2021-22 Men's Basketball Season Review Notes

Storylines
· The Anteaters finished fourth in the Big West; the 10th straight season with a top four finish. UC Irvine posted its 34th winning season in 57 years of UCI basketball.
· NABC All-District honors were announced with Collin Welp named to the team for a second straight year and first time on the First Team. He's the first Anteater on the All-District First Team since Jerry Green in 2002.
· Anteaters part of All-Big West honors were Collin Welp and Dawson Baker. Welp finished on the First Team becoming the first in program history to be All-Big West First Team three times. He joins Jerry Green, Ben McDonald, and Luke Nelson as 'Eaters to make All-Big West three times. Baker was honorable mention, his first All-Big West recognition following his Big West Freshman of the Year season in 2020-21.
· Collin Welp finishes as 1 of 7 Anteaters to record over 1,000 points and 700 rebounds. He began the season 26th in scoring and 23rd in rebounding to finish eighth in both categories. He has surpassed his coaches, Alex Young and Michael Wilder, along the way compiling 1,490 points and 715 rebounds. Welp was the only Anteater with a double-double this season registering four of them against Santa Clara, Hawai'i, UC Riverside, and Long Beach State. He also had two games with 20 or more points giving him 10 in his career including his second 30-point game at UCR. Welp led the conference in free-throw shooting at 86.5% which also ranked 42nd in the nation.
· In the Big West, UCI's leading scorer Collin Welp finished 11th with 13.8 points per game overall. The team has two of the top 11 rebounders with Welp sixth with 6.5 a game and Austin Johnson at 6.0 a game ranking 11th. UCI does not have anyone in the conference's top 15 in assists or minutes played.
 
1st - The Anteaters were 1st in the nation at defending the three allowing opponents to shoot 26.2% from beyond the arc. UCI allowed just 60.3 points per game, 9th-lowest in the NCAA, and top 25 in field goal defense and free throw percentage
3rd - Collin Welp secured his 3rd All-Big West First Team honor. He's the first three-time first-teamer in UCI history and added a second NABC All-District honor making him the first Anteater since Jerry Green in 2002 to make First Team All-District
11-0 - UC Irvine played 25 games this season, second-fewest in the nation and tied for the least in a season for the program, and in nearly half of them, the Anteaters held opponents under 60 points going 11-0 in those games
28th - The Anteaters finished non-conference play with a 6-4 record and the 28th-toughest schedule against Division I opponents finishing with two Quadrant 1 wins and four opponents in USC, Boise State, New Mexico State, and Cal State Fullerton that made the NCAA Tournament field
 
· UC Irvine leads the nation in three-point defense allowing 25.3% on the season. UCI shut down CSU Bakersfield allowing zero makes on 12 shots from deep. Anteater opponents have shot under 30% from three in 15 games and made three or fewer three in a game in 11. Overall field goal percentage is also at 38.4%, 10th-lowest, holding opponents under 40% shooting in 15 games.
· The Anteater free throw shooting jumped from 63rd to 24th nationally over the final three weeks at 76.5%. They shot 80.4% in Big West play, missed a total of 23 shots since the beginning of February, and have missed three or less in each of the final seven contests.
· Nationally, the Anteater defense was 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. UCI allowed just over 60 points per game, ninth in the nation, and 61.1 in conference games which included 48 points allowed vs. Cal Poly and the lowest-scoring half of 19. The 'Eaters were 11-0 when keeping opponents under 60 points in a game and five times held teams to 50 or less.
· UCI also ranks first nationally in defending the three at 25.4%. In addition, it is 10th in defensive field goal percentage leading the conference at 38.4%, and also leads in rebounds per game and rebound margin.
· Austin Johnson's prolific shot blocking finished with 61 this season and ranked 22nd nationally with 2.44 per game, both numbers that led the conference. He posted his third 5-block game vs. UC Riverside. HoopsHD.com named Johnson the Big West Defensive Player of the Year.
· 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 with seven Anteaters named including Emmanual Tshimanga, Collin Welp, Dawson Baker, Isaiah Lee, Andre Henry, Hunter Ruck, and Ofure Ujadughele.
Big West Quarterfinal Thoughts from Head Coach Russell Turner
· "I want to say congratulations first to Santa Barbara, they played at a great level today. They deserved to win with their performance. For us, it's tough to drop this game in the tournament, knowing the stakes we're playing for in this league. Our guys played hard. I'm especially proud of the fight we showed down late to continue to give ourselves a chance. There was belief in our team that we could be champions in this league. I thought that showed in our performance but it wasn't good enough because of the performance of Santa Barbara. In high-stake competitive athletics, that's sometimes what happens. We know that and we'll use the adversity and feelings we're experiencing now as fuel to be better."
· "I'm particularly proud of Collin Welp, our fifth-year senior captain. For five years he committed to UC Irvine basketball and our university. I'm proud of the way he's represented us all along the way, becoming not just one of the best players in program history, but an outstanding leader. He's the tone-setter for our team with his competitiveness and confidence, and is a captain that pushed this group as hard as he could."

The 2021-22 Anteaters
· Collin Welp has earned Big West Player of the Week twice. He has four at UCI and both of UCI's in 2021-22. The first came November 29 featuring a double-double at Santa Clara 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. Welp was also 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 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. UCI's non-conference schedule rates as the 28th-toughest in the country. 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. Four Anteater opponents ended up in the NCAA Tournament with 7-seed USC, 8-seed Boise State, 12-seed New Mexico State, and 15-seed Cal State Fullerton.
· 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.
· victory over Pepperdine. UCI's tough road slate sent them to New Mexico State to start the year, 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 'Eaters have seen six of their games this season postponed or canceled. As a result, they have played the second-fewest games in the country at 24. The least amount of games the Anteaters have played in any season is 25 back in 1977-78 going 8-17. UCI is still in line to win over 60% of their games which would be for a fifth straight season.
· UCI games were televised four times with UCI winning three vs. Long Beach State on ESPNU, and as the Spectrum SportsNet Big West Game of the Week winning vs. Hawai'i and at CSUB, and losing at Long Beach State.
· 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.
· Will Davis II returns to the G-League after being claimed by the South Bay Lakers in late December. The Anteater alum joins his seventh G-League team since becoming a pro in 2015 played with the Lakers, the College Park Skyhawks, and Raptors 905 this season. He also played for the U.S. World Cup Qualifying Team in November posting four points, four rebounds, and two assists in his one game. Other 'Eaters 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.

Preseason Thoughts from Head Coach Russell Turner
· "We're excited for the opportunity to play this season and especially for the opportunity to play again in front of fans because college basketball is so much about that, being a part of your community. I am hoping we will generate a lot of interest from our campus community to be a part of games because that is such a fun part of college basketball."
· "I think we have a good team, a team that should continue to improve throughout the season, and have a chance to be really good at the end of the year. We have real talent on this team, we have a bunch of guys who care, and we have chance to be good. We have a long way to go but we are excited about the opportunity." 
· "We have a young group of talented perimeter players. I am excited about that group and now we have to figure out how that group is going to best fit together. And how that group is going to assert themselves against high quality opposition early in the year. We've got a lot of work to do but I think they are up for the challenge."
· "The front court group we know starts with Collin, since he's such a proven commodity. We know we have to replace Brad Greene, which is no easy replacement. Brad Greene had such an incredible impact during his time at UC Irvine. But we do have depth and talent at the center position. We will have to see how that unfolds because we have a lot of guys who will be competing for a start."