IRVINE, Calif. -- The Anteaters are on a two-game road trip making stops at UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 8) and UC Riverside (Feb. 10).

UC Irvine at UC Riverside
Saturday, Feb. 10 | 5:00 p.m. PT
SRC Arena | Riverside, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Game Notes

ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
> UC Riverside has gone 4-7 since the meeting with UC Irvine in the Big West opener on Dec. 31 and enters the contest with a 9-15 overall record, 4-8 in the Big West
> The Highlanders won their Thursday matchup with Cal State Bakersfield, 65-63, on a buzzer beater flick from Kyle Owens
> UC Riverside is 4-2 at home this season against league opponents, winning the games against UC Santa Barbara (79-77), Cal Poly (71-56), CSUN (82-63), and Cal State Bakersfield
> The Highlanders have been worked hard to be a threat off the glass as they pulled down 45 rebounds each in their last two road games (at Long Beach State and CSUN)
> UCR is in a rebuilding year after losing talent in All-Big West First Team selection Zyon Pullin, All-Big West Second Team honoree Flynn Cameron, Big West Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Hartwell, and Big West Freshman of the Year Lachlan Olbrich 
> Isaiah Moses leads the Highlanders in points per game (12.8) with 307 total points
> Barrington Hargress has posted 275 points (11.5 per game) in 20 games started
> Both Moses and Hargress lead the team in assists with 106 and 97 respectively
> Ben Griscti has the best field goal percentage on the Highlanders squad (68-133, 0.511)
> Griscti was a threat from deep in the last meeting between the two teams as he knocked down five triples
> Nate Pickens has blocked a team best 13 shots
> The Highlanders are being outscored by their opponents by 3.0 points
> UC Riverside was picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Poll

AT THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS
After defeating UC Santa Barbara on Thursday evening, UC Irvine is the sole team in the top spot for first place with a 11-1 Big West record. The Anteaters hold the advantage over UC Davis and UC San Diego who hold 10-2 and 9-3 league records, respectively. 

POTENT DEFENSE
UC Irvine heads into Thursday's contest on the road against UC Santa Barbara as the Big West's top scoring defense team limiting their opponents to 65.4 points per game. The Anteaters have held seven league foes to 65 points or fewer. UCI also holds the second mark in the conference in opponent field goal percentage (0.399).

DUEL OF THE GUARDS
Saturday night's game will feature a duel between point guards, Pierre Crockrell II (UCI) and both Isaiah Moses and Barrington Hargress (UCR). Crockrell sits atop the Big West in total assists (148) and assists per game (6.2). Moses is second in the league with 106 total assists and 4.4 per game. Hargress is first in the Big West with a 3.1 assist turnover ratio.

HENRY DELIVERED BIG IN VICTORY OVER UCR (DEC. 28, 2023)
Andre Henry poured in 23 points in UC Irvine's 73-66 victory over UC Riverside in the Big West opener Thursday at the Bren Events Center. Henry led the way going 7-9 from the floor and 7-8 from the line, while adding two rebounds and an assist in 28 minutes of action. The guard went 2-3 from long distance, with one sealing the victory with eight seconds remaining. UCI went 19-25 from the line and shot 43.9 percent from the floor (25-57) to improve to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the Big West. Forward Carter Welling had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Forward Devin Tillis posted his second double-double of the season, recording 10 points and team-best 10 rebounds. Guard Justin Hohn shot 4-8 from the field, including two three-pointers for 13 points.

CLIMBING THE NCAA ACTIVE CAREER RANKS
Pierre Crockrell II currently sits 8th in the all-time active career assist leader board with his 637 assists in 140 games played. The fifth year senior is 14 assists behind seventh place and has amassed this amount in the third fewest games out of the top-10 active players. Additionally, Crockrell II is fifth with his 2.57 assist-turnover ratio. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 114 made three-pointers in his career, redshirt senior Justin Hohn is now 22nd in  the career made three-pointers leader board and needs two more to tie Jerry Green (1998-02) and Mike Hood (2001-03) for 20th. Additionally, Pierre Crockrell II is officially top-10 in program history for career assists, ranking eighth with 326 total. Crockrell II is 16 assists away from tying Aaron Fitzgerald (2004-06) for seventh.

UC IRVINE POSTS IMPRESSIVE ROAD VICTORY AT UCSB, 76-61
UC Irvine improved to 11-1 in the Big West with a 76-61 victory over UC Santa Barbara at the Thunderdome on Thursday evening. The Anteaters, who won their fifth in a row, put on another impressive offensive performance, shooting at a 0.532 clip from the field (33-62), including a 0.636 (21-33) showing in the second half. UCI took advantage of 11 UCSB turnovers, scoring 16 points and recorded 14 second chance points. UC Irvine had four players in double-figure points, paced by guard Pierre Crockrell II with a team-high 14 points, including 10 in the first half. He went 7-13 (0.538) from the floor and dished seven assists. Forward Devin Tillis totaled 13 points on 6-9 (0.667) shooting from the floor, while guard Derin Saran came off the bench to go 5-8 (0.625) from the field for 11 points. Both players grabbed three rebounds. Guard Andre Henry rounded out the double-digit performers with 10 points on 5-10 (0.500) shooting from the field.

