UC Irvine at UC Riverside
Thursday, Mar. 2 | 7:00 p.m. PT
SRC Arena | Riverside, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Notes

CSU Bakersfield vs. UC Irvine
Saturday, Mar. 4 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | UC Irvine Notes | CSU Bakersfield Notes

The Anteaters will close out the regular season at UC Riverside on Mar. 2 before they host CSU Bakersfield on Mar. 4 for senior day.

ABOUT THE HIGHLANDERS
> UC Riverside holds a 20-10 record on the season and 13-5 in conference
> The Highlanders are on a four game winning streak after facing UCI on Feb. 11, defeating Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, CSUN, and Hawai'i
> UCR's Big West finale will be at Cal Poly on Mar. 4 in San Luis Obispo
> Zyon Pullin is UC Riverside's leading scorer, averaging 17.8 points a game on 168-352 shooting (0.477)
> Pullin was named College Insiders Player of the Week on Nov. 29, 2022 following the Highlanders Vegas 4 tournament win and Big West Player of the Week on both Dec. 12, 2022 and Feb. 27, 2023
> Flynn Cameron is one of two UC Riverside players to have started and play in all 30 games and is posting 12.5 points a game
> Cameron was named the Big West Player of the Week on Nov. 28, 2022 and again on Feb. 19, 2023
>Lachlan Olbrich rounds out UCR's double-figure scorers, averaging 11.8 points over 30 games
> Jamal Hartwell II leads the Highlanders in three-point shooting at a 0.432 clip (48-111)
> Hartwell II, the George Mason transfer, picked up UCR's third Big West weekly award on Jan. 16 after the Highlanders historic week
> UC Riverside was picked to finish fifth in the Big West preseason media poll

ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS
> CSU Bakersfield holds a 10-20 record on the season and 6-13 in conference
> CSUB picked up conference wins over Cal Poly, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, and CSUN
> The Roadrunners traveled to Long Beach State on Thursday, March 2, dropping 77-61
> CSU Bakersfield is one of three teams who have solidified their seed in the Big West Championship
> Antavion Collum is CSU Bakersfield's leading scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game on 139-314 shooting (0.443)
> Collum was named the Big West Player of the Week on Feb. 6 after a career high week after he led the 'Runners to victory in two overtime contests
> Cameron Smith leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.5 boards a game so far this season
> Marvin McGhee III is the only Roadrunner to have started and played in all 30 games
> CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish eighth in the Big West preseason media poll

BIG WEST REGULAR SEASON CROWN IN SIGHT
In a week of crucial match-ups, UC Irvine brought home their first win of the week at UC Riverside to break the three-way deadlock at the top of the Big West standings. The Anteaters will control their own destiny on Saturday. A win against CSU Bakersfield would result in UCI's sixth regular season title under Head Coach Russell Turner and the first since the 2019-20 season.
 
PROTECT YOUR HOME COURT
UC Irvine holds the 5-2 advantage over CSU Bakersfield when it comes to games played in Irvine. Three of the last five games between the two squads have been played in the Bren Events Center with one ending in a loss. UCI is looking to complete the series sweep of the Roadrunners for the second straight season.
 
FIVE
In the 11 game history between the Anteaters and the Roadrunners, the last four games played have been decided by five points or less (UCI 3-1). Six total games between the two squads have ended with a five point or fewer differential.
 
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
In UC Irvine's 2022-23 Big West opener, the Anteaters put the exclamation point on 2022 with a 79-75 road victory in Bakersfield. UCI overcame a six-point deficit to earn head coach Russell Turner his 250th career win, moving ahead of the late New Mexico State head coach Neil McCarthy to rank fourth in the Big West victory ledger. Additionally, the 'Eaters broke a 28-year old school record in free throw attempts, taking 51 shots from the line (30 made). The previous record of 49 (33 made) was set in January 27, 1994 against Long Beach State.
 
SERIES SWEEP COMPLETED: UC RIVERSIDE
DJ Davis posted his second consecutive 20-point performance in Thursday's 75-65 over UC Riverside. Davis scored 26 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor, including 3-6 from three-point range ans 7-8 from the line. UCI shot over 0.500 from the field in both contests against the Highlanders this season and both victories were by double-figures. Bent Leuchten (15), Dean Keeler (10), and Dawson Baker (10) all scored in double digits.
 
