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
All the week's broadcasts will be courtesy of BigWest.TV

61 - UC Irvine's opponents have finished with exactly 61 field goal attempts in each of the last three contests and gone 22-of-61 in each of the last two. UCI even shot 22-of-61 in its 67-59 win over Idaho
20 - The Anteater offense finally got its first 20-point scorer in game 15 of the season 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 11. He ranks 33rd in the nation with 32 blocks, and is the team's rebounding leader at 7.3 a game
7th - To this point in the season, UC Irvine has gone through the 7th-toughest schedule in the NCAA. Its non-conference slate alone ranks as the 11th-toughest with six 2017 NCAA Tournament teams and 12 matchups away from home

TITLEHOLDERS TIP OFF BIG WEST PLAY
The season resets this week as UC Irvine and its fellow Big West programs begin with spotless 0-0 conference records. For the Anteaters, it begins with a familiar face in UC Davis; a squad that the 'Eaters pummeled by 30 in the season finale to earn the regular season title, and then returned in the Big West Tournament final to steal away the crown and score its first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The 2016-17 version of the UC Irvine-UC Davis series bucked a trend which saw one of these teams sweep the regular season matchups for five straight seasons. Last year, the squads split, each winning their home matchup culminating in a second-ever meeting in the Big West Tournament. Overall, UCI holds the all-time series advantage at 23-16 including 12 wins in the last 16 matchups. Davis has defended its home turf well with an even 8-8 record and managing a split over the last four seasons.

The Aggies fared well in the 2017 portion of their schedule going 9-5 which included a quality, 14-point win at Washington State with quality road losses to Washington and Nevada programs. Davis has yet to be upended at home as well going 4-0 with wins coming off Northern Colorado, Pacific, and a pair of lower-division foes which has grown their streak to 15 straight home wins coming off a perfect 11-0 mark a year ago.

UC Davis specializes in defense holding teams to a conference-low 65.9 points a game predicated on forcing turnovers in which they are the best in the Big West with nearly 16 a game and 7.7 steals per contest, and have stunted opponents' shooting allowing 41.6% from the field and 30.7% from beyond the arc which is 40th-best in the NCAA.

Leading the way for UC Davis is senior Chima Moneke who just slid under his double-double average on the season last game and sits at 19 PPG and 9.9 RPG following non-conference play. Last year's Big West Tournament MVP entered this season once again on the Preseason All-Big West squad, has taken home a pair of Big West Player of the Week honors so far this season, and appears on watch lists for the nation's top Division I player overall and in the mid-majors. His eight double-doubles are 15th-best in the nation, and he is among the conference's top two in rebounds and points. His 7.69 defensive rebounds, while second-best in the Big West, is 12th-best in the NCAA, and he's the Big West's best at getting to the line making 76-of-109 attempts.

Moneke has been complimented well with a pair of junior guards in Siler Schneider and JC transfer TJ Shorts II both averaging over 12 points and 29 minutes a game. Shorts has come on in his first year with the Aggies and risen to one of the conference top assist-getters with 51 and leads all Big West players with 1.93 steals a contest. Schneider is the team's marksmen with a team-high 19 3-pointers.

RIVALRY REVAMPED IN BREN SATURDAY NIGHT
UC Irvine returns home to continue to challenging start to Big West play with a home tilt against its rival in the Black and Blue Rivalry Series in Long Beach State.

The Anteaters and 49ers continue their long-standing series that has been unbroken since the 1976-77 season. Saturday night's matchup will be the 101st in the history of the series in which LBSU has won 58 and UC Irvine has won 42 in what is UCI's second-most contested opponent between the 105 meetings with Cal State Fullerton. The Anteaters have a slight home edge at 23-21 all-time with UCI winning its last three in the Bren and seven of the last nine regular season meetings over LBSU.

Long Beach State has weathered a schedule just as brutal as the 'Eaters sitting at 6-10 thus far. While taking its lumps losing to the likes of Colorado State, Fresno State, Nebraska, Arizona, Michigan State, Missouri, and West Virginia, the 49ers have made some quality dents downing Stanford and San Francisco while splitting with Oregon State in a pair of games away from home.

While trying to sift through LBSU's rigorous match to conference play, some parts of its play it can hang its hat on are its distribution, leading the Big West with 14.5 assists a game, and an adequate defensive effort ranking second in the conference in blocks, rebounds, and steals.

LBSU welcomes back senior Gabe Levin who was sidelined for the entirety of conference play with a knee injury. He has stepped back in to lead the squad with 15 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He also excels at the line shooting 79.3% and has gotten their twice as much anyone on his team.

His fellow 49ers have also been well-tested like minutes-leader Bryan Alberts scoring 14 PPG in just over 30 minutes a contest. Deishuan Booker paces this assist-driven squad with 5.7 a game and a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Along with Alberts' 41 successful three-pointers, Jordan Griffin has dropped in 35 in 20 minutes a game, Mason Riggins has averaged over 20 minutes a game as well while standing second on the squad in rebounds, and KJ Byers off the bench is leading the program in steals and blocks. So the 49ers have the depth to stack up with the Anteaters.

CHART-TOPPERS
The Anteaters completed its 16-game non-conference ledger Thursday night. It's non-conference schedule ranks as the 11th-toughest in the NCAA equipped with 12 games away from home and six tournament teams from a year ago. The trek covered 11,715 miles with the Anteaters playing games in 10 different states.

 The 'Eaters continue to rebound well with 41.6 per game (12th in NCAA) ranking 35th in defensive rebounds per game and 33rd in offensive. The +6.4 rebound margin ranks 46th as UCI has hauled in 665 total rebounds, third-most in the NCAA behind Rutgers (669) and Michigan State (668).

The Anteaters continue to set the standard in blocks with 81, 20th-most in the NCAA and leading the Big West. UCI averages 5.1 per game led by Jonathan Galloway whose 32 rank 33rd nationally and is 54th in the nation with 2.0 per contest.

UCI has begun a return to its field goal defensive prowess. After a slow start to the season, opponents now average 39.9% per game, 46th in the NCAA. UCI ranked sixth in the nation in that stat in 2016-17.

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 had a tough non-conference schedule featuring six teams that saw action in the NCAA Tournament last season. The ledger clocks in as the 11th-toughest in college basketball this season.