TOP SPORTING EVENTS: NOVEMBER 23-30
Gaucho basketball is on the Thanksgiving menu as an appetizer and a dessert this week. UCSB’s women seek their third consecutive victory at the Thunderdome tonight (Wed., Nov. 23) when they host the Washington Huskies. On Saturday night, the undefeated Gaucho men will face a San Diego State team that has been their nemesis for the past decade.
Washington’s women will be playing their first road game under new head coach Tim McGuff, formerly the coach at Xavier. The Huskies are 2-1, including a 72-53 victory over a Seattle University team that defeated UCSB in the debut of head coach Carlene Mitchell. The Gaucho women are 2-2 after a solid 66-49 victory over Loyola Marymount in their last outing.
Stellar play by the tandem of Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally has propelled UCSB’s men to a 4-0 start. Johnson scored 26 points and Nunnally 22 on Tuesday night in a come-from-behind 83-69 victory over Portland. Fellow senior Jaime Serna scored 15. The Gauchos avenged a defeat they suffered at Portland last year. They have a lot of avenging to do against San Diego State. The Aztecs (5-1) have beaten UCSB seven consecutive times, including a 90-64 thrashing in San Diego last year. The last time the Gauchos defeated Steve Fisher’s Aztecs was in 2000, and they had to go triple overtime to succeed by an 80-77 score.