IRVINE, Calif. - The Big West has released its 2022-23 men's and women's basketball conference schedules.
 
The league will play a 20-game round robin format. Games are set for Thursdays and Saturdays, while each team will also have two Monday and two Wednesday games as well as two byes. UC Irvine will announce its non-conference slate at a later date.

The Big West season begins for UC Irvine men's basketball on the road with a New Year's Eve matchup at CSU Bakersfield. The 'Eaters then open the Bren Events Center with a Black & Blue Rivalry Series matchup against Long Beach State on Saturday, Jan. 7, and continue the week with a Wednesday meeting in the Bren with OC rival, Cal State Fullerton.

The Anteaters are also home for a holiday meeting with 2021-22 regular season champion UC Santa Barbara on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Monday, Jan. 16). It's the first of two holiday matchups with the 'Eaters heading to Cal Poly on Feb. 20 for a President's Day contest. UCI adds a visit from Hawai'i on Thursday, Jan. 19, following the matchup with UCSB. UC Irvine has a home game in eight of the final nine weeks of the regular season, and it all culminates with the finale in the Bren Events Center on Saturday, March 4, against CSU Bakersfield.

The Anteater women also kick off conference action on Saturday, Dec. 31, when they host CSU Bakersfield in their Big West opener. They will continue league play at home against UC Davis on Jan. 5, before hitting the road for four of their next five. That tough stretch will end at UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 16) and at Hawai'i (Jan. 19) in a rematch of the 2022 Big West championship game.
 
The 'Eaters will also host CSUN on Jan. 14 and Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 26, while welcoming UC San Diego (Feb. 2), UCSB (Feb. 15), Cal Poly (Feb. 20) and UH (Feb. 25) to the Bren Events Center in February. UCI then closes out the regular season in the first week of March, entertaining UC Riverside (March 2) and heading to CSUB (March 4).
 
The 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men's and Women's Basketball Championships return to The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada, March 7-11.
 
UC Irvine women's basketball is coming off one of its best seasons in program history. In 2021-22, the Anteaters set a school record with 14 conference victories, while tying the overall win record at 21. It was their second 20-win campaign in the last four seasons. The 'Eaters also advanced to the Big West Tournament championship game for the second year in a row and earned their first-ever WNIT berth. Over the last two years, UCI owns a league-best 25-8 regular-season conference record.

Men's basketball is coming off a 10th-straight winning season while also finishing in the top four of the Big West for a 10th-straight year; all under head coach Russell Turner, the program's winningest coach, as he enters his 13th season at UC Irvine.

2022-23 UCI men's basketball season ticket renewals are currently live, while fans can also place a deposit for both men's and women's basketball tickets. Click here for more information.