IRVINE, Calif. -- The Anteaters hit the road for a four game stretch where they will first stop at Weber State for a 6 p.m. PT (7 p.m. MT) tip-off on Friday Nov. 22 inside the Dee Events Center.

UC Irvine at Weber State
Friday, Nov. 22 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Dee Events Center | Ogden, Utah
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ABOUT WEBER STATE
> > Weber State finished their 2023-24 campaign with a 20-12 overall record, 11-7 in the Big Sky
> The Wildcats season ended in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals with a 91-82 loss to Montana State
> WSU collected notable wins against No. 23 Saint Mary's (W, 61-57), Wyoming (W, 84-71), and South Dakota State (W, 75-73) a year ago
> The two schools have not met in 12 years with the last meeting taking place in Ogden on Dec. 8, 2012 (L, 65-51)
> Weber State enters the contest with a 1-3 overall record and are coming off a 73-68 overtime loss to Big West foe Hawai'i inside the Stan Sheriff Center
> The Wildcats returns their home court, the Dee Events Center, for the first time since their season opener on Nov. 4
> Weber State boasts an all-time 526-140 (0.790) record inside the DEC, their third-year head coach Eric Duft's home record is 19-6 (0.760), and have a three-game home winning streak
> WSU lost a key player, Dillon Jones, at the end of last season as the 26th pick in the NBA Draft
> Jones was a NABC First Team All-District selection and Big Sky MVP
> Weber State returns three starters in Blaise Threatt, Dyson Koehler, and Alex Tew
> Threatt leads all Wildcats in scoring with 17 points a contest as he is connecting 53.8 percent of his shots (28-52) and leads the distribution with 18 total assists (4.5 per game)
> The senior guard does it all as he has taken the most trips to the free throw line for WSU (12-14), has stolen the ball a team best 10 times, and is second on the team in rebounding with 23 boards total (5.8 per game)
> Threatt is coming off a career high 27 point and five steal performance in the overtime loss at Hawai'i and was one rebound shy of a double-double
> Koehler is third in the Wildcats scoring effort with his 10-32 (0.313) shooting from the floor for 9.3 points per game and leads the rebounding effort with 6.0 grabs off the glass (24 total)
> In 17.9 minutes on the court per game, Tew has made 61.5 percent of his shots (8-13) and has blocked a team leading nine shots over four games
> Miguel Tomley, a Big Sky preseason team selection, has made an immediate impact for the Wildcats with his 9.5 points per game and 0.429 shooting clip (9-21) from three-point range
> With Idaho State last season, Tomley received Big Sky All-Tournament team honors, led the league in three-point percentage and three-pointers per game, and was ninth in the conference in scoring
> Off the bench, Viljami Vartiainen pours in nine points a contest and is a three-point shooting threat as he has made the most (10) from long-range of any Wildcat

POLL POSITION
UC Irvine entered the season ranked 12th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Poll. After a strong 4-0 start to the season that has included four double figure margin victories with two of those on the road and taking down the previously ranked preseason seventh team, the Anteaters earned a top five ranking, sliding in at third in this week's top 25 after a landing a spot in the top five at fifth last week. In T3 Bracketology's weekly poll the Anteaters ranked fifth, T-16th in Mid-Major Madness's weekly release, and moved up to 20th in Mid Major Basketball's rankings.

LONG TIME NO SEE
UC Irvine and Weber State will meet for the first time in a little shy of 12 years on Friday. The two teams last met in the 2012-13 season where the Wildcats hosted the Anteaters at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah. UCI is looking to collect their first win in the series history in Friday's meeting.

TEN'S ALL AROUND
Through four games in the season, Bent Leuchten has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in each of the four contests to average a double-double at 14 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Additionally, Leuchten's career best 15 grabs off the glass are an Anteater first in the 15-19 rebounds in a game category since Collin Welp pulled down 19 on the road at LMU on Dec. 17, 2020.

368
Devin Tillis posted 25 points, a career best, against Pepperdine for his second ever 20+ point game in his time at UC Irvine. The last time an Anteater scored 25 or more point in a game was 368 days ago when Justin Hohn rattled off 25 in the 70-60 upset of then No. 16/20 USC on Nov. 14, 2023.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 62 makes in 76 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.816) which is also the nation's tenth best shooting clip at the line. UC Irvine went a perfect 14-14 at the charity stripe on Nov. 16, their first game where they did not miss a shot at the line since their 11-11 performance at Duquesne (Nov. 29, 2023).

LEADING THE NATION
In the NCAA last week (Nov. 11-17), UC Irvine and a few players ranked first in their respective categories: team free throw percentage (14-14, 1.000), Myles Che in individual free throw percentage (8-8, 1.000), Bent Leuchten in rebounds per game (15.0), and Devin Tillis in three-point percentage (3-3, 1.000).

LOCKDOWN SECOND HALVES
Through four games played, UCI has not allowed their opponents to score more than 28 second half points in a game. LMU was able to pour in the 28 points in the Anteaters 66-51 victory, but UCI has held Pepperdine to 27 and both Chapman and UNI to 22 apiece. The Anteaters are outscoring their opposition 162-99 (63-point margin) in the final 20 minutes of action for an average of 24.75 allowed in the final stanza. 

