Photo by Jason Roberts
GAME #5
UC Irvine (4-0) vs. Boise State (2-2)
Thursday, November 26, 2015 - 1:00 p.m.
Titan Gym (4,000) - Fullerton, Calif.
DIRECTV Wooden Legacy
Series Record: UCI leads 6-5
Last Meeting: UCI won 89-87, OT (2/10/01 in Boise)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan & Steve Henkle)
TV: ESPNU (Steve Quis, Brad Daugherty & Jeff Goodman)
Audio / Video / Tickets
UCI FACES BOISE STATE THANKSGIVING DAY: UC Irvine (4-0) faces Boise State (2-2) Thursday at 1:00 p.m. to open the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy at Titan Gym in Fullerton.
Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters will meet either Michigan State or Boston College Friday at 12:00 p.m. or 2:30 p.m., pending Thursday's results, also at Titan Gym.
THE UCI-BSU SERIES: UCI leads the series with Boise State, 6-5, as the teams meet for the first time in nearly 15 years Thursday.
Boise State was a member of the Big West Conference from 1996-2001 and the schools were 3-3 in league games during that span.
UCI won both games in 2001, including 89-87 in overtime at Boise Feb. 10, 2001, when Jerry Green hit a game-winning three in the final seconds of overtime.
BEST START IN 33 YEARS: UCI, coming off Monday night's 79-61 win over Santa Clara, is 4-0 and off to the program's best start since the 1982-83 team opened the season 5-0.
The Anteaters are ranked No. 11 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND HOOPS BUFFET: UCI competes in the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Thursday, Friday and Sunday at Titan Gym and the Honda Center.
UCI is one of five 2015 NCAA Tournament teams that will compete in the tournament. The Anteaters open against Boise State, another NCAA tourney team from last season, on Thanksgiving Day at 1:00 p.m. at Titan Gym on ESPNU.
Other NCAA Tournament teams from last season in the field are Final Four participant Michigan State, Arizona, Boise State and Providence. Evansville, champion of the CollegeInsider.com tournament, is also in the tourney along with Boston College and Santa Clara. Michigan State and Evansville are the two schools that UCI has never met previously.
'EATERS TOP SANTA CLARA: Junior guard Luke Nelson scored 20 points to help lead UC Irvine over Santa Clara, 79-61, in a non-conference game at the Bren Events Center Monday night.
It was the second straight 20-point game for Nelson, who had 22 points in last Wednesday's overtime win at UCF.
He hit 4 of 5 threes Monday evening and added a game-high six assists as UCI improved to 4-0.
Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye added 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Freshman forward Brandon Smith posted career highs of 13 points and seven boards.
Senior forward Mike Best recorded nine points and four rebounds while senior guard Alex Young grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and added eight points and five assists.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● UC Irvine is shooting 47 percent from the field and limiting the opposition to 31 percent through the season's first four games.
● UCI has won 50 of its last 52 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less, including 2-0 this season.
● UCI is 4-0 this season when the opposition shoots under 40 percent from the field.
● UCI is 4-0 when leading at halftime this season.
● UC Irvine senior guard Alex Young needs 33 points to become the 25th player in Anteater history to score 1,000 career points.
● Young ranks second all-time at UCI with 433 assists, 42 behind Raimonds Miglinieks, who registered 475 assists in his Anteater career.
● Young, in his third year as a team captain, is seventh in UCI history with 110 steals. He had a career-high nine rebounds in Monday's win over Santa Clara.
● Junior guard Luke Nelson is tied with Chris McNealy (2010-14) for 12th in Anteater history with 131 threes. Nelson leads UCI in scoring at 16.0 points per game.
● Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye has 144 blocked shots and is shooting 67 percent from the field in his UCI career. His 144 rejections are four shy of tying for 10th in Big West Conference history.
● Russell Turner, in his sixth season as UCI's head coach, needs six wins to reach 100 in his tenure with the Anteaters.
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