FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
Big West Championship
Tournament Central
UC Irvine (18-8) vs. UC Santa Barbara (21-4)
Saturday, Mar. 13 | 8:30 p.m. PT
Michelob Ultra Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
Live Stats | Radio (KUCI) | TV – ESPN2

Notables…
> UCI improved to 18-8 on the season after a 78-61 win over No. 3 seed UCR in the semifinals and a 58-51 win over 10th seeded Cal Poly Thursday night in a Big West Tournament semifinal. The Anteaters did not trail in either game. UCI is riding a season-high six game win streak

> UCI is in the title game for the fourth-straight year, three of those coming as a No. 1 seed

> The Anteaters seek to become the first program to win back-to-back tournament titles since UCSB in 2010-2011. UCI has won 13 of its last 16 Big West Tournament games dating back to 2015. UCI will look to make its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance

> UCI is the defending Big West Tournament Champion, winning it in 2019. The 'Eaters did not get a chance to defend their title in 2020 due to the cancelation of the tournament. In 2019, UCI won the BWT by 28 points, the largest margin of victory in Big West Tournament championship game history with a 92-64 victory over Cal State Fullerton

> Collin Welp was named on the 2019 Big West All-Tournament Team after scoring 23 points in the championship game agaisnt CS Fullerton

> The Anteaters have appeared in the finals nine time making appearances in 1988, 1994, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. They are looking to win their third title since 2015. They are 2-7 overall in BWT finals games

> In the semifinal, UCI led from start to finish, sprinting out to a 18-4 lead with 13:21 left in the first half. The 'Eaters kept the pedal on the gas, leading 41-28 at the half. The Anteaters used an 8-0 run in the second half to go up, 52-37 (15:07). UCR cut the lead to nine, 67-58, with 3:40 to play but an Isaiah Lee three-pointer at 2:27 and UCI's 6 of 8 made free throws sealed the 78-61 win

> The Big West Freshman of the Year, Dawson Baker, and All-Big West first team selection, Collin Welp, led UCI with 17 points each. Baker was 5 of 6 shooting from the floor while Welp made 11 of 13 free throw attempts. DJ Davis also finished in double-figures with 14 points

> Brad Greene, the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, recorded three blocks on the night after picking up five the night before He leads the Big West with 52 on the year

> In the quarterfinal, Welp 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

> 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 2-1 in televised games this season
> UCI is 14-2 when leading at halftime and 17-2 when grabbing more rebounds

UCI VS UCSB
> UCI swept both regular season games against UCSB earlier this season Dec. 27-28. The Anteaters won the first game, 75-56, and followed up with a 73-69 win in the second game. UCI is 9-2 against UCSB in the last 11 meetings

> In game one, Brad Greene recorded a double-double (14 pts, 12 rbds) while Collin Welp had 11 points. UCI led the entire game

> Welp finished with 16 points on 7-14 shooting overall and had nine rebounds in the second game. Dawson Baker and Brad Greene finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively 

> UCI and UCSB have never met in a Big West Tournament final but the Anteaters hold a 6-1 edge in Big West Tournament games. The two teams most recently met in the 2018 Big West semifinals with UCI winning a 61-58 decision

> UCI trails in the all-time series, 44-53

With a win tonight … UCI would advance to its second-straight NCAA Tournament. In UCI's 2019 NCAA Tournament appearance, the 13th seeded Anteaters won the programs first-ever tournament game, upsetting fourth-seeded Kansas State, 70-64. UCI would fall to Oregon in the second round, 73-54