FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine (30-5) vs. Kansas State (25-8)
Friday, Mar. 22 | 11 a.m. PT
The SAP Center – San Jose, Calif.
Live Stats | Radio (KUCI & Am830) | TV (TBS) | Tickets

Game Notes | NCAA Bracket

Fans can find photo galleries, videos, quotes, game notes, game info and more at UCI's NCAA Tournament Central page. 

TELEVISION
TBS / March Madness Live

• Spero Dedes (play-by-play)
• Len Elmore (analyst)
• Steve Smith (analyst)
• Ros Gold-Onwude (sideline reporter)

NATIONAL RADIO
Westwood One

• Chris Carrino (play-by-play)
• Mike Montgomery (analyst)

Online: March Madness Live App [free] / www.ncaa.com/marchmadnesslive
Satellite Radio: Sirius 138 / XM?207 / Internet 974

OPENING TIPS
> UC Irvine will make its second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, both occasions have fallen under the helm of head coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters only other appearance was in 2015 when they were also a No. 13 seed and took Louisville down to the wire in a 57-55 loss at Key Arena in Seattle
> The Anteaters won their second Big West Tournament title in the last five years, won the regular-season title for the fourth time in six years and played in the Big West Championship game for the third-straight season
> Over the three Big West Tournament games, UCI won by a combined 55 points
> UCI has won a school record 30 games. The Anteaters enter the NCAA Tournament as one of five schools in the nation with 30 or more wins (Houston, Buffalo, Gonzaga and New Mexico St.). UCI's 30-5 record (.857) is the best in program history. The only other team to have just five losses was the 2000-01 squad that finished 25-5
> The Anteaters are riding a school-record 16 game winning streak that dates back to Jan. 19. It also marks the longest Big West Conference win streak since Pacific won 22 in a row in the 2004-05 season. 
> UCI became the first team to go undefeated on the road in conference play since Pacific (2004-05), finishing 8-0
>The Anteaters are the first Big West team, current or former, to win 30 games in a season since national runner-up UNLV went 34-1 in 1990-91
> UCI went 13-2 in road games this year. The 13 road wins ties UCI for the most in Division 1 with Stony Brook. The 'Eaters earned notable road wins against Texas A&M and Saint Mary's (CA.)
> UCI reached 20 wins faster than any other California DI men's basketball program and currently has the most wins out of any D1 California team. The Anteaters are one of two teams from California to appear in the NCAA Tournament, Saint Mary's being the other representative
> The starting five lineup of Galloway, Worku, Hazzard, Rutherford and Leonard is undefeated at 11-0
> Since 2012-13, UCI is 93-5 when holding an opponent to 60 points or less. The Anteaters are 14-0 in 2018-19 when doing so, and have won 25 straight dating back to last season when hitting that mark
> Nationally, the Anteaters have logged the best improvement in wins over the previous year with 12
> UCI is receiving votes in the National Coaches Poll for the second week in a row
> Head coach Russell Turner was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award, an award presented to the nation's top mid-major coach

UCI vs. K-STATE
> This will be the second overall and second-straight year the teams have met. The two teams met for the first time Nov. 17, 2017 where the Wildcats earned a 71-49 win. Brad Greene and John Edgar Jr. led the 'Eaters with nine and seven points, respectively. The 'Eaters were held to 29.6% shooting overall
> K-State was the Big-12 regular season co-champion (25-8, 14-4 Big-12) and makes its third-straight NCAA appearance, 31^st overall. The program has posted a 37-34 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play. They have played in one National Championship game (1951) and have made four Final Four appearances
> In last year's NCAA Tournament, K-State advanced to the Elite 8 before falling to Loyola Chicago (78-62)
> The Wildcats are led in scoring by Barry Brown (14.9 ppg), Dean Wade (12.9 ppg), Kamau Stokes (10.8) and Xavier Sneed (10.6)
 
