FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine (19-10, 11-2) at Cal Poly (7-20, 4-9)
Thursday, Feb. 27 |8:00 p.m.
Mott Athletics Center | San Luis Obispo, Calif.
AM830/KUCI Radio | Live Stats | TV: ESPNU
 
UC Santa Barbara (18-9, 7-5) at UC Irvine (19-10, 11-2)
(Homecoming- SOLD OUT)
Saturday, Feb. 29 |7:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000)| Irvine, Calif.
AM830/KUCI Radio | Live Stats | ESPN3

Game Notes
 
UC Irvine travels to Cal Poly for an ESPNU game Thursday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. before hosting UC Santa Barbara for a SOLD OUT Homecoming Game Saturday, Feb . 29 at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
 
OPENING TIPS
> The Anteaters clinched at least a share of the Big West regular-season title, for the second-straight year, with a dominating 87-64 win over CSUN last Saturday. UCI improved to 11-2 in conference and 19-10 on the season. One more win or a UCSB loss will allow the 'Eaters to clinch the Big West crown outright and the Big West Tournament No. 1 seed. UCI also locked in the 6 p.m. timeslot for the Big West Tournament quarterfinal game.
> UCI has won at least a share of the regular-season five out of the last seven seasons. Over the last five years, the Anteaters are 61-16 in Big West play
> Senior Dominance: UCI's senior class of Evan Leonard, Tommy Rutherford, Eyassu Worku and John Edgar Jr. have won 89 games, producing an 89-48 overall record together and a 49-12 record in the Big West over the last four season. The seniors have never lost a game to UC Riverside and CSUN
> The 'Eaters have won 29 out of their last 32 Big West games including 11-straight at the Bren Events Center. UCI is 18-2 over its last 19 Big West road games
> If UCI wins at Cal Poly, it will mark the first time a Big West team has won back to back regular season titles outright since LBSU in 2011-13. Before that it was Pacific in 2005, 2006
> The 'Eaters are 16-1 when leading at halftime
> Evan Leonard is averaging a team-high 13.9 ppg in conference play. He averaged 9.5 ppg in non-conference action. He has scored in double-digits in 13-straight games
> Brad Greene has led UCI in rebounding in seven-consecutive games and has tallied double-digit rebounds in five of the last seven games,  and a Big West best nine times this season. Greene tallied his seventh double-double of the season against CSUN (Feb. 22) and is averaging nearly a double-double in conference play (9.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg)
> The Anteaters have won over half (8-12) Big West games by margins of 10+ points. UCI's 91-61 win over CS Fullerton (Feb. 1) was the first 30-point against a DI team for the 'Eaters this season
> UCI has swept the home-and-away series against UC Davis, Hawaii, Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside
> RS sophomore Collin Welp comes off the bench and leads UCI in scoring (13.5 ppg) and is second in rebounding (6.0 rpg)
> UCI has tried out six different starting lineups this season, the starting five of Leonard, Worku, Rutherford, Greene and Edgar Jr. has the best record at 12-5
> UCI has not lost back-to-back Big West games since a three-game stretch in 2017
> UCI has won seven of its last eight games played at the Bren by margins of 10+ points. The Anteaters are 85-21 at home over the last seven years and 10-1 this season
 
With a win Thursday… Clinch the Big West regular season title outright and the No. 1 seed at the Big West Tournament … Win fifth-straight game, marking the longest win streak of the season … Reach 20 wins for the seventh time in eight seasons … Reach 20 wins for the 11^th time in DI program history … Sweep the home and away series with Cal Poly

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
> Cal Poly is last in the Big West standings with a 4-9 record and 7-20 overall. The Mustangs have lost four-straight games
> UCI leads the all-time series 35-22 as the Anteaters have won six-straight games in SLO and five games overall
> The 'Eaters earned a 74-67 win over the Mustangs in January as Collin Welp and Evan Leonard each had 18 points
> Junior Ballard is the only Mustang in double-digits, averaging 12.8 ppg. Kyle Colvin leads the team with 3.9 rpg

ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
> UCSB is currently second in the Big West standings with a 7-5 conference record and 18-9 overall record. The Gauchos have won two-straight games and were the last team to defeat UCI (Feb. 8)
> UCI is 41-53 all-time against UCSB and has won 4 out of the last five games against the Gauchos
> UCSB leads the conference in field goal percentage (47.0) and fewest turnovers (315)
> Amadou Sow leads the Big West in field goal percentage (57.6). Sow is second on the team with 14.3 ppg 
 
OFEENSE IGNITES IN WIN OVER CSUN
> UCI clinched at least a share of the Big West regular season title with a dominating 87-64 win at CSUN last Saturday
> Evan Leonard hit a career-high six 3-pointers, going 6-7 from distance to finish with a team-best 18 points. He also had four assists and a steal
> Greene tallied his 7^th double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds
> The Anteaters led by as much as 32 points in the second half and won their 11^th-straight game against the Matadors

SENIORS LIFT UCI OVER LBSU
> Senior Tommy Rutherford led the 'Eaters with 16 points while Eyassu Worku and Evan Leonard each had 15. Brad Greene added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds
> UCI out-scored LBSU 34-22 in the paint and 15-5 off turnovers. The 'Eaters out-rebounded the Beach 40-36
> Rutherford cracked into UCI's top-10 rebounds list with 670 career boards  

DEFENSE MINDED
> The Anteaters rank 2nd nationally in rebounding margin (+9.5), behind Houston (+9.7) and 9th in total rebounds (1,156). UCI has out-rebounded all but five of its opponents this season
> Since 2012-13, UCI is 99-6 when holding opponents to 60 points or less and 6-1 in 2019-20 when doing so
> UCI is 10^th nationally, 1^st in the BW in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 38.2% shooting from the field
 
QUICK HITS
> Tommy Rutherford is UCI's active games played leader with 137 consecutive games
> Collin Welp and Eyassu have led UCI in scoring a team-high nine times each
> Brad Greene ranked first in the Big West in total rebounds (218) and second in rebounds per game (7.5)

SENIOR STATEMENT
> 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 302 games
> Worku, Leonard and Rutherford have all scored over 1,000 career points
> Through 29 games, Worku leads the team with 114 assists (3.9 apg) and is third in scoring (12.3 ppg). Leonard is second on the team in scoring (12.3) while Rutherford is fourth (9.7 ppg)
> Worku, Leonard and Rutherford are All-Big West Conference selections
> Rutherford is shooting a team-best 66.7% (107-161) from the floor and moved up to 10^th all-time in career rebounds with 674
 
THE WELP EFFECT
> RS Sophomore Collin Welp comes off the bench and is UCI's leading scorer (13.5 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.0 rpg). He is averaging 23.18 minutes per game. Welp had a career-high 18 rebounds against Detroit Mercy (11/24) and has posted five 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 a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game and is fifth in scoring (8.7 ppg).
>Greene has a team-best seven double-doubles this season and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds against Hawaii (Jan. 11) and a career-high 18 points against CSF (Feb. 1)
> Greene set a new Bren Events Center record against Hawaii (Jan. 11) when he pulled down 21 rebounds. It was the ninth time in UCI history an Anteater grabbed 20+ boards
> Greene was named the Big West Player of the Week (Jan.13) for his record-breaking performance
 
UP NEXT
> UCI concludes the regular season at home against CSUN Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m.