cal State Northridge	18
11	Cal Poly	12

Preseason All-Big West teams

Elijah Pepper was selected to the All-Big West Preseason Team.[6]

Roster

2023–24 UC Davis Aggies men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Kane Milling 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Nevada Nantes, France G 2 Ty Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Loyola–Chicago Chicago, Illinois G 4 Connor Sevilla 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr Dougherty Valley High School San Ramon, CA G 5 Marsalis Roberson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Jr California Oakland, CA F 8 Pablo Tamba 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Indian River State Málaga, Spain G 10 Leo DeBruhl 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Seattle Academy Seattle, WA F 11 Jac Mani 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 217 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills, CA F 13 Sam Manu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr College of San Mateo Taipei, Taiwan G 15 Drew Carter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Colorado Portland, OR F 20 Niko Rocak 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr UC Santa Barbara Geneva, Switzerland G 22 Sione Losé 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS So Capital Christian High School Sacramento, CA G 24 Ade Adebayo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Barking Abbey School London, England F 32 Lukas Prongos 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr College of Marin San Rafael, CA G 40 Elijah Pepper 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Selah High School Selah, WA F 55 Francesco Borra 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr JSerra Catholic High School Moncalieri, Italy	Head coach Jim Les (Bradley) Assistant coach(es) Kevin Nosek (UC Davis) Kyle Vogt (Lakeland) Jonathan Metzger-Jones (Pacific) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Jessup	W 86–51	1–0	21 – Pepper	7 – Tied	7 – DeBruhl	University Credit Union Center (567) Davis, CA
November 9, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		Pepperdine	W 79–78	2–0	28 – Johnson	6 – Tied	4 – Adebayo	University Credit Union Center (1,263) Davis, CA
November 12, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Montana Montana MTE	L 65–78	2–1	23 – Pepper	6 – Tied	3 – DeBruhl	Dahlberg Arena (2,507) Missoula, MT
November 14, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		vs. North Dakota State Montana MTE	W 68–53	3–1	24 – Pepper	7 – Pepper	3 – Johnson	Dahlberg Arena (71) Missoula, MT
November 26, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Sacramento State Causeway Cup	L 63–69	3–2	22 – Pepper	6 – Tied	4 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (1,485) Davis, CA
November 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m.		at Oregon State	L 59–71	3–3	11 – Milling	4 – Borra	4 – Adebayo	Gill Coliseum (2,757) Corvallis, OR
December 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m.		at Nevada	L 68–80	3–4	20 – Pepper	6 – Tied	4 – Johnson	Lawlor Events Center (7,312) Reno, NV
December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Milwaukee	L 79–81	3–5	28 – Tied	6 – Pepper	4 – Tied	University Credit Union Center (1,143) Davis, CA
December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m.		at Pacific	W 82–61	4–5	30 – Johnson	8 – Milling	4 – Pepper	Alex G. Spanos Center (932) Stockton, CA
December 19, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Montana	L 61–73	4–6	16 – Milling	8 – Rocak	4 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (941) Davis, CA
December 21, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Merced	W 80–57	5–6	21 – Pepper	7 – Rocak	4 – Tied	University Credit Union Center (1,219) Davis, CA
Big West regular season
December 28, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		UC Santa Barbara	W 76–62	6–6 (1–0)	27 – Pepper	6 – Rocak	10 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (1,771) Davis, CA
December 30, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal Poly	W 71–46	7–6 (2–0)	25 – Pepper	6 – Tied	4 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (1,186) Davis, CA
January 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Riverside	W 83–63	8–6 (3–0)	31 – Pepper	8 – Pepper	4 – Tied	SRC Arena (257) Riverside, CA
