NCAA 2ND ROUND
#13 UC Irvine (21-12) vs. #4 Louisville (24-8)
Friday, March 20, 2015 – 1:10 p.m. (Approx.)
KeyArena (17,459) – Seattle, Wash.
Series Record: First meeting
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan)
Radio: Westwood One (Kevin Calabro & P.J. Carlesimo)
TV: TBS (Spero Dedes, Mike Gminski & Jamie Maggio)
Ticket Information
UC IRVINE SET FOR 1ST APPEARANCE: UC Irvine makes its first appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship this week.
Fifth-year head coach Russell Turner's Anteaters (21-12), seeded 13th, will take on No. 4 seed Louisville (24-8) in the NCAA Second Round on Friday at KeyArena in Seattle at approximately 1:10 p.m. (PT) on TBS.
UCI opened in the fall of 1965 and competed in NCAA Division II before gaining NCAA Division I status July 1, 1977.
The Anteaters did compete four times in NCAA Division II regionals (1968, 1969, 1972 and 1975).
UCI WINS FIRST BIG WEST TOURNEY TITLE: UCI won its first Big West Conference Tournament title last Saturday night with a 67-58 victory over Hawai'i at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Sophomore guard Luke Nelson scored 17 points while senior forward Will Davis II had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double, seventh of the season and 16th in his career.
Davis was named Big West Tournament MVP and Nelson was selected to the all-tournament team. Davis is the first player in history to record three double-doubles in a Big West Tournament.
UCI's previous conference tourney title game appearances were in 1988, 1994, 2008 and 2013.
UC IRVINE NOTES
● With 21 victories, UCI has put together three straight 20-win seasons and eight overall in the 50-year history of the program. Including this year, UCI has won 65 games over the last three seasons.
● UCI tied for second in the Big West Conference this season with an 11-5 mark. The Anteaters have won 35 league games over the last three seasons. UCI won Big West regular-season titles in 2001, 2002 and 2014.
● The Anteaters have won 48 of their last 49 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less and are 15-1 in those games this season.
● The Anteaters have blocked 390 shots over the past two seasons, including a school-record 224 last season (106 by 7-6 Mamadou Ndiaye). UCI has 166 rejections this season with at least 20 each by five players. The Anteater roster, including the 7-6 Ndiaye and 7-2 Ioannis Dimakopoulos, has seven players 6-8 or taller.
● UCI's defensive average of 62.3 points this season is a school record for lowest average allowed.
● UCI has had single-digit turnovers three of the last four games and six of the past nine.
● The Anteaters are 15-1 this season when the opponents shoot under 40 percent from the field.
● UCI has used nine different starting lineups this season. The most recent starting five of senior forward Will Davis II, sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye, junior guard Alex Young, sophomore guard Luke Nelson and senior guard Travis Souza has a 7-2 record when opening the game.
● UCI has four international players on its roster: 7-6 sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye (Senegal), 6-3 sophomore guard Luke Nelson (England), 7-2 sophomore post Ioannis Dimakopoulos (Greece) and 6-1 freshman guard Haroldas Saprykinas (Lithuania).
● The last time that UCI played in Seattle, the Anteaters defeated Washington, 86-72, last season (11/14/13) as Will Davis II had 22 points (10 of 12 FG), seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Mamadou Ndiaye scored 18 points and added a then-school record nine blocked shots. Ndiaye registered a school and Big West Conference-record 11 rejections in a 61-58 win later last season over Long Beach State (2/6/14).
● Friday marks the first meeting between UCI and Louisville. Coach Rick Pitino's Cardinals, 24-8 overall, are making their ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and 41st overall. Louisville is 72-41 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which ranks sixth in tourney wins.
● UNI and Wyoming are in the UCI-Louisville bracket of the East Region in Seattle. UNI is 30-3 overall and Wyoming 25-9.
