UCSB’s Alan Williams will miss some time because of an injured shoulder. (Presidio Sports Photo)
UCSB senior forward Alan Williams will miss at least the next two weeks after injuring his left shoulder in practice on Tuesday.
The 2014 Big West Player of the Year suffered the injury towards the end of practice when he got tangled-up with freshman Alex Hart. Williams has played in all 17 Gaucho games this season and leads the team in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and steals.
Junior DaJuan Smith injured his hip in a bike accident on campus earlier this week and he too will be sidelined indefinitely. Smith has played in all 17 games this season and is averaging 2.7 points and 1.7 assists per game.
The Gauchos will be without both players for Thursday’s home game against UC Riverside and Saturday’s matchup with Cal State Fullerton.
Sam Beeler is expected to step into the starting lineup for Williams on Thursday.
Williams’ absence will stall his climb up the career record lists.
With nine rebounds in Saturday’s game at Long Beach State, Williams now has 1,014 in his career. He is the current active career rebound and double-double leader (43) at the NCAA Division I level. On Jan. 15 against Cal State Northridge he became the first UCSB player to collect 1,000 rebounds in his career. Additionally, with 1,574 points and 1,014 rebounds, Williams is just the fifth player in Big West history to eclipse 1,000 in both categories. On Saturday, he broke a tie with UNLV’s Stacey Augmon for third-place on the league’s all-time rebound list. His next target on that list is Cal State Fullerton’s Tony Neal (1981-85) who ended his career with 1,115. Obviously, Williams is already UCSB’s career rebound leader. On Dec. 4 vs. Seattle he passed Eric McArthur (904, 1986-90), and he is currently ranked second in the nation in boards at 11.6 per game, a title he won in 2013-14.
UCSB enters the game against UC Riverside with an 8-9 overall record and a 1-2 mark in league play. Last week, UCSB dropped both of its games, falling 74-63 at home to Cal State Northridge on Jan. 15 and then 69-53 at Long Beach State on Jan. 17. The back-to-back losses come on the heels of a three-game winning streak, equaling the longest of the year.
The Gauchos and UC Riverside have played 35 times in a series that began in 1955. UCSB holds an all-time advantage of 28-7 and won a pair of close games between the schools last season, 55-54 in Santa Barbara and 68-65 in overtime at Riverside. The Gauchos and Cal State Fullerton have played 78 times in a series that began in 1977. UCSB holds an all-time edge of 42-36. Last season the teams divided their two games with each team winning on its home floor. Santa Barbara won 80-65 at the Thunderdome and the Titans won 74-72 in Orange County. The Gauchos have won five straight home games in the series.
