Saturday, December 15
Irvine, CA
7:00 PM
UC Irvine
vs
Denver
UCI Welcomes Denver to the Bren Saturday
December 11, 2018 | Men's Basketball
FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
Denver (3-7) vs. UC Irvine (9-2)
Saturday, Dec. 15 | 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Radio | Video
Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
> The Anteaters opened the season with a 9-2 record, their best start since the 2000-01 season
> UCI earned wins against CBU (69-66) and Montana (60-51) last week
> Since the Turner era, UCI is 84-5 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 5-0 in 2018-19 when doing so, and have won 16 straight dating back to last season when hitting that mark
> After defeating CBU, the Anteaters extended their road-winning streak to nine games which ties the second-longest active road-win streak in DI. Currently, UCI is tied with Lipscomb with nine as Virginia holds the top spot with 10
> Head coach Russell Turner earned his 166th career win against Montana, which moved him into the Big West's top-10 career wins list
> Evan Leonard has only played in six games this season but leads UCI in points per game (9.8) and also had an Anteater season-high 22 points against St. Mary's
> Not a single Anteater is averaging double-digit points but six UCI players are averaging at least eight points per game
> The Anteaters are ranked No. 13 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, their highest ranking of the season
ABOUT THE PIONEERS
> Denver is 3-7 on the season with wins against Maine, Longwood and Western State
> The Pioneers will play Wyoming before making the trip to Irvine
> UD is shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. The Pioneers average 34.3 rebounds per game
> Four players average in double-digit scoring including Ronnie Harrell (14.4), Ade Murkey (12.0), Joe Rosga (11.8) and Tory Stewart-Miller (11). Harrell also leads the team with 5.7 rpg
> Rodney Billings is in his third season as head coach of the Pioneers and boasts a 31-29 overall record
> Two teams have only met twice with UCI winning on both occasions
> Last season, the Anteaters defeated UD 83-69 in Denver. Evan Leonard had a team-best 19 points while Tommy Rutherford finished with 11 rebounds
> This will be the first time in program history that the two teams play in Irvine
With a win Saturday … UCI would remain undefeated against Denver … Earn its first home win against the Pioneers … Give head coach Russell Turner his 167th career win, which would move him into 9th place in the Big West's all-time career wins list … Mark UCI's third-straight victory
PERFECT WEEK
> UCI won a pair of games last week including a 69-66 road win over CBU and a 60-51 victory over Montana at home
> Tommy Rutherford had a season-best 14 points against CBU while Jonathan Galloway grabbed 10 rebounds
> UCI scored 20 points off of CBU's 14 turnovers and held advantages in points off the bench (28-17) and points in the paint (32-28)
> The 'Eaters were out-rebounded, 40-35, for just the second time this season
> Against Montana, Evan Leonard tied a career-high five 3-pointers made, finishing with a game-high 18 points
> The Anteaters out-scored the Grizzlies on the bench, 33-6
> Montana entered the game with the nation's best field goal percentage (53.2) and were held to a .360 (18-50) mark by the Anteaters
QUICK HITS
> UCI is 1-2 when it does not lead in rebounds
> The Anteaters are 5-1 when trailing at halftime and 3-1 when leading at the break
> In 6 of its 10 games, UCI's leading scorer has come off the bench
> Jonathan Galloway has lead the team in rebounding in 8-out-of-10 games
> UCI is 7-0 when leading in rebounds and 1-2 when finishing with fewer boards
IN THE STATS
> Galloway leads UCI with 92 rebounds this season, which ranks 29th nationally. He leads UCI with 8.4 rpg, second in the Big West. His 3.45 offensive rebounds per game ranks 29th nationally
> Elston Jones has a team-best 18 blocks this season which ranks 51st nationally and first in the BWC
> The Anteaters are ranked 13th nationally in total rebounds (434), 34th in field goal percentage defense (38.7) and 37th in scoring defense (63.8)
> UCI ranks 27th in total blocks and first in the BWC with 48 on the season
MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
> Jonathan Galloway jumped to No. 7 in all-time rebounds with 768, surpassing Wayne Engelstad (698). Galloway is 158 rebounds away from becoming the all-time leader. Dave Baker currently holds the top spot with 926 career rebounds.
