Road Ride Finishes in Montana, Idaho for Men's Basketball

UPCOMING GAMES

Game Notes

UC Irvine Anteaters
at Montana Grizzlies
Tuesday, Dec. 19 | 6:00 PM
Dahlberg Arena (7,321) - Missoula, Mont.
Video | KUCI 88.9 FM | Live Stats

Series Information: Record: 4-2 - Last Meeting: L, 80-101, Dec. 18, 1986 at Montana

UC Irvine Anteaters
vs. Idaho Vandals
Thursday, Dec. 21 | 6:30 PM
Taco Bell Arena (12,380) - Boise, Idaho
Video | KUCI 88.9 FM | Live Stats

Series Information: Record: 15-5 - Last Meeting: L, 47-101, Nov. 28, 2008, at Idaho

Radio: Live broadcasts will be available on KUCI 88.9 FM and ucirvinesports.com with play-by-play from Trent Rush for each game this week
TV: Links to broadcasts for each game can be found on via ucirvinesports.com. Tuesday's broadcast is courtesy of the Big Sky Conference and WatchBigSky. Thursday's broadcast is courtesy of Pluto TV

POINTS IN THE PAINT
550 - UC Irvine has hauled in 550 rebounds this season, 2nd in the country behind Rutgers (594). It also stands 10th nationally with 42.3 rebounds per game, 13.5 of them from the offensive end

0 - Through 13 games, UCI has used 8 different starting lineups and has had 9 or more scorers in 11 games, but have seen 0 players put up a 20-point performance with a high of 19 from Rutherford and Leonard

12 - Jonathan Galloway has registered a block in 12 straight games with multiple blocks in eight. He ranks 30th in the nation with 25 blocks, and is the team's rebounding leader at 7.4 a game

14th - The Anteaters have gone through a grueling non-conference schedule ranked the 14th-toughest in the nation equipped with six 2017 NCAA Tournament teams and 12 matchups away from home

THE MONTANA BLAINE TAYLORS
The 'Eaters quickly move back on the road with a pair of Big Sky opponents starting with a Tuesday game at Montana. UCI and Montana have met six times all-time, but all came consecutively from 1980-86 as UCI won four of the matchups.

There is a strong connection between the schools despite their brief history on the court as Anteater assistant coach Blaine Taylor attended the university as a player and a coach. Taylor was a player from 1978-81leading in the team in assists in three years and finishing with the fourth-best free throw percentage in program history at 82.4%. His senior season, he finished second on the team scoring over 10 points a game taking home Most Inspirational and Most Represents Griz Basketball awards which was also the year of the first meeting between the schools, but Taylor did not participate in that game in which the 'Eaters won in overtime. As a coach, Taylor took the squad to a 27-4 record and NCAA Tournament appearance in his first year in 1991-92. He picked up a 141-66 record in seven years as the coach taking the program to two NCAA tournaments (1992, 1997) and an NIT berth (1995).

The current Grizzlies have traded off wins and losses to a 6-4 record. They most recently dropped UC Riverside, 77-61, following a loss at Georgia State by three on the heels of their cancelled matchup at UCLA due to the fires. Other results have been wins at Pitt, CSUN, and Oral Roberts and losses at Penn State, UC Santa Barbara, and Stanford. The Griz were picked to finish third in the Big Sky in the preseason coming off an even 16-16 record in 2016-17 finishing fifth in the conference.

Montana will challenge UC Irvine in the key as the things it does best is block shots (4.7 per game) and rebound (13.1 per game on the offensive end). They also force turnovers, 18.1 per game, which will hit the 'Eaters right where they've struggled lately. The Griz do struggled shooting the ball and defending the shot among the lower third in the NCAA, and are one of the worst around the three-point line allowing 40.3% of threes to be made and shooting just 26.5 per game themselves.

The key Griz is Ahmaad Rorie, a 6-1 junior guard transfer from Oregon named a preseason all-conference member, who is averaging 18.8 points per game and the team's leader in minutes, threes, assists, steals, and free throw percentage. Flanking him are Michael Oguine with 15.2 points per game, Bobby Moorehead with 9.3 PPG and 18 three-pointers, and CSF transfer Jamar Akoh matching Oguine with 5.6 rebounds per contest as two of six Grizzlies with at least four rebounds a game.

'EATERS-VANDALS MEET IN POTATO BOWL
UC Irvine's trip finishes in the state of Idaho meeting up with the University of Idaho on the campus of Boise State in a neutral site matchup as part of the festivities surrounding the Potato Bowl. UCI and Idaho revisit their rivalry when the Vandals were Big West members from 1996-2005. UCI is 15-5 all-time against them, however all five losses have come away from home. The teams haven't met up since they were Bracketbuster opponents in February of 2008 as UCI won by 16 at home, and the return trip in November of 2008 saw Idaho bust out a 101-47 victory in Moscow.

After a 19-12 season a year ago, Idaho is back to a strong start at 6-3 as it searches for its first trip to the NCAAs since 1990. Its put up wins over Cal Poly and Washington State alongside a loss at Nevada and a pair against Bakersfield. Idaho does have a Monday matchup at Western Michigan before returning West to face UC Irvine.

The Vandals rebound well (29.4 defensive rebounds per game) and are good around the arc (40.2 3pt percentage and 28.5% 3pt percentage allowed to opponents). Their star, 6-5 senior Victor Sanders, puts up 19.5 points per game on a roster that is very top-heavy with four players - Sanders, Brayon Blake (13.9), Nate Sherwood (12.4), and Perrion Callandret (10.5) averaging at least 10 points a game.

CHART-TOPPERS
The 'Eaters continue to rebound well with 42.3 per game (10th in NCAA) ranking 38th in defensive rebounds per game and 21st in offensive. The +7.5 rebound margin ranks 35th.

The Anteaters continue to set the standard in blocks with 64, 16th-most in the NCAA and leading the Big West. UCI averages 4.9 per game led by Jonathan Galloway whose 25 rank 30th nationally and is 62nd in the nation with 1.92 per contest.

UCI has begun a return to its field goal defensive prowess. After a slow start to the season, opponents now average 39.5% per game, 46th in the NCAA. UCI ranked sixth in the nation in that stat in 2016-17.

The Anteaters prepare for the tailend of its five-game road trip, part of 12 games away from home in the 16-game non-conference schedule which ranks as the 14th-toughest slate in the nation according to kenpom.com

NEWS & NOTES
Brandon Smith was named to the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament Team scoring 18 points, dishing out four assists, and adding a pair of steals over an average of 21.5 minutes in the split against Rider and Northern Arizona.

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, however they do navigate a 16-game non-conference ledger where 12 games will be away from home including two different five-game road stretches.

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, however, no 'Eaters were represented on media Preseason All-Big West squad. 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. Entering the season, UCI was 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.

Schedule

Road Ride Finishes in Montana, Idaho for Men's Basketball

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Galloway

Tommy Rutherford

Brandon Smith

Eyassu Worku

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