IRVINE, Calif. -- The Anteaters face two tests on the East Coast, the first in Nashville on Thursday Dec. 19 at Belmont and the second in the Steel City at Duquesne (Dec. 21).

UC Irvine at Duquesne
Saturday, Dec. 21 | 11:30 a.m. PT (2:30 p.m. ET)
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | Duquesne Game Notes 

ABOUT DUQUESNE
> Duquesne enters the contest with a 3-8 overall record
> The Dukes are coming off an 18-point victory over common non-conference opponent Towson, 65-47, in Akron, Ohio
> Duquesne improved to a 6-0 mark in games played in Akron
> The Dukes have only won one of their five home contests this season
> Duquesne finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 25-12 overall record, 10-8 in the Atlantic 10
> The Dukes defeated 24th ranked Dayton in the A10 Tournament quarterfinals, 65-57, to become the eventual champions for the first time since 1977 who earned the auto-qualifier to March Madness
> Duquesne earned their first NCAA tournament since 1969 before dropping 89-63 in the second round to Illinois
> Dru Joyce III, an assistant under former head coach Keith Dambrot, took over the helm of the program
> Duquesne lost key players in Dae Dae Grant and Jimmy Clark III, but picked up transfers in Tre Dinkins III (Canisius), Cam Crawford (Marshall), Jahsean Corbett (Chicago State), Alex Williams (Furman), Maximus Edwards (George Washington), Eli Wilborn (Saint Francis), and Brandon Hall (Howard College)
> Two players for Duquesne are averaging double figures through 11 games
> Dinkins III paces the offense with 11.5 points per game (126 total)
> Jake Dimichelle pours in 10.9 points a contest as he connects 50 percent of his shots from the floor (29-58)
> Corbett has taken the most trips to the free throw line, going 18-43 (0.419), while grabbing 5.3 boards a game
> Rozier dished out a team best 37 assists and tallied a team high 13 steals
> Halil "Chabi" Barre grabs the most rebounds of any Duke player with 5.6 boards per game
> Edwards contributes on offense with his 6.8 points per game
> David Dixon has blocked 15 shots in 11 games played

POLL POSITION
The Anteaters stay among the top teams in the weekly CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll sitting third behind first place Drake and Gonzaga who ranks second. UC Irvine received one first place vote this week and beat out Saint Mary's who sits in the fourth position also with one first place tally.

ROAD WARRIORS
Started on Nov. 22, UC Irvine will play nine of their next ten games away from their home floor. The Anteaters will play at least four games on either side of the home contest on Dec. 5 where they will face Weber State, Kennesaw State, Kent State, and Towson (Nov. 22, Nov 28-30) on the front end and Oregon State, Belmont, Duquesne, California Baptist, and Cal Poly (Dec. 14, Dec. 19, Dec. 21, Dec. 30, Jan. 2) in the back half. It could be extended out to 11 of their next 13 games with two more road contests after a Jan. 4 meeting with UC Riverside.  

REACHING FOR 300
Head coach Russell Turner earned his 299th career win at Belmont and is just one victory away from hitting the 300 win mark. Out of 365 active head coaches in Division I, there are only 78 who have hit this career milestone. Additionally, Turner would become one of nine head coaches who have only coached at one institution to reach 300 career wins.

DUQUESNE HOLDS OFF UC IRVINE IN 66-62 DEFEAT (NOV. 29, 23)
Duquesne went 6-6 from the line in the final 28 seconds to hold off UC Irvine, 66-62, at UPMC Copper Fieldhouse. The Dukes won on the strength of 9 -18 shooting from three-point distance to stop the Anteaters six-game winning streak (6-2). Duquesne (5-2) took advantage of a season-high 20 Anteater turnovers to score 17 points. UCI was led by guards Justin Hohn and Andre Henry with 13 points each. Hohn had three three-pointers, while Henry went 4-8 from the field and 4-4 from the line. Forward Devin Tillis had a team-best seven rebounds to go with seven points.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Thursday's contest in Nashville saw records broken on each side. UC Irvine's 67 point second half is a new record inside the Curb Event Center for second stanza tallies, reaching the mark set by East Tennessee State on Jan. 23, 2010. Belmont attempted 38 three-pointers during the game, the most ever attempted against the Anteaters. The previous record of triples attempted (36) was set by UC San Diego in 2023 (Feb. 23).

