OPENING TIPS
The 'Eaters head to the Midwest to begin the 2017-18 campaign against a couple of Summit League opponents in South Dakota State and Denver.

UCI and South Dakota State open their respective seasons Friday night with the Jackrabbits coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament last year. The squads met for the first time ever last year, and then squared off against just 11 days later as UCI took both matchups by an average of 13.5 points

UCI and Denver match up for the second time ever after the 'Eaters won the initial pairing in 2013. The Pioneers are coming off consecutive winning seasons under now second-year head man Rodney Billups as UCI will be DU's season opener as well.

NEWS & NOTES
Under head coach Russell Turner, UCI has won 114 games over the last five years, advancing to the postseason each of those years (2013 CIT, 2014 NIT, 2015 NCAA, 2016 CIT and 2017 NIT).

UCI has recorded five consecutive 20-win seasons, including 21-15 in 2016-17. In the past five seasons, UCI is 114-66 overall and 60-22 in Big West Conference games. The 'Eaters were 12-4 in Big West play last season, winning those 12 by an average of 18.0 points.

UCI was 11-2 at home last season and has won 37 of its last 44 games (.841) in the Bren Events Center.

UCI will play 13 home games in 2017-18. After traveling to South Dakota and Denver for the first two games of the regular season, UCI will entertain Chapman in the home opener Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m.  

UCI has won a conference-best 60 Big West games over the last five seasons (60-22, .732).

UCI has won outright, or shared, the Big West regular-season title three of the last four years, including the last two.

The Anteaters were picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Poll garnering 14 of the 26 first-place votes.

College Sports Madness named three Anteaters to its Preseason All-Conference squad including Tommy Rutherford, Eyassu Worku, and Jonathan Galloway. Russell Turner was also mentioned as Preseason Coach of the Year for the publication.

The Anteaters ranked sixth in the nation last season in field-goal percentage defense at .383. The Anteaters were 17^th in rebound margin (6.7) and 29^th in scoring defense (64.8).

The 'Eaters have blocked 744 shots over the past four seasons for an average of 5.2 per game.  UCI returns three of its top four shot-blockers from last season.

The 'Eaters have won 72 of their last 77 games when holding the opposition to 60 points or less.  UCI is 71-9 in its last 80 games when limiting the opposition to under 40-percent shooting from the field.

UCI has a tough non-conference schedule featuring six teams that saw action in the NCAA Tournament last season.

Juniors Jonathan Galloway and Brandon Smith are UCI's two returning starters from the 2016-17 squad.

Galloway, who stands at 6-10, was named the 2017 Big West Defensive Player of the Year. The forward led UCI in rebounding (7.6) and blocked shots (40) as a sophomore. His 7.6 rebounding average was the highest by an Anteater player in six years.

Smith, a 6-5 forward, is also regarded as one of the top defenders in the Big West. He was third on the team blocks with 23, while averaging 3.1 points and 3.2 rebounds. He also swiped 27 steals.

UCI does not have a senior on its roster in 2017-18. Six of the returning players averaged at least 12 minutes of playing time last season.

A group of talented young guards gained valuable experience last year and are ready to take over the day-to-day duties.

Sophomore Eyassu Worku averaged 7.2 points, while Max Hazzard, a redshirt freshman last season, averaged 4.4 points and started 18 of the team's 36 games.

Sophomore Evan Leonard had a career-high 11 points against UTEP and averaged 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game a year ago.

Forward Tommy Rutherford averaged 6.2 points and 5.3 rebounds as true freshmen last season. He was second on the team in blocks with 32.

Brad Greene, a 6-10 sophomore center, shot 59% from the field, averaging 2.7 points and grabbing 3.0 rebounds per contest. He is not the big man you might remember, slimming down and becoming leaner and quicker than ever.

A key front-line addition this season is 6-9 junior Elston Jones, who sat out last season after transferring from Utah State, where he played in 59 games over two seasons. The post presence was a standout in his hometown of Goodyear, Arizona where he put up 17 double-doubles and three triple-doubles in high school

Justin Wertner also joins the mix after redshirting in his freshman season last year. The perimeter player won a state title and was Division II Mr. Basketball in Tennessee as a native of Memphis. Prior to joining the 'Eaters, he served a mission to Chile.
Three other returnees - Spencer Rivers, John Edgar Jr. and Darrian Traylor - will be key contributors for the Anteaters. Rivers and Edgar Jr. both played in every game last season and averaged 2.1 points per game. Traylor saw action in 20 games, shooting 47.4% from the floor with seven three-pointers.

Newcomers include Collin Welp, a 6-9 forward from Seattle Prep, who is the son of late-great Christian Welp, all-time leading scorer from the University of Washington, and collected over 1,000 career points in high school.
7-foot-1 Solomon Ruddell joins the club from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. He's originally from Los Osos, Calif., and returns to the state after a senior season where he averaged eight points, five boards, and two blocks.
True freshman Riley Welch is a guard who grew up in Los Angeles, but is highly-decorated from his time at Chatfield High School in Littleton, Colorado where he took his school to a State Final Four following regional, county, and league titles.

EXHIBITION EVALUATION
The 'Eaters were tested in their lead-in to the 2017-18 basketball season as they welcomed Division II Alaska Anchorage.

The Seawolves jumped out to the early lead going up by as much as 18-10 at the midway point of the half. The 'Eaters caught their rhythm going on an 18-0 run holding UAA without a point for eight minutes to finish out the half with a five-point lead.

UCI began to cruise extending its lead to as much as 18 points with under seven minutes to go before Anchorage closed the gap to five points in the final minute, but a key layup from Tommy Rutherford and timely defense from Jonathan Galloway sealed the 73-66 victory.

Rutherford led all scorers with 18 surpassing his high as a freshman and added five offensive rebounds. Eyassu Worku also managed double figures with 12 along with a team-high three steals before fouling out.

Max Hazzard dished out a game-high five assists to go with nine points. Evan Leonard was instrumental playing 25 minutes and hitting all six shots from the line.

Galloway also surpassed a career high with 17 rebounds adding a pair of blocks to his night as he and Rutherford led the team in minutes with 26 each.

Sparkling debuts came from Justin Wertner, who connected on his first two three-pointers of the game, and Elston Jones, blocking four shots and adding a stat in each category in his 16 minutes. All three freshmen got some important minutes with Collin Welp and Solomon Ruddell each contributing a bucket.