FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
Hawai'i (9-5) at UC Irvine (8-8)
Saturday, Jan. 11 |7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000)| Irvine, Calif.
KUCI Radio | Live Stats | ESPN3 | Tickets
 
Game Notes

UC Irvine opens the Big West season at home with a game against Hawai'i Saturday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear WHITE to the game as Saturday will be a WHITEOUT at the Bren!
 
OPENING TIPS
> The Anteaters finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with an 8-8 record (.500). It marked the fifth time under head coach Russell Turner that UCI would finish .500 or better in non-conference action
 
> Head Coach Russell Turner is two wins away from becoming UCI's all-time winningiest coach, surpassing Pat Douglass (197 wins). A win against Hawaii would have him tied with Douglass at 197 career wins. He is four wins away from reaching 200 which would make him just the 7^th coach in Big West history to reach that milestone
 
> The 'Eaters are 7-1 when leading at halftime but have struggled to win when trailing at half time, going 1-6
 
> UCI has won its last two games played at the Bren by margins of 10+ points. The Anteaters are 79-21 at home over the last seven years

Career Milestones
> Senior Tommy Rutherford will be next in line to hit the 1,000 point mark. He has 990 points on his career. Rutherford eclipsed the 600 rebound mark against Pacific (Dec. 28) and is second in the Big West in active rebounds (600). He will be just the 13^th Anteater to score 1,000 career points and grab 600 rebounds
 
> When Rutherford gets to 1,000 points, it will mark the first time in program history that three Anteaters in the same graduating class have reached 1,000 career points

> Senior Evan Leonard became the 28^th player in school history to accumulate 1,000 career points after scoring 15 against CBU. He is 6^th in the Big West in active career points and leads the conference in career steals (119)
 
> Senior guard Eyassu Worku became the 29th Anteater to reach 1,000 career points after scoring 10 against Pacific Union. Worku became the 10th Anteaters in school history to eclipse 300 assists. He did so at Colorado Monday, Nov. 18. He is the Big West's active career leader in assists (345) and 5^th in scoring (1054)
 
> RS sophomore Collin Welp comes off the bench and leads UCI in scoring (14.0 ppg) and in rebounding (6.5 rpg)
 
> UCI has out-rebounded all but two of its opponents this season. The Anteaters rank eighth nationally in rebounding margin (+10.3) and sixth in total rebounds (650)
 
> UCI is 20^th nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 37.7% shooting from the field
 
With a win Saturday … Head coach Russell Turner would reach his 197th career win, tying him for the most wins in UCI history … UCI would win five-straight games against Hawaii … Win its BWC season-opener for the second-straight year … Win three-straight at home

ABOUT THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
> Hawaii is 9-5 on the season, coming off a 91-51 win against Maine. This will mark just the third away game of the season for the Rainbow Warriors, they are 0-2 on the road
> UCI is 15-8 all-time against Hawaii and has won four-straight and five out of the last six games against UH
> The Rainbow Warriors will play at CS Fullerton Wednesday before facing the Anteaters on Saturday
> UH is led in scoring by Eddie Stansberry (16.9 ppg) and Samuta Avea (11.4 ppg). Zigmars Raimo leads the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Drew Buggs leads the conference averaging 5.4 assists per game
> Head coach Eran Ganot is in his fifth season at the helm

LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT AT HARVARD
> UCI trailed by as much as 19 points in the second half and rallied within two, 67-65, with 2:27 remaining before falling to Harvard, 77-73, in its non-conference finale
> Eyassu Worku finished with a game-high 21 points including a career-best 5 three's made
> Worku hit three-straight three's down the stretch to help cut its double-digit deficit
> Collin Welp notched his second double-double of the season (17 pts, 10 rebounds)
> UCI out-rebounded Harvard, 35-31

QUICK HITS
> Tommy Rutherford is UCI's active games played leader with 124 consecutive games
> Collin Welp has led the team in scoring in 12 games
> UCI is 7-3 when dishing out the same or more assists as its opponent
> Eyassu Worku is ranked 38^th nationally and second in the Big West in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.50)
 
SENIOR LEADERS
> Eyassu Worku, Evan Leonard, Tommy Rutherford and John Edgar Jr. have all played together since they were all sophomores in 2017-18. The four seniors have started a combined 262 games
> Through 16 games, Worku leads the team with 65 assists (4.1 apg) and is second in scoring (12.3 ppg). Rutherford is third on the team in scoring (10.3) while Leonard is fourth (9.9 ppg)
> Worku, Leonard and Rutherford are All-Big West Conference selections
> Rutherford is shooting a team-best 68.5% (63-92) from the floor while Worku is shooting 48.4% from three-point range
 
THE WELP EFFECT
> RS Sophomore Collin Welp comes off the bench and is UCI's leading scorer (14.2 ppg) and leading rebounder (6.8 rpg). He is averaging 23.6 minutes per game. Welp had a career-high 18 rebounds against Detroit Mercy (11/24) and has posted two double-doubles on the season. He finished with a career-high 31 points and 7 three's made against Eastern Michigan (Nov. 30)
 
BRAD IS BACK
> Coming off a redshirt season in 2018-19, RS junior Brad Greene is making an immediate impact for UCI. He is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game and is fifth in scoring (8.3 ppg). Greene is shooting 57.4 percent from the floor. He recorded a career-high 12 rebounds against TCU (Nov. 21) and a season-high 14 points against Boise State (Nov. 15)

UP NEXT
> UCI plays its first Big West road contest at CS Fullerton Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m.