January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Irvine	L 71–74 ^OT	8–7 (3–1)	26 – Pepper	5 – Rocak	5 – Johnson	Bren Events Center (2,232) Irvine, CA
January 11, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Northridge	W 95–75	9–7 (4–1)	27 – Milling	6 – DeBruhl	7 – Pepper	University Credit Union Center (1,262) Davis, CA
January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	W 78–71 ^OT	10–7 (5–1)	22 – Johnson	9 – Pepper	5 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (1,317) Davis, CA
January 18, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal State Fullerton	W 67–65	11–7 (6–1)	27 – Pepper	10 – Pepper	3 – Johnson	Titan Gym (583) Fullerton, CA
January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Irvine	W 54–52	12–7 (7–1)	19 – Johnson	9 – Milling	5 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (2,153) Davis, CA
January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC San Diego	L 59–92	12–8 (7–2)	22 – Johnson	6 – Rocak	2 – Tied	University Credit Union Center (2,537) Davis, CA
February 1, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Santa Barbara	W 79–69	13–8 (8–2)	24 – Tied	9 – Rocak	6 – Pepper	The Thunderdome (2,204) Santa Barbara, CA
February 3, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal Poly	W 59–52	14–8 (9–2)	16 – Pepper	9 – Rocak	4 – DeBruhl	Mott Athletics Center (2,087) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	W 71–58	15–8 (10–2)	19 – Pepper	5 – Tied	4 – Pepper	University Credit Union Center (1,379) Davis, CA
February 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Hawaii	L 70–87	15–9 (10–3)	27 – Pepper	7 – Rocak	2 – Johnson	Stan Sheriff Center (5,576) Honolulu, HI
February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Long Beach State	L 74–78	15–10 (10–4)	32 – Pepper	8 – Rocak	4 – Adebayo	University Credit Union Center (1,810) Davis, CA
February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Riverside	L 61–67	15–11 (10–5)	22 – Johnson	7 – Rocak	5 – Johnson	University Credit Union Center (2,031) Davis, CA
February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal State Northridge	W 66–65	16–11 (11–5)	24 – Johnson	6 – Milling	5 – Johnson	Premier America Credit Union Arena (542) Northridge, CA
February 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	L 56–75	16–12 (11–6)	22 – Johnson	5 – Johnson	2 – Johnson	Icardo Center (1,793) Bakersfield, CA
February 29, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Hawaii	W 75–63	17–12 (12–6)	30 – Tied	4 – Tied	3 – Milling	University Credit Union Center (2,398) Davis, CA
March 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC San Diego	W 70–63	18–12 (13–6)	28 – Pepper	10 – Tamba	5 – Pepper	LionTree Arena (1,373) La Jolla, CA
March 9, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Long Beach State	W 88–78	19–12 (14–6)	24 – Milling	5 – Milling	4 – Pepper	Walter Pyramid (1,894) Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
March 15, 2024 8:30 pm, ESPNU	(2)	vs. (3) Hawai'i Semifinals	W 68–65	20–12	25 – Pepper	7 – Milling	5 – Johnson	Dollar Loan Center (1,919) Henderson, NV
March 16, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN2/ESPN+	(2)	vs. (4) Long Beach State Championship	L 70–74	20–13	30 – Johnson	9 – Pepper	4 – Johnson	Dollar Loan Center (1,623) Henderson, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific.

Source[7]

References

1. Dunning, Bob (March 10, 2023). "Basketball: UC Davis men's season comes to an end". The Davis Enterprise. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
2. "Athletics: UC Davis honors its student-athletes". The Davis Enterprise. June 9, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
3. Thompson, Luke (December 17, 2022). "Points piling up for Selah's Pepper at UC Davis". Yakima Herald-Republic. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
4. Portnoy, Ben and Karp, Austin (November 28, 2023). "SBJ College: Legal woes continue for NCAA". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
5. Murray, Chris (August 24, 2023). "Ex-Nevada basketball player DeAndre Henry arrested after deadly street-racing incident". Nevada Sports Net. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
6. "UC Santa Barbara Predicted to Win The Big West in 2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Big West Conference. October 19, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
7. "2023-24 UC Davis Men's Basketball Schedule". UC Davis Athletics. Retrieved September 28, 2023.