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UC Irvine Anteaters (6-4, 1-0) at Hawai'i Warriors (5-5, 1-0)
Thursday, January 13 - 9:00 p.m.
Simplifi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) - Honolulu, Hawai'i

KLAA AM 830 | KUCI Radio | Live Stats | ESPN+ | Notes


With men's basketball's Tuesday matchup canceled, they head to the island for its only game this week Thursday night.

Storylines
· Collin Welp named the Big West Player of the Week January 10. The honor was Welp's fourth at UCI and UCI's second in 2021-22 along with his performance at Santa Clara where he had UCI's only double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
· Collin Welp put up 25 second-half points hitting all 10 shots en route to a 30-point night; his second 30-point career game. Welp has made 17 straight free throws after going 8-for-8 from the line. It was his 10th game with 20+ points in his career, second this season joining his 24-point effort at USC. He added a team-high eight rebounds in the game.
· The 'Eaters had a tale of two halves Saturday night erasing an 0-9 start to the game and halftime deficit to score its second road win of the season downing UC Riverside, 68-51. UCI shot nearly 60% from the field in the second half fueled by Welp and holding UCR to just 22 second half points.
· UC Irvine finished 5-4 in non-conference play, the fourth winning record through non-conference play under head coach Russell Turner with UCI winning the Big West the three previous times.
· UC Irvine began a 27-day stretch away from the Bren Events Center after their win over Bethesda December 3. With the cancelations to begin Big West play, UCI will now not return to the Bren until January 20 for a stretch of 48 days. Following the postponement vs. Buffalo, UCI played Saturday at UC Riverside after a 20-day layoff between contests.
· No Big West squad entering the week played more than one official Big West game. UCI joined CSF, Hawai'i, and CSUN as 1-0 squads with UCR, CSUB, LBSU, and Cal Poly at 0-1 UC San Diego is 2-2 against Big West opponents, but they will not count while they're still reclassifying to Division I. UC Davis and UCSB have yet to play an official Big West game with each playing UCSD once.
· Collin Welp continues to climb the Anteater record books. He jumped four spots in the all-time scoring list with his 30-point night against UC Riverside surpassing Eyassu Worku, Eric Wise, Jeff Von Lutzow, and Evan Leonard. He sits 13th with 1,298 career points rising from 26th to 13th already this season on UCI's scoring list. He also reached 600 career rebounds now tied for 16th on that list with Ricky Butler at 611 for his career. He will surpass Adam Folker, Jerry Maras, and Jeff Von Lutzow with four more rebounds to move to 13th all-time.
· Collin Welp was named one of the Big West All-Big West Players of 2021 according to Hoops HD. Welp was also was 1 of 50 players named to the 2021-22 Lou Henson National Player of the Year award preseason list presented to the top mid-major player annually. UCI has been a staple on Mid-Major Top 25 polls at No. 25 last week and as high as No. 10 in some polls this season.
· The 'Eaters have had multiple players in double-figures every game this season. Collin Welp has reached double digits in eight of nine games. UCI has had three with double digits in five games this year, and four in double digits vs. La Verne.
· High scorers have come from six different Anteaters in their 10 games and led by Welp five times while five different players have led the team in rebounding led by Austin Johnson four times, and eight different players leading or tied for most assists led by Justin Hohn four times.
· UCI had two double-digit rebounding games in non-conference; one from Collin Welp vs. Santa Clara accounting for the team's only double-double. Austin Johnson grabbed 12 rebounds the following night, and leads the team with 7.1 per game. As non-conference play ended, UCI stood second among Big West teams with 39.33 rebounds a game, 58th nationally.
· Nationally, the Anteater defense is among the nation's best. UCI was tops in the NCAA in scoring defense in mid-December settling in at 16th in the NCAA as the conclusion of non-conference play. Entering the week, UCI allows 57.5 points per game, eighth in the nation, which included 51 points allowed Saturday, third-lowest this season, and the lowest-scoring half by an opponent with UC Riverside putting up 22 second half points. It was UCI's second win when trailing at the half.
· UCI also ranks high nationally in field goal defense, sixth nationally, and fifth in the NCAA in three-point defense. Elsewhere, they allow the 15th-fewest turnovers and commit the 10th-fewest fouls in the nation, and lead the conference in scoring margin at +10.9.
· Austin Johnson has been a prolific shot blocker with 24 this season and ranking 30th nationally with 2.4 per game with both numbers leading the conference. He also put down 16 points Saturday for his highest career total against a Division I opponent.
· Will Davis II returns to the G-League after being claimed by the South Bay Lakers over the weekend. The Anteater alum joins his fifth G-League team since becoming a pro in 2015. Davis has played with the Kings, Bulls, Nets, and Wizards organizations in the G-League in addition to playing in Greece, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates, and Argentina over his career. Davis II was playing in Argentina with Regatas Corrientes this year along with helping Team USA qualify for the FIBA World Cup in 2023 with a pair of games in November. The G-League season begins January 5.

20 -  The Anteaters went 20 days between games from Dec. 19 vs. Duquesne to the Jan. 8 win at UC Riverside. With Tuesday's cancelation, UCI's next home game on January 20 will mark 48 days between home games

2nd -  Collin Welp scored his 2nd Big West Player of the Week honor in 2021-22 after putting up 25 second-half points Saturday for his second career 30-point game. The 25 points were four off the program record of 29 in a half set by Scott Brooks in 1987 and equaled in 2005 by Ross Schrader

57.5 -  After leading the NCAA in scoring defense in early December, the Anteaters dipped outside the top 10 before returning this week at eighth allowing 57.5 points per game. UCI also ranks fifth in 3pt defense, sixth in overall FG defense, and top 20 in fewest fouls and turnovers

5-4 -  UCI finished non-conference play with a 5-4 record including one postponement. This is the fourth season of head coach Russell Turner's 12 now with a winning non-conference record, and each of the previous three finishing in a Big West regular season title for the Anteaters