ON THE WAY TO JOINING THE 1K CLUB
Only 35 points away, Dawson Baker is on the way to become the 32nd Anteater to score 1,000-points during their career at UC Irvine.
 
IN THE BOOK! CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 138 made three-pointers in his career, junior DJ Davis sits 12th all-time for made triples in a career. Davis is now four makes from catching Scott Brooks (1985-87) and Travis Souza (2011-15) for 11th with 142 threes.
 
IN STATE BEASTS
According to College Basketball Reference on Feb. 15, UCI sits in the top seven schools who have the most points per game scored by in-state players (49.3). The other teams are UNI (68.7), Youngstown State (60.0), Eastern Michigan (55.2), Northern Colorado (54.6), Georgia State (50.7), and Kennesaw State (49.7).
 
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 46th nationally in bench points per game (24.61).
 
PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 350 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 1,108, Opp. 758). The Anteaters average 35.74 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in the paint in six conference contests (CSUN– 40, UC Santa Barbara– 40, Hawai'i– 44, UC San Diego—44, Long Beach St.—42, and UC San Diego—40).
 
MR. CONSISTENT
After his performance against UC Riverside, Dawson Baker set a new streak of 26 consecutive games scoring in double figures. Baker has recorded 30 double digit scoring games this season and has posted 52 in his career thus far. After reaching the 600-career point mark against Fresno State on Dec. 3, 700-mark against Cal St. Fullerton on Jan. 11, and 800-mark at UC San Diego on Feb. 2, the guard passed the 900-mark at Cal Poly on Feb. 20. The junior surpassed 400 tallies on the season against the Aggies on Feb. 18 and is 35 away from reaching the 1000-career milestone. Baker is averaging 15.6 points a game, 17.1 in league play.
 
3J DAVIS
A consistent force behind the arc, DJ Davis leads the team and league in three-point shooting making 77 of his 191 attempts from deep. Davis is a prolific shooter at the free throw line as well, ranking first in the Big West and 18th nationally for his 95-107 shooting at the stripe (0.888). With 468 tallies on the season, Davis surpassed the 900-career point mark with his 26-point performance at UC Riverside on Mar. 2 after eclipsing the 800-mark just two weeks prior at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 15.
 
DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II tied his career high 11 assists in the loss to UC San Diego on Feb. 23 for the 'Eaters fourth double-digit assist game of the season. Crockrell II put up his first double-double of the season (10 points, 10 assists) at Long Beach State. The senior is averaging 5.1 assists per game after hitting his 100th assist on the season at UC San Diego on Feb. 2 and earned his 400th career dime in the win over the Rainbow Warriors on Jan. 19. The guard nationally ranks 31st in total assists, 38th in assist-turnover ratio at a 2.5 mark, and 41st in assists per game. The Anteaters are 14-2 when Crockrell II dishes out five or more dimes in a game.
 
SEEING DOUBLE
Almost a full calendar year after the Anteaters last double-double, Devin Tillis notched two consecutive and the first and second of his career. Tillis posted the first in the 70-65 win over Cal St. Fullerton (10 pts, 12 reb.) on Jan. 11 and the second at CSUN (10 pts., 11 reb.) on Jan. 14. The redshirt sophomore has 166 boards on the season to average 6.1 a game. Tillis has tallied nine double-digit scoring and three double-figure rebounding efforts in 29 games.
 
MR. POSTMAN
Bent Leuchten, who had missed eight games due to injury, made his return to the lineup against Cal Poly on Feb. 9. Leuchten hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1:37 remaining to lift the Anteaters to the 55-54 victory. The center is one of the teams leaders off the glass, averaging 6.0 rebounds a game in 22 contests played. Leucthen has posted three double-figure scoring games since his return, with the latest double-digit effort coming at UC Riverside.
 
NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 5. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked Big West team and only one within the top-100 sitting at 95. UC Santa Barbara sits at 106.
 
KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2241 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 129h in assist rate and DJ Davis is 27th in free throw percentage. Out of 363 teams, UC Irvine ranks 10th in two-point percentage defense, 12th in bench minutes, 18th in effective field goal defense, 32nd in three-point percentage offense, and 47th in steal percentage offense.
 
LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings. DJ Davis leads the league in free throw percentage (0.888) and three-point field goals per game (2.6) while sitting eighth in scoring (15.6). Pierre Crockrell II tops the Big West in assist/turnover ratio (2.5) and assists (5.0).  Dawson Baker is fifth in field goal percentage (0.472), seventh in free throw percentage (0.802), and seventh in scoring (15.6). Devin Tillis ranks ninth in the league in boards, averaging 6.1.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICS 03.03.23
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in the following categories: scoring margin (42nd, 8.5), field goal percentage (37th, 0.472), field goal percentage defense (14th, 0.396) and three-point field goal percentage (20th, 0.379).
 

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ROLLIN' TO RIVERSIDE
UC Irvine has their struggles on the road at UC Riverside despite holding the 18-14 advantage in the SRC Arena. The Anteaters have only lost in Riverside once in a seven year span.  Both squads are hungry to emerge victorious in the tight race for the Big West regular season title as they currently sit in a three-way tie for first place with UC Santa Barbara.
 
OWNING THE SHOT FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Thursday's game between UC Irvine and UC Riverside will pit the hot shooting three-point teams against each other. The Anteaters lead the league at a 0.378 clip (212-561) while the Highlanders have taken and made the most triples (249-685) in the Big West.
 
BROUGHT HOME THE WIN ON HOMECOMING
The high octane UC Irvine offense shot 0.568 (34-60) from the floor and 0.545 (6-11) beyond the arc in the homecoming win over UC Riverside. Dawson Baker poured in 23 points on 9-14 shooting, a career best made field goals. DJ Davis followed with 18 points, knocking down 6-11 from the field, including 4-5 from long distance. Bent Leuchten and Justin Hohn each recorded 10 points, rounding out the double figure scorers for UCI. Leuchten had four rebounds while Hohn swiped to steals.
 
CLOSE CALL
Nine of UCI's conference contests have been determined by five points or fewer and four of them were decided by three points or less. In the Anteaters last game, they fell to Hawai'i 72-67 in Honolulu.
 
TOP THREE-POINT OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
In a battle of the Big West's top scoring three-point offense in UC Irvine (0.378) and the top three-point defense in Hawai'i (0.288), who ranks eighth nationally, the Anteaters shot at a 0.444 clip (8-18) from three-point range on Feb. 25 in front of a sold out Stan Sheriff Center. DJ Davis was hot behind the arc, shooting a career best 6-11 from distance, totaling 27 points in the loss. Dawson Baker and Justin Hohn each added a triple in the contest.
 
ON THE WAY TO JOINING THE 1K CLUB
Only 45 points away, Dawson Baker is on the way to become the 32nd Anteater to score 1,000-points during their career at UC Irvine.
 
IN THE BOOK! CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 135 made three-pointers in his career, junior DJ Davis sits 12th all-time for made triples in a career. Davis is now seven makes from catching Scott Brooks (1985-87) and Travis Souza (2011-15) for 11th with 142 threes.
 
FORCE MAJEURE
Due to several cancellations of conference contests, the Big West will be enforcing force majeure procedures when it comes to determining a regular season winner and championship seeding. This means that everything will be determined by overall conference winning percentage regardless of record.
 
IN STATE BEASTS
According to College Basketball Reference on Feb. 15, UCI sits in the top seven schools who have the most points per game scored by in-state players (49.3). The other teams are UNI (68.7), Youngstown State (60.0), Eastern Michigan (55.2), Northern Colorado (54.6), Georgia State (50.7), and Kennesaw State (49.7).
 
NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 5. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked Big West team and only one within the top-100 sitting at 96. UC Santa Barbara sits at 109.
 
KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2243 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 12th in assist rate and DJ Davis is 28th in free throw percentage. Out of 363 teams, UC Irvine ranks 11th in two-point percentage defense, 14th in bench minutes, 19th in effective field goal defense, 30th in three-point percentage offense, and 49th in steal percentage offense.
 
LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings. DJ Davis leads the league in free throw percentage (0.889) and three-point field goals per game (2.6) while sitting eighth in scoring (15.2). Pierre Crockrell II tops the Big West in assist/turnover ratio (2.5) and assists (5.1).  Dawson Baker is fifth in field goal percentage (0.472), sixth in free throw percentage (0.806), and sixth in scoring (15.8). Devin Tillis ranks ninth in the league in boards, averaging 6.1.
 
NATIONAL STATISTICS 03.01.23
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in the following categories: scoring margin (40th, 8.4), field goal percentage (49th, 0.470), field goal percentage defense (14th, 0.398) and three-point field goal percentage (18th, 0.378).