Anteaters Close 2017 in Bren Versus New Mexico State

UPCOMING GAMES

Game Notes

UC Irvine Anteaters (5-10)
vs. New Mexico St. Aggies (11-3)
Thursday, Dec. 28 | 7:00 PM
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Video | KUCI 88.9 FM | Live Stats

Series Information: Record: 9-29 - Last Meeting: L(OT), 85-79, Dec. 19, 2016 at NMSU

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
Thursday's broadcast is courtesy of BigWest.TV

77% - UC Irvine is near the bottom in the conference and NCAA in free-throw percentage, but has made 77% of their shots in the last two contests including a season-high 81% in the win vs. Idaho

20 - The Anteater offense finally got its first 20-point scorer in game 15 as Evan Leonard put up a career high 20 points in the 67-59 win over Idaho on Dec. 22

15 - Jonathan Galloway has registered a block in 15 straight games with multiple blocks in 10. He ranks 35th in the nation with 28 blocks, and is the team's rebounding leader at 7.4 a game

13th - The Anteaters have gone through a grueling non-conference schedule ranked the 13th-toughest in the nation equipped with six 2017 NCAA Tournament teams and 12 matchups away from home

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY CONCLUDES IN BREN
For the fourth time in non-conference play, UC Irvine finds itself head-to-head with a former Big West rival in what might be its toughest test of the bunch with a return to the Bren Events Center to close our non-conference play Thursday night against New Mexico State.

The Aggies have reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six season with at least 22 wins in each of those years. The 2016-17 Aggies were the best among them with a 28-6 record that included a 19-game win streak that the 'Eaters were a part of losing in overtime, 85-79, in Las Cruces.

NMSU has picked up where it left off going 11-3 so far in 2017-18 punctuated by a huge 63-54 win in Hawai'I over the weekend upsetting No. 6 Miami which has earned it some votes in the latest AP poll. NMSU has also picked up quality wins over Illinois and rival New Mexico with its only three losses coming to formidable opponents in San Diego and ranked Saint Mary's and USC squads.

The 'Eaters and Aggies meet for the fourth straight season with each home team winning the previous three. The 'Eaters clipped NMSU, 54-52, in the last meeting at the Bren in January of 2016. All-time, NMSU has dominated with a 29-9 mark including 26 wins over UCI in the Big West era from 1983-2000. The squads have split the last four meetings, and UCI has been successful at home winning seven times in 17 chances.

UC Irvine and New Mexico State have very similar styles with both teams leaning on their stout defenses and ability to rebound. Both squads rank among the top 50 in the nation in rebounds and offensive rebounds per game. 6-5 senior Jemerrio Jones wipes the glass averaging 10.9 rebounds per game, 10th in the nation, and top 40 in offensive (6.9) and defensive (4.0) rebounds per contest. He's one of the Aggies' top scorers with 10.4 PPG, eight double-doubles on the season, and a triple-double to boot that came against Eastern New Mexico. He was the main cog in NMSU's overtime win last season with 23 points, 18 rebounds, and finished perfect from the line, 9-for-9, including a pair to tie the game in regulation as the teams went scoreless down the final 1:51 of play.

The engine runs through grad transfer Zach Lofton, guard from Texas Southern, averaging 19.1 PPG and is shooting 50% from the field taking over for Braxton Huggins from last year's Aggies who dropped 24 points and eight in OT and all five of the Aggies' three-balls.

NMSU and the 'Eaters have seen the same struggles from the line. The Aggies sit with the 13th-worst FT percentage at 62.6 and also sits near the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference in steals, turnovers forced, and blocked shots per game on the defensive end.

CHART-TOPPERS
The Anteaters complete its 16-game non-conference ledger Thursday night. It's non-conference schedule ranks as the 13th-toughest in the NCAA equipped with 12 games away from home. The trek has covered 11,715 miles with the Anteaters playing games in 10 different states.

The 'Eaters continue to rebound well with 41.4 per game (16th in NCAA) ranking 52nd in defensive rebounds per game and 32nd in offensive. The +6.1 rebound margin ranks 52nd as UCI has hauled in 621 total rebounds, third-most in the NCAA.