HAZZARD'S HOT START
>Max Hazzard was named the Big West's first Player of the Week
>Hazzard helped lead UCI to two opening season wins, averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as UCI earned victories over Idaho and Texas A&M.
> Against Idaho, Hazzard hit three 3-pointers, finishing with 11 points, three rebounds and five assists
> In UCI's 74-73 win over Texas A&M in College Station, Hazzard led the Anteaters with 19 points. He matched a career-high five three-pointers, three of those came in the second half as UCI overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to seal the win
> This marks the first weekly honor of Hazzard's career and the first for the Anteaters since the 2016-17 season.
NEWS AND NOTES
> Head coach Russell Turner moved to second in UCI's all-time career when he earned his 164th win against St. Mary's (11/28)
> John Edgar Jr. was named to the Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team after averaging 12 points per game and three rebounds per game including hitting a season-high 16 points against Toledo in the championship game
> Head coach Russell Turner returns for his ninth season at the helm. Turner upped his career win total to 157 becoming the third coach in UCI history to eclipse 150 wins in a career and he's done it in just eight seasons averaging nearly 20 wins a season. He trails to Anteater coaching greats Bill Mulligan (163 career wins) and Pat Douglass (197 career wins) who each reached the 150-win plateau in their 10th season
> The Anteaters have amassed a 64-17 record at home over the last six years
> UCI plays 14 games at the Bren including three DI non-conference opponents in December
> Seven postseason teams dot the 2018-19 schedule
> The Anteaters were picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Poll garnering 10 of the 24 first-place votes and 192 points
> Evan Leonard and Tommy Rutherford were selected to the six-member preseason all-conference team
> UCI returns 94.30 percent of its offense in 2018-19, the eighth best mark in the nation. The Anteaters are 1 of 14 teams nationally that return 90% or more offensively
> Defensively, UCI finished the 2017-18 season fifth in the NCAA in rebounds per game with a 41.2 average. The Anteaters also ranked third in defensive rebounds per game (29.2), sixth in total rebounds (1,443) and 10th in rebounding margin (+7.5)
> The Anteaters were fifth in the nation last year allowing opponents to shoot 38.9% from the field. UCI is 1 of 10 schools to keep opponents under 40%, and 1 of 4 to keep them under 39%
> UCI finished with the stingiest scoring defense in the conference allowing 67.1 points per game. UCI also led the conference in rebounding for the fifth time in program history and fourth in the last five years
> Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook ranked UC Irvine No. 1 in its Big West preseason poll. It also picked Tommy Rutherford and Jonathan Galloway to the preseason all-conference team
> Over the past two seasons, the Anteaters are now 6-2 at a neutral site and 6-1 when playing games at arenas that also support a hockey rink
> The Big West's two-time Defensive Player of the Year Jonathan Galloway returns for his final season, he led UCI in rebounding (7.6) and blocked shots (47) a year ago, becoming the 14th Anteater to reach 600 career rebounds.
> Galloway has averaged 225 rebounds per season, a total that would put him near 1,000 career rebounds
NEW FACES
> UCI added four to the roster this season including grad transfer Robert Cartwright
> Cartwright graduated from Stanford last spring, playing three season for the Cardinal. He led Stanford in assist to turnover ratio at 2.14 last season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.3 assists
> The Anteaters also welcome freshmen JC Butler, Devin Cole and Aiden Krause
> Head coach Russell Turner announced the addition of Alex Young to his staff in 2018-19. Young returns to his alma mater as video coordinator. He was a four-year member of the UCI men's basketball team and graduated in 2016 as the only player in school history to record over 1000 points, 500 assists, and 500 rebound. Young was also a part of UCI's 2015 NCAA Tournament Team
UP NEXT
UCI begins a two-game road stretch at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 19) and Butler (Dec. 21).