67
After falling behind by 14 points at the halftime break to Belmont, the Anteaters rallied and posted 67 second half points to earn the win. 67 tallies are the most scored in a half this season either by UC Irvine or an opponent and it outscored nine of 11 UCI opponents point totals in a contest.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
In the 92-84 victory at Belmont, the story was told by two different tales in the two halves played. The Bruins capitalized early on Anteater turnovers, going on a 12-0 run early in the game and held the glass advantage, 23-14, in the first 20 minutes. In the remaining 20 minutes, UC Irvine punched their way back into the game with a 0.633 shooting clip, the highest in a half this season, and out-rebounded Belmont 26-6.

CONTROL THE BOARDS
Saturday's meeting is a contrast in two different rebounding teams. Duquesne is stronger off the offensive glass where they grab an Atlantic 10 third-best 12.45 boards while UC Irvine is 11th in the Big West in the category (8.91). On the other hand, the Anteaters rank tenth in the NCAA with 29.55 defensive rebounds per game in a category where the Dukes rank 305 out of 364 teams. Overall, UC Irvine out-rebounds their opponents by 6.9 boards a contest, 48th in the national ranks, and are the third best rebounds per game team in the Big West (38.5). 

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 188 makes in 226 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.832) which is also the nation's second 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). UCI shot a season high 33-40 from the charity stripe on Dec. 5 in the win over Cal State Bakersfield.

CHASING 500
Redshirt senior Devin Tillis enters Saturday's meeting with Duquesne sitting at 492 career rebounds, just eighth away from the 500-career rebounds milestone. Tillis would become the 28th Anteater to accomplish this feat in a UC Irvine uniform, the first since Collin Welp (2018-22) graduated at the completion of the 2021-22 season. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 151 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 13th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is one three-pointer away from catching DJ Davis (2020-23) and Daman Starring for 11th with 152. Hohn is also five steals away from becoming top 10 in the program for steals (has 112, to enter is 117).

UC IRVINE RALLIES LATE TO BEAT BELMONT, 92-84
UC Irvine out-scored Belmont 18-9 in the final three minutes of the game to beat the Bruins 92-84 at the Curb Events Center Thursday. Center Bent Leuchten led UCI with 23 points, recording 21 of his points in the second half, including 10 in the last three-minute spurt. The senior went 6-9 from the floor and 11-12 from the free throw line, Leuchten recorded his third double-double of the season with a game-high 15 rebounds, pulling down 12 on the defensive end. Guard Justin Hohn dropped 14 of his 19 points in the second half, scoring the other eight points of the final run. He went 6-12 from the floor, including 4-6 from beyond the arc and 3-4 from the line. He dished four assists and had three rebounds.  UCI out-rebounded Belmont 40-29 and was solid at the line, hitting 24-26 (92.3). Belmont drained 15 three-pointers, but went 5-8 from the line.

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 134 total points and 12.2 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 48 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, Hohn reached 1,000 career points in his nine-point outing versus Towson. The guard leads the Anteaters in both assists (44) and steals (15).

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 (57-86, 0.663) and has seven double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 85 total (7.7 rpg). Tillis also leads all Anteaters with eight career double-doubles posting back-to-back double figure efforts against Pepperdine (25 pts., 11 rebs.) and at Weber State (15 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, 26-67 (0.388) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 11 makes (11-12, 0.917). The graduate student has stolen the ball from opponents 12 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 8.3 rebounds a game in nine contests played, and helps pace the scoring at 14.4 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in eight games this year, the latest against Cal State Bakersfield (Dec. 5) where he put up 15 points. 

CHE-SANITY
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che helps lead the distribution effort with his 23 total assists. Che adds to the scoring effort with his 9.1 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 fourth double figure scoring effort with 18 points at Belmont behind a career best 7-13 (0.538) from the floor. Che dons the number 77, an ode to Jeremy Lin's number 7.

