GAME #26
UC Riverside (8-16, 3-7) at UC Irvine (16-9, 7-2)
Saturday, February 15, 2014 – 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, Calif.
Series Record: UCI leads 31-23
Last Meeting: UCI won 72-52 (1/11/14 in Riverside)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 20th Season, & Steve Henkle)
TV: Cox3, Tape-Delay (Mark Heller, Bill Cunerty & Gordon Spencer)
Tickets
Audio / Video / Live Stats
'EATERS HOST HIGHLANDERS SATURDAY NIGHT
● UC Irvine, 16-9 overall and 7-2 in the Big West Conference, hosts UC Riverside Saturday night. The Anteaters and UC Santa Barbara are tied atop the Big West entering Saturday's games.
● Fourth-year head coach Russell Turner's Anteaters have won nine of their last 11 games to start 2014 with a 9-2 mark. UCI was idle Thursday after winning 61-59 at UC Davis last Saturday.
● UCI's 16-9 record is the program's best overall mark after 25 games in 11 years, since the 2002-03 team was 18-7. The 7-2 conference start is the best for the Anteaters since the 2005-06 team opened 8-1.
● UCI has won 12 of its last 15 Big West games dating back to Feb. 13 of last year.
● This is the 55th meeting in the series between UCI and UC Riverside with the 'Eaters holding a 31-23 series lead. The 'Eaters defeated the Highlanders, 72-52, in Riverside Jan. 11 as Luke Nelson scored 14 points and Chris McNealy 13.
● UCI is 8-5 on the road this season, the most road victories for the program since the 2005-06 team was 8-4. The 'Eaters are 4-1 on the road in Big West games this season, UCI's best mark since the 2005-06 squad was 6-1 in league road games.
● UCI is back on the road next week, traveling to Hawai'i Thursday night and Cal State Northridge Saturday. The CSUN game will be televised on Prime Ticket with a 7:30 p.m. start.
● Following next week's trip, UCI plays three of its final four Big West games at home, beginning with UC Santa Barbara Feb. 27. UCI's home game against Cal Poly Mar. 1 has an 8:00 p.m. start and will televised on ESPNU.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● UCI is 21st in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 10 and Wichita State remains No. 1 in the poll.
● UCI is 15-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40-percent shooting from the field.
● The 'Eaters are 10-0 when limiting the opposition to less than 60 points. UCI is 14-3 when outrebounding its opponents.
● As of Friday, of 345 teams ranked, UCI is ninth in the nation in assists per game (16.6) and in blocked shots per game (6.4), 12th in field-goal percentage defense (.385) and 25th in field-goal percentage (.479).
● The 'Eaters rank first in the Big West in field-goal percentage (.479), field-goal percentage defense (.385), assists per game (16.6) and blocked shots per game (6.4). UCI is second in the league in rebounding margin (+4.0) and in assist/turnover ratio (1.28).
● Freshman guard Luke Nelson was named Big West Player of the Week. He scored a career-high 28 points in the Feb. 6 win over Long Beach State and hit the go-ahead basket in last Saturday's come-from-behind win at UC Davis. Nelson leads UCI in scoring at 12.5 points per game and tops the team with 54 threes. He has averaged 18.8 points over the last four games.
● In Big West games, Nelson ranks third in free-throw percentage (.852) and three-point field goals made per game (2.56).
● 7-6 freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye, the nation's tallest player, ranks fourth in the nation with 82 total blocks and he is seventh in the country in blocked shots per game with an average of 3.42. His 82 blocks this season are six shy of the single-season school record of 88 set by teammate Will Davis II last season.
● Ndiaye broke his own single-game school and Big West Conference record with 11 blocked shots in the 61-58 win over Long Beach State Feb. 6.
● Over a six-game span from Jan. 2-25, Ndiaye made 25 straight field goals, one shy of the national record.
● Senior guard Chris McNealy has scored 1,113 points in his career to rank 20th in UCI history. He has 485 career rebounds as he looks to become the 17th player in Anteater history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
● McNealy ranks 11th at UCI with 120 career threes and 13th with 267 assists.
● Junior forward Will Davis II leads UCI in rebounding at 6.5 boards per game and he is averaging 10.7 points. He ranks second in the Big West in field-goal percentage at .598 for all games.
● Davis is UCI's career leader in blocked shots with 164, including a school single-season record 88 last year. He ranks 18th in school history with 550 rebounds and he has scored 826 points in his UCI career.
● Sophomore point guard Alex Young has 45 assists in the last eight games and he leads UCI with 112. He is second in the Big West in assists (5.22 per game) for league games. He tied his career high with nine assists against Cal State Fullerton Jan. 16. After just 62 career games, Young ranks 15th in UCI history with 256 assists.
● Sophomore Dominique Dunning scored a career-high 11points and added five rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench in last Saturday's 61-59 win at UC Davis.
● Redshirt sophomore forward Mike Best made his second start of the season at Cal Poly Feb. 1 and responded with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
● UCI has won 22 of its last 27 games in the Bren Events Center. The 'Eaters are 135-52 (.722) in the Bren dating back to February 2000. UCI is 216-149 all-time in the Bren and 8-4 this season.
ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
● First-year interim head coach Dennis Cutts' Highlanders are 8-16 overall and 3-7 in the Big West following an 87-76 loss to Hawai'i in Riverside Thursday night.
● Senior center Chris Patton leads UCR in scoring at 13.6 points per game and he is second on the team in rebounding with a 6.2 average.
● Sophomore forward Taylor Johns leads the team in rebounding at 8.2 boards per game and he is averaging 13.2 points.
● Freshman guard Sam Finley is averaging 11.9 points per contest.
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