POTENT DEFENSE
Through the first three games of the regular season, UC Irvine has held their opponents to 56.3 points per game with LMU scoring the lowest at 51 points on Nov. 8. The Anteater's scoring defense is currently ranked 15th in the nation. UCI has also held their opponents to a 0.359 clip from the field which is good for 37th nationally. Three of the four opponents the Anteaters have faced have scored less than 60 points with Pepperdine reaching 62.

MOVEMENT IN THE METRICS
After an 18-point home victory over Pepperdine (80-62), UC Irvine has risen to a 55 rank in KenPom after the completion of all games on Tuesday Nov. 19. The Anteaters had entered the contest at 59, the program's highest ever rating in the metric. Out of ten teams, UCI ranks sixth in the highest increase in KenPom's adjEM (+5.49) through two weeks of action to go along with a +41 change in KenPom rank (100 --> 59).

CHASING 1K
Graduate student Justin Hohn enters Friday's meeting with Weber State sitting at 964 career points, just 36 away from the 1,000-career scorer's milestone. Hohn would become the 33rd Anteater to accomplish this feat in a UC Irvine uniform, the first since Dawson Baker at the completion of the 2022-23 campaign. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 136 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 15th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is six three-pointers away from catching Travis Souza (2011-15) and Scott Brooks (1985-87) for 14th with 142. 

TILLIS CAREER NIGHT POWERS UCI TO 80-62 WIN OVER PEPPERDINE
Forward Devin Tillis poured in a career-high 25 points as UC Irvine downed Pepperdine 80-62 at the Bren Events Center Saturday evening. Tillis went 10-12 from the floor including 3-3 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the line. The redshirt senior recorded his first double-double of the year with a season-best 11 rebounds. Center Bent Leuchten had a career-best 15 rebounds, which is tied for 15th most in a game nationally, to go with eight points, three assists and a steal. The Anteaters were a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line, joining Wisconsin (16-16) and Tulane (15-15) as the only schools to not miss a free throw in a contest this season. UC Irvine, who remains undefeated at 4-0, also dominated the Waves on the glass, 48-29. Guard Justin Hohn added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals while Myles Che went 8-8 from the free throw line and ended the night with 11 points.

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 47 total points and 11.8 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 44 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, Hohn reached 900 career points in his 19-point performance on March 15th versus Long Beach State and is 36 away from eclipsing the 1,000-mark.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Devin Tillis is a threat both on offense and defense for the Anteaters. The forward coverts at a high rate from the floor (23-31, 0.742) and has three double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 33 total (8.3 rpg). Tillis also leads all Anteaters with seven career double-doubles with his first of the season coming against Pepperdine on Nov. 16 (25 pts, 11 rebs).

THE ANDRE SPECIAL
Andre Henry has helped the Anteaters get it done on both ends of the court this season. From the field, Henry is shooting at a high percentage, 15-36 (0.417) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his seven makes (7-8, 0.875). The graduate student has stolen the ball from opponents five times.

THE GERMAN PAINTER
Bent Leuchten dominates at the post or in the paint whether it is scoring baskets or grabbing the ball off the glass. The center is the team's leader off the glass, averaging 10.3 rebounds a game in four contests played, and helps pace the scoring at 14 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in three games this year, the latest versus Northern Iowa (Nov. 10) where he put up 18 points. 

SEEING THE FLOOR
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che leads the distribution effort with his eight total assists while only committing three turnovers in 91 minutes of action. Che adds to the scoring effort with his eight points per game and recorded his first double digit scoring game in an Anteater uniform at Northern Iowa on Nov. 10 with his ten points. The guard is coming off his second double figure scoring effort this weekend with 11 points against Pepperdine behind a career best 8-8 (1.000) from the charity stripe.

SWAT TEAM
Junior transfer Kyle Evans has registered multiple blocks in back-to-back contests, totaling five over three contests. His five swats at the rim rank fifth in the Big West. The forward had a career best performance against the Panthers on Nov. 10 with his first double figure performance with 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the field.

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 46 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 150, Opp. 104). The Anteaters average 37.5 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in two games so far (Chapman--42 and Northern Iowa--48).

OLD RELIABLE
With a veteran team that has won multiple championships in the last few seasons, four UC Irvine veteran starters are averaging double figures. Devin Tillis leads the way with 14.3, Bent Leuchten right behind at 14.0, Justin Hohn is at 11.8, and Andre Henry rounds it out with 10.3 points per game.

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (1st, 10.3—Leuchten and 4th, 8.3--Tillis), field goal percentage (2nd, 0.742--Tillis), blocks per game (4th, 1.3--Evans), and steals per game (6th, 2.0--Hohn).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 11.19.24
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (10th--0.816), defensive rebounds per game (13th--32.25), scoring defense (15th--56.3), field goal percentage defense (37th--35.9), and scoring margin (47th--20.8).

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2336 eligible players, Devin Tillis is 14th in true shooting percentage (81.8) and 19th in effective field goal percentage (80.0) while Bent Leuchten is 21st in defensive rebound percentage (32.4) and 46th in offensive rebound percentage (16.6). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks first in offensive rebound percentage defense (13.7), third in free throw percentage offense (88.4), fifth in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (18.0), 21st in adjusted efficiency defense (94.7), 26th in two-point percentage defense (40.9), 31st in effective field goal percentage defense (42.4), and 34th in minutes continuity (56.7).