BIG WEST TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL
#3 UC Irvine (18-12) vs. #6 UC Riverside (14-16)
Thursday, March 12, 2015 – 6:00 p.m.
Honda Center (17,608) – Anaheim, Calif.
Series Record: UCI leads 34-24
Last Meeting: UCR won 70-63 (2/14/15 in Riverside)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan & Steve Henkle)
TV: FOX Prime Ticket (Paul Sunderland, Corey Maggette & Rahshaun Haylock)
Audio / Live Stats
UC IRVINE OPENS WITH UC RIVERSIDE: Third-seeded UC Irvine faces No. 6 seed UC Riverside in a Big West Conference Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Honda Center.
Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters are 18-12 overall and tied for second place in the conference with an 11-5 mark.
The Highlanders are 14-16 overall and finished sixth in the Big West with a 7-9 mark.
UCI-UCR SERIES: The Anteaters lead the series 34-24 and the teams have split this season, each winning on its home floor. UCI won 69-55 at the Bren Events Center Jan. 10 on the strength of 16 points from sophomore guard Jaron Martin.
UCR won 70-63 at Riverside Feb. 14 as Taylor Johns and Jaylen Bland scored 21 points each.
The two teams also met in the Big West tourney quarterfinals a year ago with UCI winning 63-43 as Will Davis II scored 16 points.
33rd APPEARANCE FOR UCI: This week marks UCI's 33rd appearance in the Big West Tournament. The Anteaters have advanced to the semifinals 16 times and have played in four championship games (1988, 1994, 2008 and 2013).
The most amazing run came 21 years ago when the 10th-seeded Anteaters, who were 7-19 in the regular season, advanced to the 1994 tourney title game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
UCI defeated UC Santa Barbara (53-48), Utah State (78-68) and Pacific (82-78) before falling to New Mexico State, 70-64, in the championship game. The Anteaters' Chris Brown made 11 threes in that title tilt and was named tournament co-MVP.
BIG WEST HONORS FOR 'EATERS: Senior forward Will Davis II was named to the 2014-15 All-Big West Conference First Team.
He leads the Anteaters in scoring and rebounding at 12.7 points and 6.5 boards per game, and he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference games this season.
Sophomore guard Luke Nelson (9.9 ppg, 4.0 apg) and junior guard Alex Young (9.8 ppg, 3.5 apg) were named to the Big West Honorable Mention squad.
ANTEATER NOTES
● Including this year, UCI has won 62 games over the last three seasons. The Anteaters have won 46 of their last 47 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less and are 13-1 in those games this season.
● Senior forward Will Davis II was named to the 2014-15 All-Big West First Team as voted on by the league's head coaches. He is the third player in Big West history to reach 200 career blocks as he is UCI's career leader with 207. Davis is just the third player in the 50-year history of UCI basketball to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds. He is third in Anteater history with 808 rebounds and eighth with 1,325 points. Davis has four double-doubles this season and 13 in his career. Davis scored a season-high 24 points in the Feb. 26 win at Cal Poly. He leads the Anteaters in scoring and rebounding at 12.7 points and 6.5 boards per game, and he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference games this season.
● Junior guard Alex Young was named to the All-Big West Honorable Mention squad for the second straight season. He has returned to action the last four games after missing the previous four games due to a left-foot injury sustained in the UC Davis game Feb. 5. He is fourth in UCI history with 395 career assists and 13th with 99 steals. Young was named Most Outstanding Player of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas Dec. 21-22. He hit the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left in the 72-70 championship win over Green Bay Dec. 22. He had a career-high six steals in the Dec. 13 loss to UT Arlington, including five in the first 5:16 of the game. Young has scored 906 career points.
● Sophomore guard Luke Nelson was selected to the All-Big West Honorable Mention team and he ranks third in the league in assists per game at 3.96. He had seven assists in the Feb. 26 win at Cal Poly and tied his career high with eight assists in the Feb. 19 win over Hawai'i. Nelson scored a season-high 19 points against Saint Mary's and UT Arlington. He is averaging 9.9 points this season with 11 games in double figures. Nelson was Big West Conference Freshman of the Year last season.
