UC Irvine (5-4) at UCSD (2-0)
Friday, Jan. 8 | 4 p.m.
RIMAC Arena | La Jolla, Calif.
AM 830 & KUCI Radio | Live Stats | Watch – ESPN3

UC Irvine (5-4) at UCSD (2-0)
Saturday, Jan. 9 | 4 p.m.
RIMAC Arena |La Jolla, Calif.
AM 830 & KUCI Radio | Live Stats | Watch –ESPN3

Game Notes
 
UC Irvine opens the New Year on the road with back-to-back non-conference games at UC San Diego Jan. 8 and 9 at 4 p.m. The games will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Steve Quis and Ted Mendenhall. UCI has made a series of schedule changes since its last two games against UC Santa Barbara Dec. 27 and 28.

The Anteaters' two-game Big West series at CSUN originally scheduled for Jan. 1-2 was canceled due to COVID-19 issues in the Matador program. UCI was set to host UC Davis Jan. 8-9 at the Bren Events Center but those Big West games were canceled due to the Aggies compliance with Yolo County health orders.

This weekend's games will not count in the Big West standings or affect the two teams' regularly scheduled conference games Feb. 26-27 at the Bren Events Center.

OPENING TIPS
> The Anteaters opened the Big West season 2-0 for the third-straight year and sit atop the Big West standings. UCI finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 3-4 record. UCI earned wins against Bethesda, La Sierra and San Diego.
> The 'Eaters have not won a game on the road yet this season
> UCI and UCSD met last year in an exhibition game with the Anteaters winning, 80-64. UCI and UCSD also met in 2015 in a game that counted towards the Anteaters record but was marked an exhibition for the Tritons. UCI won that matchup, 89-73. The Anteaters have not lost to the Tritons since Dec. 1977 in La Jolla.
> UCI and UCSD have yet to play a game in 2021. The 'Eaters last played on Dec. 28 while the Tritons last contest occurred on Dec. 23.
> Freshman Dawson Baker has had a strong start for UCI, finishing in double-digit scoring seven-out-of-nine games. He set a career-high 21 points against La Sierra and is averaging a team-high 12.0 ppg. He also led the 'Eaters in scoring against USC (17 points)
> Brad Greene became the 24^th Anteater in history to reach 500 career rebounds after finishing with eight at SDSU. He now sits at 554 career boards which puts him at 18th all-time
> Greene led the 'Eaters in scoring in the first two games (against Pepperdine and SDSU), grabbing a career-high 20 points against Pepperdine and following that up with 11 points at SDSU. He is averaging 10.8 ppg.
> UCI's returning leading scorer Collin Welp scored in double-digits in the 'Eaters first two Big West games. Welp is second on the team averaging 11.9 ppg. He also notched a career-high 19 rebounds at LMU and leads the team on the boards (7.2 rpg)
> UCI has out-rebounded 6-of-9 opponents and has a +11.3 rebound margin through nine games. The 'Eaters rank 9^th in the nation in rebound margin
> Head coach Russell Turner ranks sixth all-time on the Big West coaching wins list with 214. He just surpassed LBSU's Dan Monson (213). Turner is one of seven BW head coaches with 200 or more wins
> The 2020-21 Anteaters have the second youngest team (Navy is first with 19 underclassman) in the NCAA with 13 underclassman and just two upperclassman. UCI is also tied with Auburn for the least number of upperclassman on the roster (2).
> Last season, the Anteaters won their fifth Big West regular season title in seven seasons and eighth in program history. It was also the first time in history UCI won back-to-back outright titles. The 'Eaters did so with a 13-3 conference record, winning three more games than second place UCSB. Since 2013-14, Russell Turner's program is 88-24 (.786) in Big West play.
> UCI's non-conference schedule was ranked as the 15^th hardest in the country
> UCI is undefeated at home this season (5-0). The 'Eaters are 92-21 at home over the last eight years

With a win Friday … UCI will win its first road game of the season … Improve to 4-4 in non-conference play … Win four-straight against the Tritons

WELP NOTCHES FIRST CAREER BIG WEST WEEKLY HONOR
> After UCI's sweep of UCSB, junior Collin Welp was named the Big West Player of the Week (Dec. 21-28)
> Welp averaged 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in UCI's two wins. He shot 44.4% (12-27) from the field while adding two steals and a block
>Welp tied a season-best 16 points and added a team-high nine rebounds in UCI's second win against UCSB

'EATERS SWEEP GAUCHOS
> UCI opened the conference season 2-0 after sweeping UCSB in back-to-back home games. The 'Eaters earned a 19-point win on Dec. 27 and followed that up with a 73-69 comeback victory on Dec. 28
> In the first game, Brad Greene finished with his first double-double of the season (14 points, 12 rebounds) while Welp added 11 points and JC Butler and Dawson Baker each had nine
> UCI shot 53.4 percent overall and held UCSB to just 32.1 percent shooting from the floor
> In game two, the Gauchos led by nine with under 10 minutes to play but UCI used a 24-11 run to earn the comeback win
> Welp finished with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds while Baker added 14 and Greene had 10 points

ABOUT THE TRITONS
> UCSD has only played two games, both against a non-D1 opponent, St. Katherine's. The Tritons enter this weekend's matchup 2-0 and will play their first-ever D1 game against UCI since its transition over the summer
> UCSD has won 24-straight games dating back to December 2019 and went undefeated in the year 2020 (21-0)
> The Tritons are led in scoring by Jake Killingsworth (14.0 ppg) and Gabe Hadley (10.0 ppg)
> Eric Olen is in his eighth season at the helm

UP NEXT
> UCI's next scheduled series is at home against Cal Poly Jan. 22-23 at 4 p.m.