FOLLOW THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine Anteaters (13-7, 7-3) at Cal State Fullerton Titans (16-8, 9-3)
Thursday, February 22 - 7:00 p.m.
Titan Gym (4,000) - Fullerton, Calif.

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

UC Irvine Anteaters (13-7, 7-3) vs. Long Beach State Beach (15-10, 10-2)
Televised on ESPNU
Saturday, February 26 - 9:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.

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

Two huge matchups come this week with a chance to avenge two January losses starting Thursday at second-place Cal State Fullerton and Saturday night on ESPNU hosting Big West-leading LBSU

Storylines
· The Anteaters have won seven straight Big West games allowing 54.7 points per game during the streak. This is the fifth time under coach Turner the 'Eaters have posted a win streak of seven games or more and third in the last four seasons.
· UCI began the week with a 56-50 win in a non-Big West matchup at UC San Diego. The week ended with The Big West Game of the Week and a 17-point win over Hawai'i vaulting them into third place. The second half saw UCI drop 45 points; its second-highest-scoring half of the season.
· UC Irvine leads the nation in three-point defense allowing 25.9% on the season. UCI shut down CSU Bakersfield allowing zero makes on 12 shots from deep two weeks ago. Opponents are just 24-for-106 in the five-game win streak from three.
· Collin Welp continues to climb the Anteater record books. He has surpassed his coaches, Alex Young and Michael Wilder, already this season. He's ninth in program history with 1,432 points after beginning the year 26th. Welp is rising up the rebound records as well now with 690 passing Tommy Rutherford last game and tying Kevin Magee for 10th in UCI history. He started the season 23rd on the list, and can pass Brad Greene with four and Wayne Englestad with eight.
· Welp dropped his fourth double-double of the season and third in conference play against Hawai'i joining UCR and LBSU with 18 points and a season high-tying 13 rebounds. Throughout the season, Welp has had some solid offensive performances including putting up 25 second-half points and hitting all 10 shots en route to a 30-point night; the second of his career, at UCR. He has 10 career games with 20+ points in his career, two this season joined by 24 points at USC. He's rising up the ranks at 52nd nationally and second in Big West from the line shooting 86.2%.
· High scorers have come from seven different Anteaters in their 20 games. Welp has led the team in scoring and rebounding 10 times and assists seven times to lead the team in each stat.
· The Anteater free throw shooting is now 59th nationally at 75%. The 'Eaters are shooting 79% in Big West play and have made 112-of-138 during their win streak; 81.1% in those seven games.
· 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 58.2 points per game, fifth in the nation, which included 48 points allowed vs. Cal Poly and the lowest-scoring half of 19. The 'Eaters are 10-0 when keeping opponents under 60 points in a game and five times have held teams to 50 or less.
· UCI also ranks first nationally in defending the three at 25.9%. In addition, it is fifth in overall field goal percentage leading the conference at 37.4%, and top 100 in rebounding margin, defensive rebounds per game, total rebounds per game, and scoring margin.
· Austin Johnson has been a prolific shot blocker with 51 this season and ranking 24th nationally with 2.55 per game, both numbers leading the conference, and posted his third 5-block game vs. UC Riverside. He also put down 16 points at UC Riverside for his highest career total vs. a DI foe.
· Fall 2021 Dean's List was announced with 113 UCI student-athletes recognized with GPAs over 3.50. Welp, Bent Leuchten, and Emmanuel Tshimanga made the list for men's basketball.
· Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll for 2021 dropped last week with seven Anteaters named including Emmanual Tshimanga, Collin Welp, Dawson Baker, Isaiah Lee, Andre Henry, Hunter Ruck, and Ofure Ujadughele.
· Will Davis II returns to the G-League after being claimed by the South Bay Lakers in late December. The Anteater alum joins his fifth G-League team since becoming a pro in 2015. He's played six games so far posting 2.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 11.1 minutes a game. Other Anteaters currently playing pro are Tommy Rutherford in Switzerland, Brad Greene in Germany, Jonathan Galloway in Finland, Eyassu Worku in North Macedonia, and Luke Nelson in France
 

25.3 - The Anteaters are the best in the nation at defending the three allowing opponents to shoot 25.3% from beyond the arc. UCI allows just 58.6 points per game, 6th-lowest in the NCAA including allowing 27-for-126 from three in their 7-game win streak and 0-for-12 in the win vs. CSUB
100 - Austin Johnson is the Big West's leader in blocked shots with 51 that also ranks 41st in the nation. His 2.63 blocks per game is 21st nationally. In his career, he stands  blocks away from 100 currently with 98 as
an Anteater
11-0 - UC Irvine is 12-7 this season and in over half of them have held opponents under 60 points going 11-0 in those games. UCI has held Big West opponents under five times allowing a Big West-best 59.9 points per game in their nine conference games
7 - The 'Eaters have built a 7-game win streak now up to 3rd in the Big West. This is the fifth streak of at least seven straight wins in head coach Russell Turner's tenure