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 26th nationally in bench points per game (28.71) and have out performed their opponent 17 times this season with non-starters. 

IMPROVEMENT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
UC Irvine has become laser focused at the free throw line and will enter Saturday's game with a 0.753 free throw percentage (330-438) and 0.806 (170-211) in Big West games. The Anteaters rose 149 spots in the national rankings for free throw percentage since the start of league play (was 195 prior to Dec. 28) and are currently 46th, the highest ranked Big West team in this category and the highest UCI has ranked thus far in the season. 

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 282 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 922, Opp. 640). The Anteaters average 38.4 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in nine games so far (Occidental--68, Pepperdine--48, Rice--44, South Dakota--72,  UC Riverside--40, Cal State Bakersfield--40, Cal Poly--40, Hawai'i--62, and UC Santa Barbara--44).

DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in 20 contests this season in assists with 148 total. The fifth year guard is averaging 6.2 assists per game and earned his 600th career dime at UC Davis on Jan. 20. Crockrell II nationally ranks 12th in total assists, 15th in assists per game, and 39th in assist turnover ratio. He also has 42 more assists on the season than the next best person in the conference. The guard recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 assists at Long Beach State (Jan. 25). The Anteaters are 21-5 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 313 total points and 13.0 points per game after his first career 20-point game at No. 16/20 USC with his 25 point outing, his second at Utah State with 21 points, and recently had his third against CSUN on Jan. 27 with 22 points. The redshirt senior has 34 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, and went on a 13 game double figure scoring stretch (Nov. 22-Jan.18). Hohn reached 800 career points in his seven-point performance on February 8th at UCSB.

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 victory over UC Riverside on Dec. 28, Tillis posted his second double double of the season behind 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tillis recorded three double-double efforts last season and earned the program's first since Mar. 15, 2023. The forward has recorded double-figure scoring in seven games and double figure rebounding in four games played this season to lead UCI with 141 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 the team's best percentages 32-76 (0.421) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 45 makes (45-55, 0.818). The senior has stolen the ball from opponents 21 times and is one of three players with 90+ rebounds on the season.

MR. POSTMAN
Bent Leuchten dominates at the post whether it is scoring baskets or grabbing the ball 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 4.4 rebounds a game in 18 contests played. Leucthen has posted six double-figure scoring games since this year, the latest against Hawai'i (Feb. 3) where he put up 15 points. 

LEAN MEAN DEAN MACHINE
Fifth year senior Dean Keeler as an impact off the bench for UCI. On the defensive side, Keeler is second on the team with 120 total rebounds on the year (5.0 per game) and is the squad's leader in blocks (28). Playing offense, the forward has posted five double figure scoring efforts on the season including a career high 22 points on 9-11 shooting against South Dakota. Keeler notched his first double double of the season and his career against CSUN (Jan. 27) with 12 points and a career best 14 rebounds.

CENTER OF ATTENTION
Freshman Carter Welling made his Anteater debut versus Pepperdine on Nov. 21 and has started in nine contests. Averaging 14.2 minutes a game, the center has grabbed 3.8 rebounds per game, blocked 24 shots, and is putting up 6.9 points a game after posting a career high 14-point performance versus the Rainbow Warriors on Feb. 3. In the win at Hawai'i on Jan. 11, Welling was efficient in his 10 minutes on the floor going a perfect 5-5 from the floor and drew the and-1 call on his first career made three-pointer. Additionally, at Long Beach State on Jan. 25, the freshman had a career night in steals (2), blocks (5), free throws made (6), and free throws attempted (7).

TURKISH DELIGHT
Derin Saran is second on the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game in 21 games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.544, 93-171). Saran went on an eight game double figure scoring streak ranging from Nov. 17-Dec. 16 an notched his 200th career point at Cal Poly (Feb. 1) on a career high tying 17 point performance. The young guard also has 63 rebounds, 34 assists, and 20 steals on the year.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2271 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 1st in assist rate (43.6). Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 5th in two-point percentage defense (0.433), 10th in effective field goal percentage defense (0.449), 20th in bench minutes (40.8), and 22nd in adjusted defensive efficiency (95.8).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (7th, 6.1--Tillis), field goal percentage (7th, 0.544--Saran), free throw percentage (8th, 0.797--C. Welling), three-point field goals per game (9th, 1.8--Hohn), assists per game (1st, 6.2--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.7--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (5th--C. Welling, 6th--Leuchten, and 7th--Keeler, 1.2).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 2.8.24
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in field goal percentage defense (20th, 0.399), field goal percentage (37th, 0.477), scoring defense (37th, 65.4), scoring margin (41st, 10.7), assists per game (39th, 16.0), and free throw percentage (46th, 75.3).