Denver (3-7) vs. UC Irvine (9-2)
Saturday, Dec. 15 | 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Radio | Video
Game Notes
OPENING TIPS
> The Anteaters opened the season with a 9-2 record, their best start since the 2000-01 season
> UCI earned wins against CBU (69-66) and Montana (60-51) last week
> Since the Turner era, UCI is 84-5 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 5-0 in 2018-19 when doing so, and have won 16 straight dating back to last season when hitting that mark
> After defeating CBU, the Anteaters extended their road-winning streak to nine games which ties the second-longest active road-win streak in DI. Currently, UCI is tied with Lipscomb with nine as Virginia holds the top spot with 10
> Head coach Russell Turner earned his 166th career win against Montana, which moved him into the Big West's top-10 career wins list
> Evan Leonard has only played in six games this season but leads UCI in points per game (9.8) and also had an Anteater season-high 22 points against St. Mary's
> Not a single Anteater is averaging double-digit points but six UCI players are averaging at least eight points per game
> The Anteaters are ranked No. 13 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, their highest ranking of the season
ABOUT THE PIONEERS
> Denver is 3-7 on the season with wins against Maine, Longwood and Western State
> The Pioneers will play Wyoming before making the trip to Irvine
> UD is shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. The Pioneers average 34.3 rebounds per game
> Four players average in double-digit scoring including Ronnie Harrell (14.4), Ade Murkey (12.0), Joe Rosga (11.8) and Tory Stewart-Miller (11). Harrell also leads the team with 5.7 rpg
> Rodney Billings is in his third season as head coach of the Pioneers and boasts a 31-29 overall record
> Two teams have only met twice with UCI winning on both occasions
> Last season, the Anteaters defeated UD 83-69 in Denver. Evan Leonard had a team-best 19 points while Tommy Rutherford finished with 11 rebounds
> This will be the first time in program history that the two teams play in Irvine
With a win Saturday … UCI would remain undefeated against Denver … Earn its first home win against the Pioneers … Give head coach Russell Turner his 167th career win, which would move him into 9th place in the Big West's all-time career wins list … Mark UCI's third-straight victory
PERFECT WEEK
> UCI won a pair of games last week including a 69-66 road win over CBU and a 60-51 victory over Montana at home
> Tommy Rutherford had a season-best 14 points against CBU while Jonathan Galloway grabbed 10 rebounds
> UCI scored 20 points off of CBU's 14 turnovers and held advantages in points off the bench (28-17) and points in the paint (32-28)
> The 'Eaters were out-rebounded, 40-35, for just the second time this season
> Against Montana, Evan Leonard tied a career-high five 3-pointers made, finishing with a game-high 18 points
> The Anteaters out-scored the Grizzlies on the bench, 33-6
> Montana entered the game with the nation's best field goal percentage (53.2) and were held to a .360 (18-50) mark by the Anteaters
QUICK HITS
> UCI is 1-2 when it does not lead in rebounds
> The Anteaters are 5-1 when trailing at halftime and 3-1 when leading at the break
> In 6 of its 10 games, UCI's leading scorer has come off the bench
> Jonathan Galloway has lead the team in rebounding in 8-out-of-10 games
> UCI is 7-0 when leading in rebounds and 1-2 when finishing with fewer boards
IN THE STATS
> Galloway leads UCI with 92 rebounds this season, which ranks 29th nationally. He leads UCI with 8.4 rpg, second in the Big West. His 3.45 offensive rebounds per game ranks 29th nationally
> Elston Jones has a team-best 18 blocks this season which ranks 51st nationally and first in the BWC
> The Anteaters are ranked 13th nationally in total rebounds (434), 34th in field goal percentage defense (38.7) and 37th in scoring defense (63.8)
> UCI ranks 27th in total blocks and first in the BWC with 48 on the season
MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
> Jonathan Galloway jumped to No. 7 in all-time rebounds with 768, surpassing Wayne Engelstad (698). Galloway is 158 rebounds away from becoming the all-time leader. Dave Baker currently holds the top spot with 926 career rebounds.
