Game Notes in PDF
GAME #11
UC Irvine (4-6) at Fresno State (5-5)
Saturday, December 15, 2012 – 7:00 p.m.
Save Mart Center (15,596) – Fresno, Calif.
Series Record: Fresno State leads 26-9
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 82-51 (11/12/06 in Fresno)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 19th Season)
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UC IRVINE FACES BULLDOGS SATURDAY NIGHT
● Third-year head coach Russell Turner's UC Irvine squad (4-6), completes a stretch of seven out of eight games on the road Saturday night at Fresno State. UCI has been idle from competition the past week due to fall-quarter final exams.
● Fresno State was a member of the Big West Conference from 1970-92 and the teams have met just once in the past 20 years, an 82-51 victory by Fresno State at the Save Mart Center Nov. 12, 2006, in the Basketball Travelers Classic.
● The Bulldogs lead the series, 26-9. UCI's last win in the series was 76-68 at the Bren Center Feb. 6, 1992 in the final conference game between the schools.
● UCI has defeated the Bulldogs just once in Fresno – 82-79 at Selland Arena Feb. 18, 1989, when Jeff Herdman scored 29 points, hitting 10 of 13 field goals (5 of 8 threes). Fresno State is 16-1 versus UCI in the city of Fresno.
● The 'Eaters played in the Save Mart Center in 2003 but did not face Fresno State. UCI defeated Princeton, 57-55, and Arkansas-Monticello, 84-67, in the McCaffrey Classic Dec. 5-6, 2003.
● UCI hosts SEC-member LSU Tuesday (Dec. 18), travels to USC next Thursday, then opens Big West Conference play against UC Davis Dec. 29 in the Bren Center.
● Following the Dec. 29 league opener versus UC Davis, the 'Eaters will play five of its next seven conference games on the road, beginning Jan. 3 at UC Santa Barbara.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● Entering the week, UCI ranked seventh in the nation in assists per game (18.0), 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.46), 14th in blocked shots per game (6.0) and 15th in field-goal percentage defense (.360).
● UCI leads the Big West Conference in assists, blocks, field-goal percentage defense and rebounding margin (+6.6).
● No UCI opponent this season has shot over 44.2 percent versus the 'Eaters, who have held four teams under 35-percent shooting.
● As of Monday, freshman guard Alex Young ranked 16th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 3.45 (38 assists, 11 turnovers), which is first in the Big West.
● Sophomore Will Davis II ranks 32nd in the nation in blocked shots at 2.5 per game, which ranks first in the Big West.
● Senior Daman Starring is the only UCI player averaging in double figures at 13.4 points per game and has averaged 16.0 points over the past four contests.
● Sophomore Travis Souza has hit 10 of 16 (.625) shots this season, including 8 of 13 (.615) from three-point range to lead the Big West.
● Five UCI players are shooting at least 50 percent from the field: Travis Souza (.625), Will Davis II (.545), Adam Folker (.524), Chris McNealy (.507) and Reed McConnell (.500).
● Three of UCI's losses this season have been by four points or less.
● UCI lost at then-No. 13 UCLA, 80-79 in overtime, Nov. 13 as the Anteaters were looking to knock off a ranked opponent for the first time since winning at No. 13 Stanford, 79-63, Nov. 19, 2005.
● UCI's 69-point win over Pacifica (116-47) Nov. 15 set a school record for margin of victory, passing the previous mark of 68 (91-23) against Pomona-Pitzer Dec. 7, 2002. UCI tied the school record for single-game assists with 30, which was initially set against Drury College Jan. 6, 1982.
● Senior guard Daman Starring was named the season's first Big West Conference Player of the Week (Nov. 12) following his career-high 25 points in the Nov. 10 win over Nevada.
● Senior Michael Wilder is tied with Chris Brown for No. 4 in UCI history in career threes with 170.
● Senior Daman Starring ranks 15th all-time at UCI with 96 treys.
A LOOK AT FRESNO STATE
● Second-year head coach Rodney Terry's Bulldogs are 5-5 overall following a 50-43 loss to Colorado Wednesday night.
● Junior guard Allen Huddleston, a transfer from Pacific, leads Fresno State in scoring at 11.7 points per game.
● Junior guard Tyler Johnson is averaging 8.9 points while senior forward Kevin Foster is averaging a team-leading 7.3 rebounds.
● The Bulldogs are yielding just 55.6 points per game.
● Five of Fresno State's first 10 games this season have come against Big West opponents: wins over UC Riverside (39-30), Pacific (66-61), Cal Poly (76-67) and Long Beach State (64-59), and a loss to Long Beach State (69-61).
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