● Senior forward Will Davis II was named to the 2014-15 All-Big West Conference First Team 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 208. Davis is just the third player in the 50-year history of UCI basketball to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds. He is No. 2 in Anteater history with 843 rebounds and eighth with 1,370 points. Davis had double-doubles in each of the three Big West Tournament games en route to MVP honors and he has seven double-doubles this season and 16 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 12.9 points and 7.0 boards per game, and he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference games this season. Davis leads the Big West in field-goal percentage at .541.
● Junior guard Alex Young was named to the All-Big West Honorable Mention squad for the second straight season. He is fourth in UCI history with 409 career assists and is tied for eighth with 103 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. Young has scored 929 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 4.1. He has 10 games this season of five more assists 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 10.2 points this season with 13 games in double figures. Nelson was named to the All-Big West Tournament team after averaging 15.0 points in three games and scoring a game-high 17 in the title win over Hawai'i. Nelson was Big West Conference Freshman of the Year last season.
● 7-6 sophomore center Mamadou Ndiaye, has been back in action the last seven games after missing the previous 10 with a foot injury. Ndiaye scored a career-high 21 points in the Nov. 29 win at Loyola Marymount, hitting 10 of 11 from the field. He had 18 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots in the Big West Tournament semifinal win over UC Santa Barbara.
● Senior guard Travis Souza leads the 'Eaters with 65 threes on the season and has 140 for his career to rank ninth in UCI history, two 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.
● 7-2 sophomore post Ioannis Dimakopoulos has averaged 5.6 points over the past nine games and made his first career starts versus Cal Poly Feb. 26 and UC Santa Barbara Feb. 28. He averaged 6.0 points in the three Big West Tournament wins and scored a season-high 11 points in the Dec. 6 win over Sacramento State.
● Sophomore guard Jaron Martin ranks second on the team with 45 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 has hit four first-half, buzzer-beating shots this season, including at Hawai'i Jan. 24.
● Junior forward Mike Best has played in all 33 games with three starts, averaging 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. He has eight offensive rebounds in the last four games. Best 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 has 19 rebounds in the last four games and had four assists in the Big West Tournament semifinal win over UC Santa Barbara. 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.
● Senior post John Ryan, who has started 19 games this season, sustained an injury to his right foot at UC Riverside Feb. 14 and has missed the past nine games. He is shooting 56.6 percent from the field and has 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.
● 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 has been sidelined due to injury in the last five games.
● Freshman guard Haroldas Saprykinas has played in 16 games this season and is averaging 1.9 points. He scored a season-high seven points in wins over Chapman and Hampden-Sydney.
● Junior guard Reed McConnell has seen action in 12 games and scored a career-high seven points in the victory over Hampden-Sydney.
● Junior forward Shawn Ray has played in 10 games and scored two points apiece in wins over UC Riverside and CSUN.
A LOOK AT THE UCI BRACKET IN SEATTLE
LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals, 24-8 overall for Coach Rick Pitino in his 14th season, were 12-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference to finish fourth. This was the first year for Louisville in the ACC. Sophomore guard Terry Rozier leads the Cardinals in scoring at 17.1 points per game while junior forward Montrezl Harrell is averaging 15.7 points and 9.5 boards.
UNI: Ninth-year head coach Ben Jacobson's Panthers are 30-3 overall and were second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 16-2 mark. Senior forward Seth Tuttle leads UNI in scoring (15.3), rebounding (6.8), assists (3.3) and blocks (0.6). UCI and UNI have never met. The University of Northern Iowa, making its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament, is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
WYOMING: Fifth-year head coach Larry Shyatt's Cowboys are 25-9 overall and were 11-7 in the Mountain West Conference. Wyoming won the MWC Tournament title with a 45-43 win over San Diego State last Saturday. Senior Larry Nance, Jr., leads the Cowboys in scoring (16.1) and rebounding (7.3). The series between UCI and Wyoming is tied at 1-1. The University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, is making its 15th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
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