IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Irvine gears up to travel to their fourth Mountain West opponent in New Mexico to conclude non-conference action. 

UC Irvine at RV New Mexico
Wednesday, Dec. 20 | 7:00 p.m. MT (6:00 p.m. PT)
The Pit | Albuqueque, N.M.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (Mountain West Network) | Tickets | Notes

ABOUT NEW MEXICO
> RV New Mexico holds a 10-1  record entering the contest, picking up wins against Texas Southern, UT Arlington, Toledo, Rice, Pepperdine, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State (twice), UC Santa Barbara, and Santa Clara
> UNM's lone loss of the season happened in Moraga to Saint Mary's (L, 72-58) on Nov. 9
> The Lobos last competed on Friday Dec. 15 where they mounted the comeback to defeat New Mexico State 73-72 in Las Cruces to sweep the Rio Grande rivalry
> UNM holds a 23-1 record in non-conference play in the last two seasons (13-0 in 2022-23) and are on a nine game winning streak
> RV New Mexico went 22-12 overall in 2022-23 and 8-10 in Mountain West play
> The Lobos suffered a 91-76 loss to Utah State in Mountain West quarterfinals
> UNM earned a bid to the NIT where they lost to Utah Valley, 83-69, inside The Pit
> RV New Mexico has won 17 straight non-conference home games dating back to the 2021-22 season
> Jamal Mashburn Jr. leads the Lobos in points per game (18.2) but has not played since the game against Rice due to injury
> Donovan Dent has posted a team high 190 points (17.3 per game) in 11 games started
> Dent dishes out 6.6 assists a game, a team best
> Jaelen House has returned to the lineup and has put in 13.3 points per six games played
> House and Mashburn Jr. were named to the preseason All-Mountain West team
> JT Toppin is second best on the team in scoring with 142 total points and 13.2 per game
> Toppin and Nelly Joseph command off the glass with 7.4 rebounds per game
> Tru Washington rounds out the double figure scoring with 11.0 points per game
> New Mexico was picked third in the Mountain West Preseason Poll with one first place vote

TOUR DE MOUNTAIN WEST
In a 12 game non-conference season, UC Irvine gears up to travel to their fourth Mountain West opponent in New Mexico. The Anteaters have made the treks to San Jose State (Nov. 7), Utah State (Dec. 2), and then No. 25/RV San Diego State (Dec. 9) during the two month stretch.

NICE TO MEET YOU
UCI has not met New Mexico in program history. The Lobos are one of two teams on UCI's schedule that the Anteaters have not faced before with the other being the Rice Owls. UC Irvine is 1-0 this season when facing a new opponent and 2-0 over the last two seasons.

SAME OPPONENTS, SAME RESULTS
Both UCI and UNM participated in the Ball Dawgs Classic at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. and went 3-0 in their three games played. The Lobos also faced the same opponents as the Anteaters: Pepperdine, Toledo, and Rice. 

DOMINATING OFFENSE LED UCI TO VICTORY OVER SOUTH DAKOTA
In the return to their home court, UC Irvine put on an offensive showcase that saw seven Anteaters score in double figures in the 121-78 win over South Dakota on Saturday evening. Forward Dean Keeler led the offensive charge behind his career high 22 points. Keeler shot 9-11 (0.818) from the floor, grabbed eight rebounds, and denied two attempts at the basket. Forward Devin Tillis scored 16 points while guard Derin Saran's basket in the final seconds lifted him to 15 points in the game and dished out a career best four assists. Guard Dylan Thoerner and forward Carter Welling each contributed 14 points to the Anteater total. Fifth yeat Pierre Crockrell II recorded his first double-double of the season behind 12 points and career high 11 assists and reshirt senior Justin Hohn posted 11 points for his sixth consecutive game in double figures.

TALK ABOUT EFFICIENCY!
While leading the offensive momentum for UC Irvine in the victory over South Dakota, Dean Keeler posted all 22 points in just 14 minutes on the court where 17 of those points occurred in the first half in less than seven minutes. Additionally, Devin Tillis scored 11 of the Anteaters first 15 points before the under 16 media timeout in the first half on perfect 5-5 shooting from the floor. Tillis posted all 16 of his points in the first half, playing 10 minutes and going a total of 7-7 shooting, 2-2 from three-point range.

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 12th nationally in bench points per game (34.91) and have out performed their opponent seven times this season with non-starters.

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 174 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 464, Opp. 290). The Anteaters average 42.2 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in four games so far (Occidental-- 68, Pepperdine--48, Rice--44, and South Dakota--72).

DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in nine contests this season in assists with 64. The fifth year guard is averaging 5.8 assists per game and earned his 500th career dime in the win over New Mexico State on Nov. 11. Crockrell II nationally ranks 18th in total assists nd 24th in assists per game while he sits atop the Big West in both categories. The guard recorded his first double-double of the season with season bests in points (12) and assists (11) against South Dakota (Dec. 16). The Anteaters are 5-3 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 150 total points and 13.6 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 26 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 four games and double figure rebounding in two games played this season to lead UCI with 61 rebounds, 6.1 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 12-28 (0.429) 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 15 times and is one of four 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 3.3 rebounds per game, blocked six shots, and is putting up 6.0 points a game after a career high 12-point performance versus the Coyotes on Dec. 16.

FRESHMAN TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Derin Saran is second on the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game over 11 games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.574, 54-94). Saran notched his 100th career point at Utah State and is on a seven game double figure scoring streak. The young guard also has 40 rebounds, 22 assists, and nine steals on the year.

MR. POSTMAN
Bent Leuchten dominates at the post whether it is scoring baskets or grabbing the all off the glass. The center returned to action for the Anteaters on Dec. 16 and is one of the teams leaders off the glass, averaging 4.2 rebounds a game in five contests played. Leucthen has posted two double-figure scoring games since this year, the latest against No. 16/20 USC where he put up 19 points in 28 minutes of action.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2267 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 5th in assist rate (41.9) and Devin Tillis is 12th in two-point percentage (0.717) and 22nd in defensive rebound percentage (27.4).  Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 7th in bench minutes (45.3), 24th in offensive steal percentage (7.0), 32nd in adjusted defensive efficiency (95.7), and 46th in three-point percentage offense (37.4).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (9th, 6.1--Tillis), field goal percentage (3rd, 0.603 Tillis and 6th, 0.574--Saran), three-point field goal percentage (5th, 0.386--Hohn), three-point field goals per game (8th, 2.0--Hohn), assists per game (1st, 5.8--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (3rd, 2.6--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (6th, 1.2--Keeler).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 12.18.23
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in field goal percentage (28th, 0.493), assists per game (34th, 17.3), scoring margin (46th, 13.1), and rebounding margin (47th, 6.9).

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 55 with Hawai'i locking in the second position at 123.