● 7-6 sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye has been back in action the last four games after missing the previous 10 with a foot injury. He has averaged 10.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the last four games. Ndiaye scored a career-high 21 points in the Nov. 29 win at Loyola Marymount, hitting 10 of 11 from the field. He is averaging 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for the season.
● Senior guard Travis Souza leads the 'Eaters with 63 threes on the season and has 137 for his career to rank ninth in UCI history, four behind No. 8 Scott Brooks. Souza tied his career with five treys in the Feb. 19 win over Hawai'i and scored a career-high 17 points in the Jan. 29 win over Cal Poly. He tied his career high with five assists in the Mar. 5 win over Fullerton and tied his career best with three steals in the Feb. 26 win at Cal Poly. Souza ranks fourth in the Big West in three-point field-goal percentage (.477).
● Sophomore post Ioannis Dimakopoulos has averaged 5.3 points over the past six games and made his first career starts versus Cal Poly Feb. 26 and UC Santa Barbara Feb. 28. He scored a season-high 11 points in the Dec. 6 win over Sacramento State.
● Sophomore guard Jaron Martin ranks second on the team with 42 threes for the season. He scored a career-high 19 points in the Feb. 21 win over CSUN and had a then-career high 16 points in the Jan. 10 win over UC Riverside, tying his career high with four threes in that game. Martin was named to the South Point Holiday Hoops All-Classic team in Las Vegas Dec. 21-22. He ranks third in the Big West in three-point percentage at .483.
● Junior forward Mike Best averaged 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in last week's two games. He scored a season-high 10 points, hitting 5 of 6 from the field, in the Dec. 31 win over Hampden-Sydney.
● Junior guard Aaron Wright pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in last Saturday's loss to UC Davis. He had a career-high four steals in the Dec. 29 loss at Oregon. Wright tied his season high with five assists in the Feb. 7 win at LBSU and scored a season-high 11 points in the Jan. 3 loss at New Mexico State.
● Junior guard Dominique Dunning snared eight boards in 23 reserve minutes of the Feb. 19 win over Hawai'i. He recorded his first double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the Dec. 31 win over Hampden-Sydney. He was sidelined due to injury in last week's two games.
● Senior post John Ryan, who has started 19 games this season, sustained an injury to his right foot at Riverside Feb. 14 and has missed the past six games. He is shooting 56.6 percent from the field and is tied for the team lead with 33 blocked shots. He tied his career high with 10 rebounds in the Feb. 7 win at LBSU. Ryan has 338 points, 294 rebounds and 77 blocked shots in his UCI career.
● Freshman guard Haroldas Saprykinas has played in 16 games this season. He scored a career-high seven points in wins over Hampden-Sydney (Dec. 31) and Chapman (Nov. 14).
● Junior guard Reed McConnell has seen action in 12 games this season and scored a career-high seven points in the Dec. 31 win over Hampden-Sydney.
● Junior forward Shawn Ray has played in 10 games this season. He scored his first UCI points on a basket in the Jan. 10 win over UC Riverside and added two more at CSUN Jan. 22.
UCI IN THE BIG WEST STATISTICS
● For all games, UCI leads the Big West in field-goal percentage defense (.398) and blocked shots per game (5.03). The Anteaters are second in scoring margin (+5.2), field-goal percentage (.464), three-point field-goal percentage (.397), scoring defense (62.7), assists per game (14.20) and assist/turnover ratio (1.20).
● Will Davis II leads the conference in field-goal percentage for all games at .528. Luke Nelson is third in assists (3.96 per game) while Jaron Martin (.483) and Travis Souza (.477) are third and fourth, respectively, in three-point field-goal percentage. Davis is sixth in rebounding (6.5) and Alex Young is sixth in steals (1.35 per game).
UCI IN THE NCAA STATISTICS
● Entering the week, UCI ranked 15th in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (.397), 30th in blocked shots per game (5.0), 31st in total blocked shots (151), 43rd in field-goal percentage defense (.398) and 54th in field-goal percentage (.464).
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