IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Irvine returns to action on their home court for the first time in a month to take on the visitors from the University of South Dakota on Saturday, Dec. 16 with a 7 p.m. start.

South Dakota at UC Irvine
Saturday, Dec. 16 | 7:00 p.m. PT
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Game Program | UC Irvine Game Notes | South Dakota Game Notes

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA
> South Dakota holds a 7-3  record entering the contest, picking up wins against Mount Marty, UT Rio Grand Valley, Virginia Military Institute, Northland, Waldorf, Western Illinois, and Cal State Bakersfield
> The Coyotes last played on Saturday where they defeated Big West foe CSUB in Vermillion, 78-73
> USD's game against the Anteaters marks their first of a three-game California road trip as the Yotes will head up to Bakersfield to face the Roadrunners to complete the in-season home and home before trekking down to the University of San Diego
> South Dakota went 12-19 overall in 2022-23 and 7-11 in Summit League play
> The Coyotes faced a tragic 70-68 loss to North Dakota State in the final 30 seconds of the Summit League tournament
> USD only has four players on their 2023-24 roster that played against UCI last season
> Lahat Thioune leads all Coyotes in scoring and rebounds averaging 14.8 points per game (133 total)
> Thioune, a UCF transfer, is close to averaging a double double with his 9.4 rebounds a game
> Kaleb Stewart adds 13.9 points per game in seven starts for the Yotes
> Paul Bruns has started and played in all 10 games for South Dakota and has recorded 115 total points (11.5 ppg) 
> Bostyn Holt rounds out the double figure scoring with 11.4 points per game and is second on the team off the glass (5.5 rebounds per game)
> Holt is the Coyotes top distributor, dishing out 29 in 10 games played
> Max Burchill is the final Yote to have started and play in all 10 games for South Dakota
> Burchill has taken the ball away from opponents a team best 11 times
> Six Coyotes average over 20 minutes played per game
> South Dakota was picked sixth in the Summit League Preseason Poll

THE RETURN HOME
After playing six straight games on the road between neutral site contests and true away games, UC Irvine will return to the Bren Events Center for their first home contest in 29 days. 

FOUR 
After ten games played, there are four Anteaters averaging double figure scoring. Redshirt senior Justin Hohn leads the effort with 13.9 points per game and is followed by freshman Derin Saran (11.4), redshirt junior Devin Tillis (10.7), and junior Bent Leuchten (10.0). Senior Andre Henry is close to making the mark with 9.7. 

KEEPING IT FRESH
This marks the second contest between the Anteaters and the Coyotes in the last two seasons. The previous meeting between the last two squads was in 1974 when they first met in Irvine.

THREE-POINT DEFENSIVE BATTLE
Saturday night's showcase will show who can defend the three-point shot the best. UC Irvine has held opponents to a 0.324 clip (57-176) from behind the arc while South Dakota has only allowed opponents to shoot 76-235 (0.323) from long range in their ten games played.

HOHN SHINES IN SOUTH DAKOTA HOMECOMING (12.10.22)
Justin Hohn returned to his home state to help UC Irvine (7-3) snap South Dakota's (5-6) three game home winning streak in the 83-71 victory. Hohn posted 14 points on 6-9 shooting, making two of his four attempts from behind the arc. The Anteaters shot at a stunning 0.517 clip (30-58) in the contest, hitting 0.552 (16-29) in the second half. South Dakota was led by Paul Bruns with 20 points on 8-14 shooting from the field, 4-7 from three point range. The Coyotes went on a tear in the final 45 seconds where they nailed four triples.

HEARTBREAK IN SAN DIEGO
For the second straight year, UC Irvine took No. 25/RV San Diego State down to the wire, but the Aztecs escaped again with a 63-62 victory over UC Irvine at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena Saturday night. SDSU scored the final six points of the game in the last minute of action, including a go-ahead layup by Micah Parrish with 11 seconds remaining. Guard Justin Hohn led all players with 16 points as he went 6-13 for the floor, including a career best four makes from three-point distance. Freshman guard Derin Saran exploded in the second half, recording five buckets on seven shots in 10 minutes. Saran shot at a 0.600 clip (6-10) in the contest while also adding six rebounds and career high four steals. Guard Pierre Crockrell II added to the offense with 10 points, all in the second half, for his first double-figure scoring game of the season.

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 27th nationally in bench points per game (31.80) and have out performed their opponent six times this season with non-starters.

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 128 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 392, Opp. 264). The Anteaters average 39.2 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in three games so far (Occidental-- 68, Pepperdine--48, and Rice---44).

DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in nine contests this season in assists with 53. The fifth year guard is averaging 5.3 assists per game and earned his 500th career dime in the win over New Mexico State on Nov. 11. Crockrell II nationally ranks 39th in assists per game and 40th in total assists while he sits atop the Big West in both categories. The Anteaters are 4-3 when Crockrell II dishes out five or more dimes in a game and were 15-3 in 2022-23 when he hit the same mark.

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 139 total points and 13.9 points per game after his first career 20-point game at No. 16/20 USC with his 25 point outing and was followed by his second at Utah State with 21 points. The redshirt senior has 25 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the 2023-24 Anteater squad. Hohn reached 600 career points in his double digit scoring performance on December 2nd.

SEEING DOUBLE
Devin Tillis notched the Anteaters first double-double of the season on Saturday night (Nov. 11) with an 18 point and 10 rebound showing. In the effort, the redshirt junior set a career best in points scored. Tillis recorded three double-double efforts last season and earned the program's first since Mar. 15, 2023 which was the one he set in the NIT First Round match-up with Oregon. The forward has recorded double-figure scoring in three games and double figure rebounding in two games played this season to lead UCI with 54 rebounds, 6.0 per game. 

THE ANDRE SPECIAL
Andre Henry has helped the Anteaters get it done on both ends of the court this season. From three-point range, Henry is shooting a team best 12-27 (0.444) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 19 makes (19-24, 0.792). The senior has stolen the ball from opponents a team best 14 times and is one of three players with 40+ rebounds on the season.

CENTER OF ATTENTION
Freshman Carter Welling took over the starting position of center, making his Anteater debut versus Pepperdine on Nov. 21. Averaging 16.5 minutes a game, the center has grabbed 3.0 rebounds per game, blocked six shots, and is putting up 4.7 points a game.

FRESHMAN TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Derin Saran is second on the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game over ten games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.553, 47-85). Saran notched his 100th career point at Utah State and is on a six game double figure scoring streak. The young guard also has 37 rebounds, 18 assists, and nine steals on the year.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2281 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 14th in assist rate (40.1) and Devin Tillis is 38th in defensive rebound percentage (26.3) and 43rd in two-point percentage (0.719).  Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 7th in bench minutes (44.1), 25th in adjusted defensive efficiency (95.7), 47th in two-point percentage defense (45.0), 49th in steal percentage offense (7.7), and 50th in three-point percentage offense (37.1).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (8th, 6.0--Tillis), field goal percentage (6th, 0.553--Saran), three-point field goal percentage (5th, 0.385--Hohn), three-point field goals per game (8th, 2.0--Hohn), assists per game (1st, 5.3--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (4th, 2.2--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (8th, 1.1--Keeler).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 12.14.23
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in assists per game (50th, 16.3).

NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 4. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked and only Big West team within the top-100 sitting at 65 with Hawai'i locking in the second position at 120.