MATCHUP OVERVIEW
> Last 10 games: UCI 10-0; K-State 7-3
> Record vs. 2019 NCAA Tournament Teams: UCI 2-1; K-State 8-5
> Common opponents: Texas A&M: UCI beat TAM 74-73; K-State lost to TAM 65-53. Denver: UCI beat Denver 86-52; K-State beat Denver 64-56
 
PATH TO THE DANCE
> UCI dominated CS Fullerton in the title game winning, 92-64
> UCI out-scored its opponents in the paint, 122-62 and won by an average of 18.3 points over three tournament games
> Max Hazzard was named the championship Most Valuable Player, while Collin Welp and Evan Leonard were selected to the All-Tournament team
> UCI's 28 point margin of victory in the championship game is the largest in the Big West Tournament championship game history, bettering the previous record of 25 set by UNLV over San Jose State (94-69) in 1987
>  In the championship game against Cal State Fullerton, UCI shot a season-high 61.8 percent (34-55) from the floor. The Anteaters set a Big West Tournament single-game record for three-point field goal percentage (.714), going 10-of-14 from long range
> Collin Welp had a career-high 23 points against Cal State Fullerton while Max Hazzard matched him with 23 points on 5-6 shooting from long range
>In the semifinals, the Anteaters scored 50 of their 75 points in the paint in a 75-67 win over Long Beach State. Robert Cartwright had 16 of his career-tying 17 points in the second half, shooting 7-13 from the floor
> Against LBSU, a total of five Anteaters scored in double-figures, marking just the third time this season UCI has had five or more players scoring in double-digits
> Max Hazzard finished with 14 points while Evan Leonard, Tommy Rutherford and Jonathan Galloway had 13, 11, 10 points, respectively
 > The Anteaters used a strong defensive effort to defeat UC Riverside, 63-44, in the quarterfinals. UCI allowed UCR to score 44 points, the fewest points an Anteater team has ever allowed an opponent to score in the Big West Tournament and the fewest points scored by an opponent this season
> Collin Welp came off the bench to lead UCI with 15 points
 
A LOOK AT THE SOUTH REGION IN SAN JOSE
> The four teams are among the best defensive teams in the country, with K-State allowing 59.2 ppg, Wisconsin (61.4 ppg), Oregon (62.9 ppg) and UC Irvine (63.3 ppg)

Wisconsin: UCI and Wisconsin have never met before. The Badgers (23-10, 14-6 Big Ten) finished fourth in the Big Ten. They are led by First Team All-Big Ten selection Ethan Happ who leads the squad in scoring (17.5 ppg), rebounding (10.1 rpg), and assists (4.6 apg). All-Big Ten honorable mention pick D'Mitrik Trice averages 11.7 ppg
Oregon: The Ducks have won eight-straight games since Feb. 23. Three players are averaging in double-digits led by Pac-12 honorable mention selection Louis King (13.1 ppg). Pac-12 Tournament MVP Payton Prichard (12.7 ppg) and Paul White (10.6 ppg). Kenny Wooten has a team-high 62 blocks
 
2015 TOURNAMENT RECAP
> UCI's first-ever Big West Tournament title came in 2015 with a 67-58 win over Hawaii, advancing to the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history
> The Anteaters earned a No. 13 seed and played No. 4 Louisville in the second round. UCI led in the final minute but ultimately fell, 57-55. Will Davis II led the 'Eaters with 22 points while Mamadou Ndiaya had 12

BASKETBALL ROOTS RUN DEEP
> Four Anteaters have family NBA connections
> Spencer Rivers is the son of the Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and brother of current Rockets player Austin Rivers
> Max Hazzard is the grandson of the late Walt Hazzard. Walt was the National Player of the Year under John Wooden 
> JC Butler is the son of former NBA player and UConn Huskie Caron Butler
> Collin Welp is the son of the late Christian Welp, who is the University of Washington's all-time leading scorer and a former NBA player