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Big West Semifinals
Tournament Central
UC Irvine (17-8) vs. UC Riverside (13-7)
Friday, Mar. 12 | 9:00 p.m. PT
Michelob Ultra Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
Live Stats | Radio (KUCI) | TV – ESPNU

Notables…
> UCI improved to 17-8 on the season after a 58-51 win over 10th seeded Cal Poly Thursday night in a Big West Tournament semifinal
> The Anteaters improved to 9-0 in their last nine Big West Tournament quarterfinal appearances, advancing to the semifinals every year since 2011
> UCI has won 12 of its last 15 Big West Tournament games dating back to 2015
> In the quarterfinal, UCI led from start to finish, sprinting out to a 31-9 lead over the first 7:20 fueled by Collin Welp's seven points in that stretch. The Mustangs would come within three points with 7:23 left in the game but UCI was clutch at the free throw line, making six of its seven attempts down the stretch to hold of Cal Poly and earn a 58-51 win
> Welp, an All-Big West first team selection, led the Anteaters with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his Big West leading seventh double-double on the season, and the 12th of his career
> Brad Greene, the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, recorded five blocks on the night. He leads the Big West with 49 on the year
> When holding opponents to under 60 points, UCI is now 11-1 this season and 113-7 since the 2012-13 season
> Before Thursday, only three of UCI's 15 players had ever played in a Big West Tournament game (Brad Greene, Collin Welp and JC Butler)
> The Anteaters are 1-1 in televised games this season
> UCI has reached the Big West Tournament final eight times, including in five of the last seven tournaments
UCI VS UCR
> UCI and UCR split a pair of games played at Riverside this season. The Highlanders won an 86-65 decision in the first game and the Anteaters bounced back to win game two, 73-67
> In game one, DJ Davis had a team-high 21 points while Collin Welp added 11. Brad Greene led with seven rebounds
> Welp had 27 points in UCI's 73-67 win over the Highlanders, going 5-of-6 from long range. He also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds in the win
> UCI has won 13 of its last 14 games against UCR and is 5-0 against the Highlanders at the Big West Tournament. The Anteaters lead the all-time series, 48-25
> UCI and UCR last met in the Big West Tournament in 2019 with the Anteaters defeating the Highlanders, 63-44, in the quarterfinals. The Anteater defensive held UCR to just 44 points, the fewest a UCI team has ever allowed an opponent to score in a Big West Tournament game

With a win tonight … UCI would play the winner of No. 1 UCSB/No. 4 UC Davis in the Big West Tournament final