The 2021-22 Anteaters
· Collin Welp has earned Big West Player of the Week twice. He has four at UCI and both this season for UCI. The first came November 29 featuring a performance at Santa Clara with a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He claimed a second January 10 following his second career 30-point game at UC Riverside scoring 25 in the second half. He 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 as high as No. 10 in some polls this season.
· 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. Non-conference play featured a spotless home record of 4-0 including impactful wins over Boise State holding them to 50 points and a 34-point victory over Pepperdine. UCI's tough road slate sent them to New Mexico State to start the year as well as Fresno State and nearly overtaking an undefeated, 10th-ranked USC squad in the Galen Center. UCI scored one road victory defeating a stout Santa Clara squad with a late-game 14-2 run.
· UC Irvine began what was supposed to be 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 returns Thursday to the Bren ending a stretch of 48 days without a home game. Following the postponement vs. Buffalo, UCI played at UC Riverside after a 20-day layoff between contests. The 'Eaters played in Akron, Ohio at the LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent/St. Mary's High School taking on Duquesne in a loss. Their road trip of 27 days away from the Bren Events Center was cut short as its trip to Buffalo to end it was postponed due to health and safety protocols.
· The Big West announced the Big West Game of the Week that will be televised on Spectrum SportsNet. One matchup will be broadcasted each Saturday at 1:00 p.m. during conference season with UCI featured twice: February 19 vs. Hawai'i and March 5 at CSU Bakersfield. A third was added, Saturday, January 20 at LBSU, after a cancelation.
· The Anteaters will be featured on ESPNU Saturday, February 26, for a 9:00 p.m. tip against LBSU in the Bren.
· UCI was selected to finish second in the Big West according to the Coaches Poll. The Anteaters earned four of nine first-place votes finishing one vote behind preseason favorite, UC Santa Barbara. The Preseason Media Poll also selected UCI to finish second, three votes behind UCSB, and with two of the 11 first-place votes. Preseason All-Big West featured Collin Welp on both the Coaches' and Media teams. He was 1 of 4 players (Maddox—CSF, Manjon—UCD, Sow—UCSB) to appear on both teams. Dawson Baker earned honorable mention recognition on the media's team.
· The 2020-21 Anteaters had six players recognized on the Big West Winter All-Academic squad. To be eligible, student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA, complete one full year at their member institution, and compete in at least 50% of their team's contests. Four current members of the team were recognized in Isaiah Lee, Collin Welp, Emmanuel Tshimanga, and Ofure Ujadughele. That quartet was joined by alums Jeron Artest and Brad Greene. That 2020-21 squad also earned Team Academic Excellence Awards and Honors Court from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). UC Irvine was the only Big West school to earn the distinction. Brad Greene was recognized on the Honors Court making it for a second consecutive year.

Thursday at Cal State Fullerton
· The Titans return home after four straight on the road losing at LBSU and Hawai'i but getting wins last week at UCSB and CSUN to remain in second place. UCI can pull even with them with a win that would avenge their only loss in the Bren this year by two points in January.
· E.J. Anosike's 16 points per game leads the conference overall scoring exactly that many in the win over UCI while producing one of his six double-doubles on the season. Four Titans scored double figures that game including Damari Milstead who leads the conference in steals per game despite none in that win. Cal State Fullerton averages over 70 points a game, and is the best free throw-shooting squad in the Big West even going 22-for-28 vs. UCI.

Saturday vs. Long Beach State
· Saturday's matchup will help UCI challenge LBSU for the regular season crown taking on second-place CSF and 2.5 games behind the Beach in the Big West standings. Joel Murray's 24 points in 39 minutes helped top UCI at Long Beach in January, 73-67, even though UCI cut into a 13-point second half deficit to lead with just under three minutes left.
· Colin Slater put up 28 points last game in a loss at UC Santa Barbara snapping the Beach's 11-game win streak. Aboubacar Traore was a problem for the 'Eaters last time out scoring 19 points with four blocks and is the conference leader in rebounding with 8.2 a game. The Beach scores and allowed over 70 points a game as a test for the stout 'Eater defense that hasn't lost since that game and has allowed 54.7 points a game in that streak and over 60 just once.