SWAT TEAM
Junior transfer Kyle Evans has registered multiple blocks in three straight contests (Nov. 29-Dec. 5), totaling 18 over 11 contests. His 18 swats at the rim rank third in the Big West. The forward continues to post career performances as the season progresses with his latest on Dec. 5 versus the Roadrunners where he dropped 12 points on 5-7 (0.714) shooting from the floor and grabbed seven boards. 

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 86 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 388, Opp. 302). The Anteaters average 35.3 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in five games so far (Chapman--42, Northern Iowa--48, Weber State--44, Kennesaw State--44, Belmont--42).

TEN'S ALL AROUND
Through 11 games in the season, Bent Leuchten has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in 10 of those contests to average 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Additionally, Leuchten's career best 15 grabs off the glass against Pepperdine and reset against Belmont 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.

OLD RELIABLE
With a veteran team that has won multiple championships in the last few seasons, three UC Irvine veteran starters are averaging double figures. Bent Leuchten leads the way with 15.2, Devin Tillis right behind at 13.6, and Justin Hohn next at 12.2. Myles Che is fourth in the scoring department with his 9.1 points per game.

1,000-POINT CLUB
Graduate student Justin Hohn etched his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 33rd Anteater to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. The guard reached this milestone in the victory over Towson (Nov. 30) and has 1,051 career tallies. Hohn begins his ascent in the ranks and is 12 points away from surpassing Jaron Martin (1,062--2013-17) and 14 from passing Daman Starring (1,064--2010-13).

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2304 eligible players, Devin Tillis is sixth in true shooting percentage (74.2), 13th in effective field goal percentage (71.2), and 41st in two-point percentage (0.724). Bent Leuchten is 21st in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.3), 37th in defensive rebound percentage (26.9), and 40th in free throw rate (68.9). Myles Che joins the duo as he is 39th in free throw percentage (0.917). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks first in free throw percentage offense (85.0), fourth in offensive rebound percentage defense (22.6), sixth in adjusted efficiency defense (94.0), seventh in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (21.8), 22nd in two-point percentage defense (43.8), 24th in effective field goal percentage defense (44.7), and 46th in minutes continuity (53.8).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (9th, 15.2--Leuchten), rebounding (1st, 8.9--Leuchten and 4th, 7.7--Tillis), field goal percentage (2nd, 0.663--Tillis and 10th, 0.531--Leuchten), free throw percentage (1st, 0.917--Che and 7th, 0.831--Leuchten), assists per game (4th, 4.0--Hohn), and blocks per game (3rd, 1.6--Evans and 8th, 1.1--Leuchten).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 12.19.24
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (2nd, 0.832), defensive rebounds per game (10th, 29.55), scoring defense (18th, 62.5), field goal percentage defense (22nd, 0.386), free throws made per game (48th, 17.1), and rebound margin (48th, 6.9).

NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 2. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked and only Big West team within the top 50 sitting at 36. UC Irvine opened the NET rankings with a program-best mark of 24 which is the second-best rank in California behind UCLA (12). Two other Big West teams land within the top 100: UC San Diego (57) and CSUN (98).
 

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UC Irvine at Belmont
Thursday, Dec. 19 | 4:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. CT)
Curb Event Center | Nashville, Tenn.
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | Belmont Game Notes 

