UC Irvine at CSU Bakersfield
Saturday, Dec. 31 | 1:00 p.m. PT
Icardo Center | Bakersfield, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Notes

UC Irvine will kick off their Big West schedule on the road at CSU Bakersfield on December 31st to close out the calendar year.

ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS
> CSU Bakersfield has started the season 4-8, opening Big West play with a loss to UC Riverside on Dec. 29
> This Roadrunners earned non-conference victories against San Diego Christian, Idaho, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and La Sierra
> CSUB is a tough team to play on their home court, boasting a 261-57 (0.821) inside of the Icardo Center
> Kaleb Higgins is CSU Bakersfield's leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points per game on 48-121 shooting (0.397)
> Higgins set a new career high in points (25) in the road loss at UC Riverside, going 9-23 from the field and 7-7 at the line
> Cameron Smith and Modestas Kancleris lead the team in rebounding, both averaging 6.2 boards a game so far this season
> CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish eighth in the Big West preseason media poll
> The Roadrunners are comprised of seven newcomers and six returners

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH FOR COACH
Russ Turner earned his 249th career win at South Dakota and is just one victory away from hitting the 250 win mark. Out of 365 active head coaches in Division I, there are only 100 who have hit this career milestone.
 
BIG WEST OPENER
With 11 teams now in the league, UCI received the first bye on Dec. 29th when the rest of the teams kicked off their conference slate. UCI holds a 21-13 record in Big West opening games, and are looking to win their fifth consecutive conference opener.
 
FIVE
In the 10 game history between the Anteaters and the Roadrunners, the last three games played have been decided by five points (UCI 2-1). Five total games ended with a five point or fewer differential.
 
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
CSU Bakersfield is ranked 19th nationally in scoring defense, only allowing opponents to score 60.1 points a game.
 
LEUCHTEN'S CAREER BESTS VS. HARVARD
Bent Leuchten led UC Irvine on both ends of the court in the 62-57 loss to Harvard. Leuchten scored a team high 15 points, going 5-9 from the floor with one three  pointer, and 4-6 from the line. The center posted career bests in blocks (4), field goal attempts (9), free throws made (4), and free throw attempts (6).
 
ALL ABOUT THE ROTATION
The 'Eaters, who are a strong scoring team receive a lot of momentum from the second and third rotations. UCI is ranked 19th nationally in bench points per game (31.33).

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
UC Irvine finds themselves among the best in another specialty statistical category, landing 48th in the nation in fast break points. The Anteaters join UC Davis and Long Beach State who are also top-50 nationally.
 
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
DJ Davis, who went a perfect 3-3 at the free throw line in Santa Clara, has now made 12 consecutive from the stripe. Davis had made 18 straight earlier this season and is 20th in the nation is free throw percentage (0.909)
 
IN STATE BEASTS
According to College Basketball Reference, UCI sits in the top seven schools who have the most points per game scored by in state players (49.7 ppg). The other teams are UNI, Youngstown State, Georgia State, Eastern Michigan, Northern Colorado,  and TCU.
 
LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (10th--Davis, 13.9), field goal percentage (3rd—Baker, 0.481), three-point field goal percentage (1st–Davis, 0.443), three-point field goals per game (1st—Davis, 2.6), free throw percentage (3rd—Davis, 0.909), rebounds (7th—Leuchten, 6.5), assists (2nd–Crockrell II, 4.3), assist-TO ratio (1st–Crockrell II, 1.9), and blocks (7th—Keeler, 0.9).
 
NATIONAL STATISTICS 12.30.22
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in the following categories: scoring margin (46th, 12.4) rebounds per game (39th, 39.75), rebound margin (20th, 8.0), field goal percentage defense (45th, 0.395), and three-point field goal percentage (10th, 0.402).