Game Notes in PDF
GAME #23
UC Irvine (11-11, 5-4) vs. UC Santa Barbara (7-13, 3-6)
Saturday, February 2, 2013 – 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, Calif.
Series Record: UCSB leads 48-30
Last Meeting: UCSB won 74-71 (1/3/12 in Santa Barbara)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 19th Season, & Steve Henkle)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
UC IRVINE HOSTS GAUCHOS SATURDAY NIGHT
● Third-year head coach Russell Turner's UC Irvine squad (11-11, 5-4 Big West) hosts UC Santa Barbara Saturday evening.
● UCI, which has played 14 of its first 22 games this season away from home, plays five of its next eight contests in the Bren Center, where the 'Eaters are 7-1 this season (4-0 in Big West games).
● Saturday night marks the 79th meeting between UCI and UCSB, with the Gauchos leading the series, 48-30. UCSB has won five of the last six games against UCI, including 74-71 in Santa Barbara Jan. 3.
● The 'Eaters built a 30-17 lead in the first half at Santa Barbara Jan. 3, but the Gauchos hit five of six threes in the first six minutes of the second half and 13 of 26 for the game. Alan Williams converted a three-point play with 7.1 seconds left for the winning margin.
● Daman Starring scored 21 points and Alex Young a career-high 18 for UCI in the loss at UCSB. Kyle Boswell led the Gauchos with 23 points and Williams scored 22.
● UCI outscored Cal Poly 8-0 (all free throws) in the final two minutes to defeat the Mustangs 52-45 in the Bren Center Wednesday night. UCI hit 14 of 17 (.824) free throws in the win, including 11 of 13 in the second half.
● Adam Folker had a game-high 16 points and nine rebounds, hitting 8 of 11 shots. Daman Starring added 12 points. UCI outscored Cal Poly 26-16 in the paint.
● UCI limited Cal Poly to 20 second-half points, the fewest by an Anteater opponent in the last 113 games since Fairleigh Dickinson scored 19 second-half points in a 75-54 UCI victory Nov. 25, 2009.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● UCI's Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters opponent will be announced Monday afternoon. The 'Eaters are a road team this season for the Feb. 23 game.
● As of Friday, UCI ranked 11th in the nation in assists per game (16.5), 22nd in assist/turnover ratio (1.33) and 26th in field-goal percentage defense (.382).
● Alex Young ranks 15th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.84 and Will Davis II is 48th in blocked shots at 2.14 per game.
● In the past four games, Young has 16 assists and two turnovers over 123 minutes of action.
● For all games, UCI ranks first in the Big West Conference in scoring defense (64.2), field-goal percentage defense (.382), three-point field goal percentage defense (.326), assists per game (16.5) and blocked shots per game (4.6).
● Individually for all games, Alex Young leads the Big West in assist/turnover ratio (2.8). Will Davis II is second in blocked shots per game (2.1), Adam Folker is third in field-goal percentage (.577) and Daman Starring is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.454).
● In conference games only, Young ranks first in the Big West in assist/turnover ratio (3.3) and fourth in assists per game (4.4), Davis is first in blocked shots per game (2.1) and second in field-goal percentage (.649), Travis Souza is third in three-point field goal percentage (.538), and Adam Folker is fourth in field-goal percentage (.609).
● UCI is 7-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 60 points, 7-1 when leading at halftime and 5-2 when scoring over 70 points.
● Twelve opponents have shot below 40 percent from the field versus UCI this season, including Cal Poly (.349) Wednesday night. UCI is 8-4 in those games.
● Senior Daman Starring is the only UCI player averaging in double figures at 13.5 points per game, leading the team in scoring in 10 games this season. He has five 20-point games this season.
● Senior post Adam Folker has 553 career rebounds to rank 15th in the Anteater record book.
● Senior Michael Wilder has 933 points and 509 rebounds in his UCI career. His 509 career boards rank 19th in Anteater history. Fifteen previous UCI players have scored 1,000 points and grabbed 500 rebounds in their careers.
● Wilder ranks No. 4 in UCI history with 191 career threes and Starring is 10th with 124. Michael Hunter (2006-10) is the school's career leader with 236 threes.
IN THE BREN CENTER
The Bren Events Center on the UCI campus marked its 26th anniversary earlier this month. The center opened Jan. 8, 1987, when the 'Eaters defeated Utah State, 118-96, on the strength of 43 points by Scott Brooks. Brooks is head coach of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2010 NBA Coach of the Year.
UCI is 200-145 all-time at the Bren Center. The 'Eaters are 119-48 (.713) in the Bren dating back to February 2000. UCI is 7-1 at home this season.
A LOOK AT UC SANTA BARBARA
● Fifteenth-year head coach Bob Williams' Gauchos are 7-13 overall and 3-6 in the Big West, losing their last three games.
● UCSB is coming off a 57-55 loss at Long Beach State Wednesday night as the 49ers' Mike Caffey sank two free throws with 7.4 seconds left.
● UCSB sophomore forward Alan Williams, who leads the Big West in rebounding with a 9.9 average, has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. He leads UCSB in scoring at 17.4 points per game
● Senior point guard Nate Garth, who is averaging 4.1 assists, also has a hamstring injury and is questionable for Saturday.
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