ABOUT BELMONT
> Belmont enters the contest with a 9-2 overall record
> The Bruins are winners of five straight contests which includes their latest at Richmond (W, 93-86)
> Belmont boasts a 5-1 home record this season with their lone loss inside the Curb Event Center happening at the hands of Furman (L, 76-74)
> Much like the Anteaters, the Bruins are 1-0 in league play defeating Illinois State 99-97 in overtime to open up Missouri Valley Conference action
> Belmont finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 20-13 overall record, 12-8 in the MVC, for their 14th consecutive 20+ win season
> In the Arch Madness quarterfinals, Belmont dropped to UNI 67-62
> The Bruins lost three all-conference players during the offseason in Malik Dia, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, and Cade Tyson
> The gaps were filled in with Brody Peebles (Liberty), Carter Whitt (Furman), Jonathan Pierre (Memphis), Aidan Noyes (Richmond), and Tyler Lundblade (TCU)
> Five players for Belmont are averaging double figures through 11 games
> Pierre paces the offense with his 13.6 points per game, 150 total and pulls down a team best 7.1 rebounds per game
> Isaiah Walker puts up 12.5 points a contest and connects 53.7 percent of his shots from the field (51-95)
> Walker is the only Bruin who has started in all 11 games while leading the squad in both attempts at the free throw line (33) and steals (15)
> Lundblade has recorded 134 total points, 12.2 per game, through 11 contests
> Lundblade has taken and made the most three-pointers of any Belmont player (34-67, 0.507) and is the most accurate at the free throw line (16-17, 0.941)
> Both Whitt and Peeble put up 11.1 a game
> Whitt leads the Bruins with 46 assists and is second on the squad with 14 steals
> Sam Orme has blocked a total of 13 shots in his six starts

POLL POSITION
The Anteaters stay among the top teams in the weekly CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll sitting third behind first place Drake and Gonzaga who ranks second. UC Irvine received one first place vote this week and beat out Saint Mary's who sits in the fourth position also with one first place tally.

ROAD WARRIORS
Started on Nov. 22, UC Irvine will play nine of their next ten games away from their home floor. The Anteaters will play at least four games on either side of the home contest on Dec. 5 where they will face Weber State, Kennesaw State, Kent State, and Towson (Nov. 22, Nov 28-30) on the front end and Oregon State, Belmont, Duquesne, California Baptist, and Cal Poly (Dec. 14, Dec. 19, Dec. 21, Dec. 30, Jan. 2) in the back half. It could be extended out to 11 of their next 13 games with two more road contests after a Jan. 4 meeting with UC Riverside.  

LONG TIME NO SEE
UC Irvine and Belmont will meet for the first time in exactly 24 years on Thursday evening. The two teams last met in the 2000-01 season where the Anteaters hosted the Bruins at the Bren Events Center. UCI is looking to collect their second win in the series history in Thursday's meeting to remain unbeaten against Belmont and earn their first in the Volunteer State.

OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE
UC Irvine, one of the best defenses in the NCAA, clashes with one of the best offenses in Belmont on Thursday. The Bruins score 84.1 points per game ranking 32nd nationally and are 38th in effective field goal percentage (0.567) and 49th in field goal percentage (48.5). The Anteaters are top 15 in the NCAA in both scoring defense (6th, 60.3) and field goal percentage defense (14th, 0.378).

DEFEND THE THREE
Belmont enters the game on Thursday with the nation's 48th best three-point percentage standing at 38.0. The Bruins also make 10.5 from long-range per game which is good for 28th in the NCAA. However, UC Irvine holds opponents to a 0.291 clip from three-point distance which ranks 45th nationally.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 164 makes in 200 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.820) which is also the nation's sixth 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). UCI shot a season high 33-40 from the charity stripe on Dec. 5 in the win over Cal State Bakersfield.

CHASING 500
Redshirt senior Devin Tillis enters Thursday's meeting with Belmont sitting at 484 career rebounds, just 16 away from the 500-career rebounds milestone. Tillis would become the 28th Anteater to accomplish this feat in a UC Irvine uniform, the first since Collin Welp (2018-22) graduated at the completion of the 2021-22 season. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 147 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 13th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is five three-pointers away from catching DJ Davis (2020-23) for 12th with 152. Hohn is also six steals away from becoming top 10 in the program for steals.

'EATERS DROP TO OREGON STATE ON THE ROAD
RV UC Irvine could not fend off Oregon State's offense as the Anteaters suffered their first loss of the season, 67-55, inside Gill Coliseum Saturday afternoon. The Anteaters matched their season-high 13 steals in a game to disrupt the Beaver attack which held OSU to 10 points under their season average. Justin Hohn was the only UCI player to reach double figures with 10 points which includes two three-pointers. Forward Devin Tillis contributed nine points and seven rebounds. Both Myles Che and Torian Lee tallied eight points. Che dished out a team-high three assists. Lee posted a career night in points scored, steals (4), field goals made and attempted (3-5), and rebounds (2).

