Championship Rewind: 2015 Men’s Basketball
Sarah Zetlmeisl
2/26/2021
The 2014-15 Anteaters became the first UC Irvine men’s basketball program to win the Big West Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament ending UCI’s 38-year drought and thrilled a national audience by nearly knocking off No. 4 seed Louisville in the first round.
“We all came together with the hope we could accomplish what we accomplished and I don’t think people realize when you are trying to do something that has never been down before, the kind of pressure there is associated with that. It’s always going to be remembered that this team was the first to do what they did and that is special. The celebrations all across Anteater Nation and the way the UCI community rallied behind this team was an incredible feeling for all of us.”Head coach Russell Turner
The path to the Tournament wasn’t easy, as UCI faced a tough non-conference schedule finishing with a 10-8 record with narrow losses at Oregon (69-67) and at New Mexico State (70-67). The Anteaters non-conference included an exciting Championship Game at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas where junior guard Alex Young hit the game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left to lift the Anteaters over Green Bay, 72-70.
“The game against Green Bay was a turning point in the season for us. The way we battled back against them and were able to pull off the win, that is when I knew our team was something special.”Travis Souza
The Big West season started with a loss to Long Beach State on Jan. 8 before UCI rattled off six-consecutive wins, including at 78-72 victory at Hawai’i. The Anteaters would finish 11-5 in conference play, earning a No. 3 seed at the Big West Tournament.
In the BWT quarterfinal, UCI matched up with UC Riverside earning a 63-54 win. Will Davis II finished with a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Anteaters met UC Santa Barbara in the semifinal as the game would go to overtime before a winner was decided. UCSB led 59-53 with 3:07 to play before UCI closed the gap to send the game to OT. In extra time, UCI opened with a 7-0 run and eventually pulled out the 69-63 win. Will Davis II scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
UCI faced Hawai’i in the Championship Game and earned a 67-58 victory to win its first-ever Big West Tournament Championship title. The Anteaters trailed the ‘Bows 33-29 at the half and outscored UH 38-25 in the second half to secure the nine-point win. Luke Nelson led the ‘Eaters with 17 points followed by Alex Young and Will Davis II who each finished with 10 points to send UCI to its first-ever NCAA Tournament. Davis was named the BWT MVP and Nelson was selected to the all-tournament team.
“When we were down by four at halftime, I remember walking back into the locker room with the guys and feeling very confident. To be able to claw our way back into the game and see everyone’s confidence at half time I think we were all like ok let’s go win us a Championship and finish this thing off. To be able to battle the way we did and win like that it was a great feeling.”Alex Young
“That feeling after winning the Championship is unexplainable. It’s time to celebrate! Every time I watch the video back even now I still get chills from it. Everyone is just so excited.”Aaron Wright
On selection Sunday, UCI earned a 13 seed and got matched with No. 4 Louisville at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash. The Anteaters took the Cardinals down to the wire before dropping a 57-55 decision in the first round. Luke Nelson’s driving layup from the top of the key gave UCI the 55-53 lead with one minute remaining but UL’s Wayne Blackshear answered a tough shot with 43 seconds remaining to tie the game. UL would use two made free throws to seal the win.
“I remember how star struck we seemed in some moments at the tournament. But I also remember how we had a lead just 10 minutes in the game and I did sense we had belief that we could win. That belief was not even just among our team, it was in the arena and across Anteater nation.”Russ Turner
“This was a really special group. It was such a tight group and the way they came together just made them so special and a winning team.”Athletic Trainer Mike Burns
UCI ended an incredible season with a 21-13 overall record.
