GAME #24
UC Irvine (17-6, 6-1) at Cal Poly (8-12, 2-5)
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 - 7:00 p.m.
Mott Athletics Center (3,032) - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Series Record: UCI leads 26-21
Last Meeting: UCI won 63-56 (2/26/15 in San Luis Obispo)
Radio: KUCI/88.9 FM (Michael O'Sullivan)
Audio / Video / Live Stats
UC IRVINE TRAVELS TO CAL POLY WEDNESDAY: UC Irvine (17-6, 6-1) faces Cal Poly (8-12, 2-5) Wednesday night in a Big West Conference game in San Luis Obispo.
The Anteaters had a seven-game winning streak snapped in a 76-60 loss to UC Santa Barbara Saturday night in the Bren Events Center. Despite the loss, UCI remains in first place in the Big West with its 6-1 mark as Hawai'i (5-1) lost at home to Long Beach State Saturday night.
Junior guard Luke Nelson led UCI against UCSB with 16 points while senior guard Alex Young added 12.
Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters won at CSUN, 73-63, last Wednesday as Nelson and junior center Mamadou Ndiaye scored 14 points each.
BEST START IN 14 YEARS: UCI, 17-6 overall, is off to the program's best start since the 2001-02 team had a similar record after 23 games. The 6-1 conference start ties last season's league beginning.
IN THE RANKINGS: As of Monday morning, UCI ranks seventh in the nation (of 351 teams) in field-goal percentage defense (.379), 19th in scoring defense (63.5) and 41st in blocked shots per game (5.0).
UCI, which has won 10 of its last 12 games, is ranked No. 19 this week in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
UCI-CAL POLY SERIES: Wednesday night marks the 48th meeting in the series, with UCI holding a 26-21 lead.
The Anteaters won both meetings last season, 67-57 at the Bren Events Center (1/29/15) and 63-56 in San Luis Obispo (2/26/15).
UC IRVINE NOTES
● In the Big West statistics entering the week, for all games, UCI ranks No. 1 in scoring defense (63.5), field-goal percentage defense (.379) and blocked shots (5.0 per game).
● UCI has won 57 of its last 59 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less, including 9-0 this season.
● UCI is 13-0 this season when the opposition shoots under 40 percent from the field. The Anteaters have held their first five Big West opponents to 35.6 percent this season.
● Senior point guard Alex Young has 509 career assists in his career in becoming the 12th player in Big West history to reach 500.
● As of Monday morning, Young ranks seventh in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 4.13, which leads the Big West. He has nine games this season with no turnovers.
● Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye has 184 career blocked shots to rank fifth in Big West Conference history. As of Monday morning, he ranks 16th in the nation with 53 total blocks this season and 27th in blocked shots per game (2.3), which leads the Big West.
● Junior guard Luke Nelson has 997 career points and has scored in double figures 17 times this season, including all seven Big West games for a 15.4 average. Nelson is 44 of 47 (.936) from the free-throw line in all games this season.
● Nelson is seventh in Anteater history with 167 threes and is tied for ninth with 298 assists.
● Senior forward Mike Best has averaged 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in the last four games, including 20 points in the 61-52 win at UC Santa Barbara Jan. 16.
● Senior guard Dominique Dunning scored six points in Saturday's loss to UCSB, his highest output since the second game of the season. He has 13 assists and just two turnovers in his last nine games.
● Freshman forward Brandon Smith is 7 of 13 from the field in Big West action, starting five of the first seven league games.
● Junior post Ioannis Dimakopoulos averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds with eight blocked shots in last week's two games. He was 6 of 8 from the field and had 13 points and a career-high six blocked shots in last Wednesday's win at CSUN.
● Junior guard Jaron Martin scored a career-high 22 points in 22 minutes in the 72-59 win over Cal State Fullerton Jan. 20. He also had career highs of six threes and six rebounds.
● Senior guard Aaron Wright had a season-high four assists in the Jan. 20 win over Cal State Fullerton.
● Following Wednesday night's game, UCI is idle from competition until traveling to Hawai'i Feb. 11.
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