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 115 total points and 11.5 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 47 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, Hohn reached 1,000 career points in his nine-point outing versus Towson. The guard leads the Anteaters in both assists (40) and steals (14).

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 (52-79, 0.658) and has six double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 77 total (7.7 rpg). Tillis also leads all Anteaters with eight career double-doubles posting back-to-back double figure efforts against Pepperdine (25 pts., 11 rebs.) and at Weber State (15 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, 26-67 (0.388) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 11 makes (11-12, 0.917). The graduate student has stolen the ball from opponents 12 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 8.3 rebounds a game in nine contests played, and helps pace the scoring at 14.4 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in eight games this year, the latest against Cal State Bakersfield (Dec. 5) where he put up 15 points. 

CHE-SANITY
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che helps lead the distribution effort with his 21 total assists. Che adds to the scoring effort with his 8.2 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 third double figure scoring effort with 13 points against Cal State Bakersfield behind a career best 11-12 (0.917) from the charity stripe. Che dons the number 77, an ode to Jeremy Lin's number 7.

SWAT TEAM
Junior transfer Kyle Evans has registered multiple blocks in three straight contests (Nov. 29-Dec. 5), totaling 18 over 10 contests. His 18 swats at the rim rank second in the Big West. The forward continues to post career performances as the season progresses with his latest on Dec. 5 versus the Roadrunners where he dropped 12 points on 5-7 (0.714) shooting from the floor and grabbed seven boards. 

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 70 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 346, Opp. 276). The Anteaters average 34.6 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in four games so far (Chapman--42, Northern Iowa--48, Weber State--44, Kennesaw State--44).

TEN'S ALL AROUND
Through ten games in the season, Bent Leuchten has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in nine of those contests to average 15.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Additionally, Leuchten's career best 15 grabs off the glass against Pepperdine 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.

OLD RELIABLE
With a veteran team that has won multiple championships in the last few seasons, three UC Irvine veteran starters are averaging double figures. Bent Leuchten leads the way with 14.4, Devin Tillis right behind at 13.5, and Justin Hohn next at 11.5. Myles Che is fourth in the scoring department with his 8.2 points per game.

1,000-POINT CLUB
Graduate student Justin Hohn etched his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 33rd Anteater to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. The guard reached this milestone in the victory over Towson (Nov. 30) and has 1,032 career tallies. Hohn begins his ascent in the ranks and is 31 points away from surpassing Jaron Martin (2013-17).

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2304 eligible players, Devin Tillis is eighth in true shooting percentage (73.5) and 13th in effective field goal percentage (71.2). Bent Leuchten is 40th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.8). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks second in free throw percentage offense (83.8), fifth in adjusted efficiency defense (93.5), seventh in offensive rebound percentage defense (22.8), ninth in effective field goal percentage defense (43.1), 10th in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (23.1), 14th in two-point percentage defense (42.8), 40th in three-point percentage defense (29.1) and 42nd in minutes continuity (55.0).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounding (2nd, 8.3--Leuchten and 3rd, 7.7--Tillis), field goal percentage (3rd, 0.658--Tillis), free throw percentage (1st, 0.906--Che and 8th, 0.814--Leuchten), assists per game (4th, 4.0--Hohn), and blocks per game (2nd, 1.8--Evans and 5th, 1.2--Leuchten).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 12.17.24
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in scoring defense (5th, 60.3), free throw percentage (6th, 0.820), field goal percentage defense (14th, 0.378), and three-point percentage defense (45th, 0.291).

NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 2. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked and only Big West team within the top 50 sitting at 38. UC Irvine opened the NET rankings with a program-best mark of 24 which is the second-best rank in California behind UCLA (14). Two other Big West teams land within the top 100: UC San Diego (57) and CSUN (89).