FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine (14-4) vs. Long Beach State (7-10)
Wednesday, Jan. 16 | 7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center – Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats | Radio (KUCI & AM830) | Video  (ESPN3)

UC Irvine (14-4) at CSUN (8-10)
Saturday, Jan. 19 | 3:00 p.m.
The Matadome – Northrdige, Calif.
Live Stats | Radio (KUCI & AM830) | Video 

Game Notes

OPENING TIPS
> UCI has won 14 of its first 18 games, a .777 winning percentage. It is the 'Eaters best in 18 years, since the 2000-01 started 16-2
> The Anteaters are No. 7 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, their highest ranking of the season
> The Anteaters have amassed a 70-18 record at home over the last six years 
> UCI started Big West action 2-0 for the first time since 2017 after dominating Cal State Fullerton on the road, winning 63-46. 46 points scored is the fewest allowed by an opponent this season
> Since 2012-13, UCI is 87-5 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 8-0 in 2018-19 when doing so, and have won 19 straight dating back to last season when hitting that mark
> UCI is 6-1 at the Bren Events Center this season, most recently defeating UC Davis in overtime, 71-69. The Anteaters only home loss was against Utah State (65-89)
> Before falling to Butler (Dec. 21),  the Anteaters had a 10 game road-winning streak which ended as the second-longest active road-win streak in DI
> Head coach Russell Turner earned his 168^th career win against EMU, which moved him to ninth in the Big West's all-time career wins list
> The 18 three-pointers recorded by the 'Eaters against Denver set a school and Bren Events Center record, besting the previous mark of 16 recorded on Feb. 13, 1999 vs. Cal State Fullerton

With a win Wednesday … UCI would win four-straight against the 49ers … Open conference play with a 3-0 record for the first time since 2017 … The Anteaters would win five-straight at the Bren Events Center … Improve to 4-0 in the month of January

DEFENSE DOMINATES TITANS
> UCI held CSUF to just 46 points, including 12 in the first half en route to a 63-46 win
> Collin Welp led the 'Eaters with 12 points while Jonathan Galloway grabbed 11 rebounds
> UCI held advantages in rebounds (42-34) and blocks (6-2)

'EATERS WIN BIG WEST CONFERENCE OPENER
> The 'Eaters won their conference opener for the first time since 2017 after defeating UC Davis in overtime, 71-69. They also snapped a three-game losing streak to the
Aggies
> Evan Leonard tied a season-best 22 points, also a game-high, scoring five points in overtime to seal the win for UCI
> Jonathan Galloway grabbed 10 boards while Robert Cartwright dished out a career-high 8 assists
> UCI led by as much as 16 points in the second half before UCD scored seven-straight points in the final two minutes to send the game to overtime

HISTORIC START
> UCI recorded its 10^th win 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)
> 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 12-1
> The Anteaters 12 non-conference wins ties for the most in program history, The 1981-82 team also had 12 non-conference wins

ABOUT THE 49ers
> LBSU is 7-10 on the season and 1-0 in Big West action. The 49ers won their conference opener defeating UC Davis 82-77
> UCI won both home and away meetings with LBSU last season by scores of 86-73 and 75-68
> LBSU still holds a 44-58 advantage in the all-time series, however UCI is 11-9 over the 49ers in the Turner era
> Three players average double-figures in scoring including Deishaun Booker (15.3 ppg), Yussuf Temidayo (12.9) and Bryan Alberts (10.8). Booker has a team-high 25 steals and 72 assists
> KJ Byers leads the team in rebounds per game with 5.6
> As a team, LBSU leads the Big West in turnovers forced (15.76), steals (124) and steals per game (7.3). The 49ers average 75.1 points per game and 38.6 rebounds per game
 
BLACK AND BLUE RIVALRY SERIES
> UCI holds a 7-6 lead over LBSU in this year's Black and Blue Rivalry series

ABOUT THE MATADORS
> CSUN is 8-10 on the season and 2-0 in the Big West after conference wins over UC Riverside (84-83) and Cal Poly (78-74)
> UCI leads the Matadors 36-24 in the all-time series and currently hold an eight-game win streak against CSUN
> The Matadors stack the Big West stat sheet holding the top position in five statistical categories including assists per game (16.6) blocks per game (4.7), points per game (78.2, total assists (298) and total blocks (84)
> Individually, Lamine Diane leads the team and conference with 23.2 points per game,  11.1 rebounds per game and 2.41 blocks per game. Darius Brown II leads the conference in assists per game (5.3) and steals (30)
 
HAZZARD'S HOT START
>Hazzard leads the team with 12.1 points per game and 42 three-pointers made
>He has notched back-to-back 20+ point performances scoring 28 against Pacific and 23 against UTRGV
> He has hit five or more three-pointers in four games this season
>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
>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 on Dec. 17.

RECORD NIGHT 
> UCI defeated Denver at home by a score 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

ROAD STREAK HALTED
> UCI's 10 game road winning streak was snapped after a 71-54 loss to Butler (Dec. 21)
> 10 games was the second-longest active road winning streak in the country this season
> UCI picked up notable road wins this season against Texas A&M, Saint Mary's and Eastern Michigan

QUICK HITS
> UCI is 13-0 when totaling more or the same rebounds and 1-4 when finishing with less
> The Anteaters are 14-0 when finishing with more assists and 0-4 when totaling less
> UCI is 8-0 when holding opponents to 60 points or less
> Jonathan Galloway has lead the team in rebounding in 12-out-of-18 games
> UCI Elston Jones has tallied at least one block in 16-out-of 18 games while Galloway has tallied a block in 12-straight games
> Max Hazzard has led UCI in scoring a team-best five times

IN THE STATS
> Galloway's 137 rebounds per game ranks 82nd nationally. He leads UCI with 7.6 rebounds per game
> Elston Jones has a team-best 32 blocks this season which ranks 46th nationally and second in the BWC
> Shooting 40.5 percent from long range, Max Hazzard ranks 73^rd nationally
> The Anteaters are ranked 9^th nationally in total rebounds (717), 11^th in field goal percentage defense (37.8) and 26^th in scoring defense (63.7)
> UCI ranks 23rd in total blocks and first in the BWC with 83 on the season

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOKS
> Jonathan Galloway jumped to No. 4 in all-time rebounds with 813, surpassing Darren Fells (780). >Galloway is 113 rebounds away from becoming the all-time leader. Dave Baker currently holds the top spot with 926 career rebounds
> His 128 career game played are just 11 away from UCI's all-time games played record (139) which is currently held by video coordinator and 2015 graduate Alex Young

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)
> The last time the Anteaters opened the Big West season with an overtime game was in 2012-13 where they defeated UC Davis 69-58
> 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 great and Pat Douglass (197 career wins) who reached the 150-win plateau in his 10^th season
> 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
> 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 heads to Hawaii for a Big West game Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 10 p.m. PT.