HAZZARD'S HOT START
>Max Hazzard was named the Big West's first Player of the Week
>Hazzard helped lead UCI to two opening season wins, averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as UCI earned victories over Idaho and Texas A&M.
> Against Idaho, Hazzard hit three 3-pointers, finishing with 11 points, three rebounds and five assists
> In UCI's 74-73 win over Texas A&M in College Station, Hazzard led the Anteaters with 19 points. He matched a career-high five three-pointers, three of those came in the second half as UCI overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to seal the win
> This marks the first weekly honor of Hazzard's career and the first for the Anteaters since the 2016-17 season.
NEWS AND NOTES
> Head coach Russell Turner moved to second in UCI's all-time career when he earned his 164th win against St. Mary's (11/28)
> John Edgar Jr. was named to the Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team after averaging 12 points per game and three rebounds per game including hitting a season-high 16 points against Toledo in the championship game
> Head coach Russell Turner returns for his ninth season at the helm. Turner upped his career win total to 157 becoming the third coach in UCI history to eclipse 150 wins in a career and he's done it in just eight seasons averaging nearly 20 wins a season. He trails to Anteater coaching greats Bill Mulligan (163 career wins) and Pat Douglass (197 career wins) who each reached the 150-win plateau in their 10th season
> The Anteaters have amassed a 64-17 record at home over the last six years
> UCI plays 14 games at the Bren including three DI non-conference opponents in December
> Seven postseason teams dot the 2018-19 schedule
> The Anteaters were picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Poll garnering 10 of the 24 first-place votes and 192 points
> Evan Leonard and Tommy Rutherford were selected to the six-member preseason all-conference team
> UCI returns 94.30 percent of its offense in 2018-19, the eighth best mark in the nation. The Anteaters are 1 of 14 teams nationally that return 90% or more offensively
> Defensively, UCI finished the 2017-18 season fifth in the NCAA in rebounds per game with a 41.2 average. The Anteaters also ranked third in defensive rebounds per game (29.2), sixth in total rebounds (1,443) and 10th in rebounding margin (+7.5)
> The Anteaters were fifth in the nation last year allowing opponents to shoot 38.9% from the field. UCI is 1 of 10 schools to keep opponents under 40%, and 1 of 4 to keep them under 39%
> UCI finished with the stingiest scoring defense in the conference allowing 67.1 points per game. UCI also led the conference in rebounding for the fifth time in program history and fourth in the last five years
> Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook ranked UC Irvine No. 1 in its Big West preseason poll. It also picked Tommy Rutherford and Jonathan Galloway to the preseason all-conference team
> Over the past two seasons, the Anteaters are now 6-2 at a neutral site and 6-1 when playing games at arenas that also support a hockey rink
> The Big West's two-time Defensive Player of the Year Jonathan Galloway returns for his final season, he led UCI in rebounding (7.6) and blocked shots (47) a year ago, becoming the 14th Anteater to reach 600 career rebounds.
> Galloway has averaged 225 rebounds per season, a total that would put him near 1,000 career rebounds
NEW FACES
> UCI added four to the roster this season including grad transfer Robert Cartwright
> Cartwright graduated from Stanford last spring, playing three season for the Cardinal. He led Stanford in assist to turnover ratio at 2.14 last season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.3 assists
> The Anteaters also welcome freshmen JC Butler, Devin Cole and Aiden Krause
> Head coach Russell Turner announced the addition of Alex Young to his staff in 2018-19. Young returns to his alma mater as video coordinator. He was a four-year member of the UCI men's basketball team and graduated in 2016 as the only player in school history to record over 1000 points, 500 assists, and 500 rebound. Young was also a part of UCI's 2015 NCAA Tournament Team
UP NEXT
UCI begins a two-game road stretch at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 19) and Butler (Dec. 21).
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