GAME #25
UC Irvine (15-9, 6-2) at UC Davis (8-15, 3-5)
Saturday, February 8, 2014 – 7:00 p.m.
The Pavilion (5,670) – Davis, Calif.
Series Record: UCI leads 18-12
Last Meeting: UCI won 88-85 (3/9/13 in Davis)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 20th Season)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
'EATERS FACE AGGIES ON THE ROAD SATURDAY
● UC Irvine, 15-9 overall and 6-2 in the Big West Conference, travels to UC Davis (8-15, 3-5) for a league game Saturday night. The Anteaters, coming off a 61-58 win over Long Beach State Thursday, are tied with UC Santa Barbara for the Big West lead.
● Fourth-year head coach Russell Turner's Anteaters have won eight of their last 10 games to start 2014 with an 8-2 mark.
● UCI's 15-9 record is the program's best overall mark after 24 games in 11 years, since the 2002-03 team was 17-7. The 6-2 conference start is the best for the Anteaters since the 2005-06 team opened 8-0.
● UCI is 7-5 on the road this season, the most road victories for the program since the 2005-06 team was 8-4.
● This is the 31st meeting in the series between UCI and UC Davis with the 'Eaters holding an 18-12 series lead. UCI has won the last five meetings against the Aggies. In the last meeting between the teams, last Mar. 9 in Davis, the 'Eaters overcame a 19-point halftime deficit to win 88-85, scoring 60 second-half points in the process.
● UCI is in the midst of playing three of its next four games on the road. The 'Eaters host UC Riverside next Saturday night (Feb. 15) before traveling to Hawai'i Feb. 20 and Cal State Northridge Feb. 22.
● 7-6 freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye broke his own single-game school and Big West record with 11 blocked shots in Thursday night's 61-58 win over Long Beach State. He added 10 rebounds and eight points.
● Freshman guard Luke Nelson scored a career-high 28 points in Thursday's win over Long Beach State and he has averaged 23.0 points over the last three games. He has hit 9 of 16 threes in the past two games.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● UCI has won 11 of its last 14 Big West games dating back to last Feb. 13.
● UCI is 22nd in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 11 and Wichita State remains No. 1 in the poll.
● UCI is 14-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40-percent shooting and 9-0 when holding the opponents to less than 60 points. The 'Eaters held Long Beach State to 33.8 percent from the field Thursday night.
● As of Friday, of 345 teams ranked, UCI is ninth in the nation in assists per game (16.7), 10th in blocked shots per game (6.5), 15th in field-goal percentage defense (.386) and 29th in field-goal percentage (.477).
● The 'Eaters rank first in the Big West in field-goal percentage defense (.386), assists per game (16.7) and blocked shots per game (6.5). UCI is second in the league in field-goal percentage (.477), rebounding margin (+4.0) and in assist/turnover ratio (1.30).
● The 'Eaters are 13-3 this season when outrebounding their opponent, 11-3 when scoring at least 70 points, and 11-3 when leading at halftime. UCI is 8-3 when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
● Freshman guard Luke Nelson has averaged 23.0 points in the past three games and he has hit 15 threes in that span. The highest-scoring freshman in the league leads UCI in scoring at 12.8 points per game, including 15.3 in league play. His 53 threes also lead the team.
● Nelson scored a career-high 28 points and added a career-best four steals in Thursday's 61-58 win over Long Beach State. He was 10 of 15 from the field, including 5 of 8 on threes.
● Nelson ranks second in the Big West in three-point field goals made per game (2.75) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.880) in league games.
● UCI's 7-6 freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye, the nation's tallest player, ranks third in the nation with 81 total blocks and he is sixth in the country in blocked shots per game at 3.52. His 81 blocks are seven shy of UCI's single-season record of 88 set by teammate Will Davis II last year.
● Ndiaye has made 32 of his last 39 field goals. For the season, he has converted 83 of 109 (.761) from the field.
● Senior guard Chris McNealy has scored 1,102 points in his career to rank 20th in UCI history. He has 477 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 264 assists.
● Junior forward Will Davis II leads UCI in rebounding at 6.6 boards per game and he is averaging 10.9 points. He ranks second in the Big West in field-goal percentage at .601.
● 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 546 rebounds and he has scored 820 points in his UCI career.
● Sophomore point guard Alex Young has 41 assists in the last seven games and he leads UCI with 108. He is first in the Big West in assists (5.38 per game) for league games. He tied his career high with nine assists against Cal State Fullerton Jan. 16. After just 61 career games, Young ranks 15th in UCI history with 252 assists.
● Junior post John Ryan has averaged 5.1 rebounds over the past seven games.
● Redshirt sophomore forward Mike Best made his second start of the season last Saturday at Cal Poly and responded with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
● Sophomore Dominique Dunning had seven points and five rebounds in 14 reserve minutes in last Saturday's win at Cal Poly.
● In conference games, eight Anteater players are averaging at least 4.4 points per game. Luke Nelson is averaging 15.3 points in Big West games and Chris McNealy 11.9.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
● Third-year head coach Jim Les' Aggies are 8-15 overall and 3-5 in the Big West following a 90-86, overtime win over Cal State Northridge Thursday night.
● UC Davis has won three of its last five games.
● Junior guard Corey Hawkins, who scored 27 points in Thursday's win over CSUN, leads the Aggies in scoring at 18.3 points per game.
● Senior guard Ryan Sypkens is averaging 12.6 points and has hit 77 threes for the season.
● The Aggies lead the Big West in three-point field goals made per game at 8.43 for all contests.
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