FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine (10-2) at Eastern Michigan (5-5)
Wednesday, Dec. 19 | 4:00 p.m. PST
Convocation Center (7,647) – Ypsilanti, Mich.
Live Stats | Radio | Video (ESPN+)


UC Irvine (10-2) at Butler (7-3)
Friday, Dec. 21 | 3:30 p.m. PST
Hinkle Field House (9,100) – Indianapolis, Ind.
Live Stats | Radio | Video (FS1)

Game Notes

OPENING TIPS
> UCI has won 10 of its first 12 games, a .833 winning percentage. It is the 'Eaters best in 18 years, since the 2000-01 squad also started 10-2.  In the history of the program, the only UCI squad with more wins in its first 12 games was the 1981-82 team which began 11-1
> UCI recorded its 10^thwin on Dec. 15^th, the earliest date on the calendar in the history of the program.  Only two Anteater teams have registered 10 wins by the end of December. They include the current 2018-19 team (12/15), the 2015-16 team (12/22)
> UCI earned an 86-52 win against Denver last week. The 34-point victory ties the largest winning margin of the season. UCI held Denver to 16 points in the first half, the lowest total by an opponent in any half this season
> Since the Turner era, UCI is 85-5 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 6-0 in 2018-19 when doing so, and have won 17 straight dating back to last season when hitting that mark
> After defeating CBU,  the Anteaters extended their road-winning streak to nine games which is the second-longest active road-win streak in DI. Currently, Virginia holds the top spot with 10
> Head coach Russell Turner earned his 167^th career win against Denver, which moved him into a tie for ninth in the Big West's all-time career wins list
> UC Irvine currently has the best record of Southern California basketball programs, UCLA is second at 7-3 on the season
> The 18 three-pointers recorded by the 'Eaters against Denver set a school record, besting the previous mark of 16 recorded on Feb. 13, 1999 vs. Cal State Fullerton
> The Anteaters remain No. 13 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, their highest ranking of the season
> UCI has never played a game in the state of Michigan

ABOUT THE EAGLES
> Eastern Michigan is 5-5 on the season after rolling to a 105-53 victory over Central State Dec. 8
> EMU is shooting 46.7% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range. The Eagles average 38.7 rebounds per game
> Three players average in double-digit scoring including Paul Jackson (13.4 ppg), Elijah Minnie (11.3 ppg) and Boubacar Toure (11.1 ppg)
> Head coach Rob Murphy is in his eighth season at the helm with a 134-115 overall record
>UCI and EMU met once at the Champion Holiday Classic in Missoula, Mont. on Dec. 18, 1981. The Anteaters won that meeting by a score of 76-59

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
>Butler is 7-3 on the season with a recent loss to No. 25 Indiana, 71-68. The Bulldogs play Prebyterian Tuesday before welcoming the Anteaters
>Three Bulldogs average double-digit points per game including Kamar Baldwin (16.5 ppg), Paul Jorgesen (16 ppg) and Sean McDermott (12.9 ppg). Baldwin averages 5.9 rebounds per game and leads the team with 45 assists
> As a team, Butler is shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range. The Bulldogs average 32.9 rebounds per game
> LaVall Jordan is in his second season as head coach of the Bulldogs
> UCI and Butler have never met

With a win Wednesday … UCI would remain undefeated against EMU … UCI would be tied with Virginia for the longest active road-winning streak at 10 games … Give UCI its first win in the state of Michigan … The Anteaters would win their fourth-straight game

RECORD NIGHT 
> UCI defeated Denver at home by a sore of 86-52. The 34-point victory was the most since the 'Eaters beat Life Pacific, 87-53, (Nov. 12)
> The Anteaters set a new school record in single-game 3-pointers with 18, breaking the previous record of 16 three's recorded on Feb. 13 1999 against Cal State Fullerton
> Max Hazzard set a new Bren Events Center record after hitting a career-best 10 three-pointers. He ended the night with a career-high 32 points on 10-17 shooting from long range
> UCI also held the Pioneers the 16 first half points, the lowest total by an opponent during a half this season
> The 'Eaters also tallied a season-high eight blocked shots, led by three from Elston Jones and three from Solomon Ruddell
 
HAZZARD'S HOT START
>Max Hazzard was named the Big West Player of the Week twice this season. He earned the first honor of the season (Nov. 12) and again this week (Dec. 17)
>Hazzard's 10 three's against Denver was one shy of tying the single-game UCI and Big West records of 11 3-pointers. The UCI record was set by Chris Brown against New Mexico State on Mar. 13, 1994 while the BWC mark is held by Brown and CS Fullerton's Bobby Brown
>His 10 threes are tied for fourth most in the country this season
>Hazzard leads the team with 10.4 points per game and 28 three-pointers made
>Earlier this season, Hazzard led UCI to a 74-73 road victory over Texas A&M, finishing the night with 19 points on five three-pointers made

QUICK HITS
> UCI is 8-0 when totaling more rebounds and 1-2 when finishing with less
> The Anteaters are 9-0 when finishing with more assists and 0-2 when totaling less
> UCI is 6-0 when holding opponents to 60 points or less
> Jonathan Galloway has lead the team in rebounding in 9-out-of-11 games
> UCI has had seven different leading scorer's this season
 
IN THE STATS
> Galloway leads UCI with 97 rebounds this season, which ranks 43rd nationally and first in the BWC. He leads UCI with 8.1 rpg, second in the Big West. His 3.42 offensive rebounds per game ranks 29^th nationally
> Elston Jones has a team-best 21 blocks this season which ranks 45th nationally and first in the BWC
> The Anteaters are ranked 15^th nationally in total rebounds (476), 19^th in field goal percentage defense (38.7) and 30^th in scoring defense (63.8)
> UCI ranks 17th in total blocks and first in the BWC with 56 on the season

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
> Jonathan Galloway jumped to No. 6 in all-time rebounds with 773, surpassing Mike Heckman (768). Galloway is 153 rebounds away from becoming the all-time leader. Dave Baker currently holds the top spot with 926 career rebounds.

NEWS AND NOTES
> Head coach Russell Turner moved to second in UCI's all-time career when he earned his 164^thwin 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 10^th 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 10^th 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 14^th 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 takes a short break before returning to action Saturday, Dec. 29^th at Pacific (7 p.m.)