SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (7-5) returns to The Thunderdome on Thursday, Jan. 4, as they play in their Big West home opener against the Tritons of UC San Diego. The Gauchos have a 5-1 record over the Tritons, most recently defeating them last season with a score of 87-71.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos were on the road at UC Riverside for their second Big West game of the season. It was an extremely close game between these two teams, but at the end of the day, it was the Highlanders who came out with the 79-77 win over UC Santa Barbara. For the Gauchos, Ajay Mitchell was the star of the show as he put up 39 points.
 
TAMING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego won their first game of the Big West slate, taking down the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield 76-64, which puts them in fourth in The Big West standings after the first weekend of play. During their non-conference slate, the Tritons took down strong opponents in Denver, San Diego, Navy and Sacramento State while also losing by one to San Diego State, the national runners-up last season.
 
Senior guard Bryce Pope has been the most impactful player for the Tritons this season. He currently leads the team in points with 226, which comes out to 17.4 per game. The next closest Triton is Francis Nwaokorie, who is averaging 13.5 points per game. Nwaokorie also leads the team in blocks, putting up 12 so far this season.
 
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones has been crashing the boards for the Tritons. He currently leads the team in rebounds with 75, grabbing 19 on offense and 56 on defense. He is also second on the team in assists, registering 44.
 
Hayden Gray has distributed the ball well to his teammates all season long. He leads the team in assists right now with 45. Not only that, but he is stealthy on defense as he has racked up the most steals with 21.
 
WHEREABOUTS
The Gauchos and the Tritons will face off in The Thunderdome at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4. For those who can't make it to Santa Barbara, they can watch at home through ESPN+.