The Anteaters continue to set the standard in blocks with 72, 24th-most in the NCAA and leading the Big West. UCI averages 4.8 per game led by Jonathan Galloway whose 28 rank 35th nationally and is 69th in the nation with 1.87 per contest.

UCI has begun a return to its field goal defensive prowess. After a slow start to the season, opponents now average 40.1% per game, 51st in the NCAA. UCI ranked sixth in the nation in that stat in 2016-17.

BREAKING DOWN THE BIG WEST
The final week before non-conference play commences in the new year of 2018 as each program plays at least one this week. As it stands in the college basketball landscape, the Big West ranks 16th in terms of conference RPI currently sitting with a 40-63 overall record.

UC Santa Barbara will emerge as the conference's only 10-win team at 10-3 with a final matchup against a lower-division squad. Three other programs will enter Big West play with overall winning records in Hawai'i (8-3), Cal State Fullerton (7-4), and UC Davis (8-5). UCSB and Davis enter with high RPIs over 45 and 57, respectively. The Anteaters sit middle-of-the-pack at 172. Picking up the rear of the conference and nation at 351 is CSUN

UC Irvine is among five Big West squads averaging over 70 points a game with UCSB's 78.7 PPG heads above the rest of the conference. UCSB also holds the edge in FG% and 3PT% standing nearly two-tenths above the rest on each level.

Defensively, its UC Davis holding opponents to 66.2 points per contest joined by UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton who both keep teams under 70 on average. UCI falls closer to the other end while Long Beach State's 83.7 PPG allowed is 10 points clear of any other. UC Riverside has held its opponents in check allowing teams to shoot under 30% from the field and under 40% from three, the only squad to post either of those marks which each rank among the top 20 nationally.

The Anteaters have a clear advantage in the paint with a +6.1 rebounding margin, nearly four better than all other schools, and three clear of the field in rebound and offensive rebound average. UCI also has the conference lead with 4.8 blocks per game joined by UCSB (4.3) as the only schools over a 4.0 average. UC Davis is averaging just 1.8 blocks per game while also falling near the bottom of the rebound battle.

UC Irvine's biggest roadblock has been the turnover game with a –4.4 margin, twice as worse as any other school. UC Davis (+1.7) and UCSB (+0.7) are the only schools in the positive the Aggies lead the conference in steals (7.5) while UCSB has the assist-to-turnover ratio edge at 1.4.

Some of the names that have stood out include UCSB's Max Heidegger as the only player to average 20+ PPG as his 293 total points are eighth-best in college basketball. His 3.2 threes made per contest also tops the conference alongside LBSU's Bryan Alberts along with his 33.1 minutes per game along with CP junior Donovan Fields.

Chima Moneke continues to dominate for UC Davis averaging a double-double at 19.0 PPG and 10.3 RPG as he's recorded eight thus far, eighth nationally. Not far behind is UCSB's Leland King II with six of his own posting 9.7 rebounds per game, commanding the defensive glass with 8.2 per game, fourth in the NCAA, and is third in the conference at 17.6 PPG.

The top two scoring efforts have been 34-point performances from fellow Cal State Fullerton juniors Kyle Allman and Khalil Ahmad who fall fourth and fifth in scoring, respectively. Deishuan Booker ranks 13th nationally with 86 assists atop a LBSU team leading the Big West in dimes with 219.

The 'Eaters will be tested from the get-go back on the move with a trip to UC Davis before tussling with local rivals LBSU and Cal State Fullerton at home. The well-tested Anteaters will have a chance to earn some attention with a possibility for 13 of its 16 Big West games to be televised. The opener at UC Davis (Jan. 4) and road matchups at CSUN (Jan. 13) and Cal Poly (Feb. 17) are the only games that do not have the potential to be shown on either ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, Fox Sports West, or Fox Sports Prime Ticket. This on top of the three guaranteed televised games in the Big West Tournament that runs from March 8-10 in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

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

Anteaters Close 2017 in Bren Versus New Mexico State

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Galloway

Evan Leonard

Tommy Rutherford

Brandon Smith

Eyassu Worku

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