Box Score
BIG WEST TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL
#1 UC Irvine (23-10) vs. #7 Cal Poly (11-19)
Friday, March 14, 2014 – 6:30 p.m.
Honda Center (17,608) - Anaheim, California
Series Record: UCI leads 24-20
Last Meeting: UCI won 55-48 (3/1/14 in Irvine)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Mark Roberts, 20th Season, & Steve Henkle)
TV: ESPN3 (live) / ESPNU (tape-delay) (Mark Jones & Miles Simon)
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TOP-SEEDED UC IRVINE FACES MUSTANGS
● Top-seeded UC Irvine (23-10), which won the conference's regular-season title, faces No. 7 seed Cal Poly (11-19) in a Big West Conference Tournament semifinal Friday night at the Honda Center. Long Beach State meets Cal State Northridge in the other semifinal at 9:00 p.m.
● The Anteaters, who lead the series with the Mustangs, 24-20, won both meetings this season, 64-50 in San Luis Obispo (2/1/14) and 55-48 at the Bren Events Center (3/1/14). UCI has won the last three games in the series.
● UCI defeated UC Riverside, 63-43, in a quarterfinal game Thursday night. Junior forward Will Davis II scored 16 points and freshman guard Luke Nelson added 14, while sophomore guard Alex Young had a game-high seven assists. The 'Eaters held the Highlanders to just three baskets in the final 10:51.
● UCI has held its last three opponents to 30 percent or lower from the field, including UC Riverside (.294) Thursday night. The 'Eaters are 21-0 overall this season when holding the opposition to under 40-percent shooting from the field.
● In games since Feb. 1 (11 games), UCI ranks No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense at .329.
Lowest Opponent Field Goal Pct. Since February 1, NCAA Division I (courtesy of STATS LLC)
UCI -- .329
Eastern Michigan -- .352
Vermont -- .354
Wagner -- .364
Tulsa -- .367
● The 'Eaters are 16-0 this season when holding the opponents to less than 60 points and 19-3 when outrebounding the opposition.
● This is UCI's third Big West regular-season title and the second outright. The 'Eaters won the championship outright in 2001 and shared the title with Utah State in 2002.
● Fourth-year head coach Russell Turner, the 2014 Big West Coach of the Year, has led the 'Eaters to wins in 10 of their last 11 games, and 16 of their past 19. UCI brings a five-game winning streak into Friday night's game.
● This is the second straight 20-win season for the Anteaters, who had 21 victories last season. The last time the 'Eaters won at least 20 games in back-to-back seasons was actually three straight years (school-record 25 wins in 2001, 21 in 2002 and 20 in 2003). This marks the seventh time in the 49-year history of the program that the 'Eaters have recorded a 20-win season.
● The 23 wins this season equal the second-highest mark in program history. The Kevin Magee-led 'Eaters were 23-7 in 1981-82 and the 2000-01 team, led by Jerry Green, finished 25-5.
● UCI is 20-8 this season when the starting five is Alex Young, Luke Nelson, Chris McNealy, Will Davis II and Mamadou Ndiaye.
● UCI's 213 blocked shots this season have smashed the previous school record of 162 set last season. The 'Eaters have 130 more blocks than their opponents on the season.
● 7-6 freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye, with four blocks Thursday night against UC Riverside, set a new Big West Conference single-season record with 98, breaking the previous mark of 95 by Pacific's Michael Olowokandi in 1997-98. Ndiaye's 98 blocks are a new UCI single-season school record, passing the previous mark of 88 set by teammate Will Davis II last season. Ndiaye, the nation's tallest player, earned this season's Big West "Best Defensive Player" award and was named to the league's honorable mention team.
● Senior guard Chris McNealy, a 2014 All-Big West first team pick, has scored 1,192 points in his career to rank 18th in UCI history. He has 513 career rebounds to become the 17th player in Anteater history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. McNealy has scored in double figures 24 times this season.
● McNealy is tied for 10th all-time at UCI with 102 steals, is 11th with 130 career threes and 13th with 276 assists.
● Freshman guard Luke Nelson, who leads UCI in scoring at 11.9 points and in threes with 69, has received his fourth Player of the Year Award in England. He has been named 2013 England Basketball Player of the Year in the Under-18 category, the second straight year he has earned the honor. He previously has been named England Player of the Year in U-16 and in Division I. Nelson was named Big West Freshman of the Year and to the All-Big West second team this season.
● Nelson earned Big West Player of the Week honors Feb. 10 after scoring a career-high 28 points in the Feb. 6 win over Long Beach State and hitting the go-ahead basket in the come-from-behind win at UC Davis Feb. 8. Nelson has scored in twin digits 23 times this season and leads the team with 37 steals.
● Junior forward Will Davis II leads UCI in rebounding at 6.2 boards per game and he is averaging 10.9 points. Davis, who is shooting 57 percent from the field, has averaged 15.3 points over the past three games.
● Davis is UCI's career leader in blocked shots with 172, including a then-school single-season record 88 last year. He ranks 14th in school history with 592 rebounds and he has scored 917 points in his UCI career. Davis was selected to the 2014 Big West honorable mention team.
● Sophomore point guard Alex Young leads UCI with 153 assists and his career total of 297 in just 70 games ranks ninth all-time at the school. His 153 assists are the most in a season at UCI since Aaron Fitzgerald had 190 in 2005-06. Young tied his career high with nine assists against Cal State Fullerton Jan. 16. He has 34 steals, tying his career high with five at Northridge Feb. 22. Young was named All-Big West honorable mention.
● UCI remained at No. 14 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll that was released Monday. UC Santa Barbara is ranked 16th and Wichita State remained No. 1 in the poll.
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