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 64 with UC San Diego locking in the second position at 115.
 

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UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara
Thursday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. PT
The Thunderdome | Santa Barbara, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Game Notes

ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
> UC Santa Barbara holds a 13-8 overall record entering the contest, picking up non-conference wins against Le Moyne, Westmont, Fresno State, Northern Arizona, Bethesda, LMU, and Howard
> The Gauchos went on a three game skid to open conference action before winning four straight
> In the last week, UCSB went 1-1 with a 79-69 loss at home to UC Davis and a 70-59 victory on the road at Cal State Bakersfield
> UC Santa Barbara went 27-8 in 2022-23 and 15-5 in Big West action
> The Gauchos went on to the win the Big West Championship and went to the first round of NCAA March Madness where they fell to Baylor, 74-56
> UC Santa Barbara leads the Big West in team field goal percentage (0.511) and team three-point field goal percentage (0.382)
> Ajay Mitchell leads UCSB offensively with 19.7 points per game (19 played) with 374 total points
> Mitchell was last season's Big West Player of the Year and is currently on the Lou Henson Mid Season Award watch list
> Additionally, Mitchell has dished out 78 total assists (4.1 per game), a team best
> Transfer Yohan Traore averages 15.3 points a game
> Traore is one of the most efficient shooters on UCSB, shooting 114-187 (0.610) from the floor
> Fifth year Josh Pierre-Louis has scored 233 total points this season (11.7 per game)
> Pierre-Louis has stolen the ball a team best 27 times
> Cole Anderson rounds out the double figure scoring with his 10.9 points per game (229 total) and is the only player for the Gauchos to have started and play in all 21 games
> Anderson is dangerous behind the arc, taking and making the most three-pointers for UCSB (57-130, 0.0438)
> Ariel Bland leads the effort off the glass with a team best 6.6 rebounds per game (139 total)
> UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Poll with nine first place votes

AT THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS
After defeating Hawai'i on Saturday evening, UC Irvine is now the sole team in the top spot for first place with a 10-1 Big West record. The Anteaters hold the advantage over UC San Diego and UC Davis who are tied for second with 9-2 league records. 

CHAMPS VS. CHAMPS
Two perennial programs, UCI and UCSB continue to finish atop of the Big West standings and combine for three of the last four Big West Championships and shared the regular season title in 2022-23.

POTENT DEFENSE
UC Irvine heads into Thursday's contest on the road against UC Santa Barbara as the Big West's top scoring defense team limiting their opponents to 65.6 points per game. The Anteaters have held six league foes to 65 points or fewer. UCI also holds the top mark in the conference in opponent field goal percentage (0.397).

SHARP SHOOTERS 
Both UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara rank within the top-50 nationally in field goal percentage, 49th and 2nd respectively. Both squads are shooting over a 0.470 clip from the field.

ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE POWERS UCI PAST UCSB (FEB. 15)
UC Irvine's electric offense earned them the 70-59 victory over UC Santa Barbara inside The Thunderdome. The Anteaters improved to 18-8 overall and 11-3 in the Big West. Handing UCSB their third conference loss, the two squads shared a spot for first place in the league. Former Anteater DJ Davis poured in a 25-point performance, his fifth 20+ point effort this season. Davis shot 8-16 from the floor, 3-7 from long range, and a perfect 6-6 at the line. Forward Devin Tillis grabbed a game high 10 boards, his third double-figure rebounding effort this season. Bent Leuchten scored eight points and went perfect at the charity stripe (4-4).

CLIMBING THE NCAA ACTIVE CAREER RANKS
Pierre Crockrell II currently sits 8th in the all-time active career assist leader board with his 630 assists in 139 games played. The fifth year senior is 18 assists behind seventh place and has amassed this amount in the third fewest games out of the top-10 active players. Additionally, Crockrell II is sixth with his 2.56 assist-turnover ratio. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 113 made three-pointers in his career, redshirt senior Justin Hohn has tied Brett Lauer (2007-09) to enter into the career made three-pointers leader board at 22nd and needs three more to tie Jerry Green (1998-02) and Mike Hood (2001-03) for 20th. Additionally, Pierre Crockrell II is officially top-10 in program history for career assists and is two away from tying Kevin Davis (1973-77) for ninth and six from tying Lloyd Mumford (1992-94) for eighth.

UC IRVINE DOMINATES PAINT IN VICTORY OVER HAWAI'I
UC Irvine shot a blistering 0.614 clip from the floor and 0.913 from the free throw line in a 93-68 victory over Hawai'i at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters saw scoring from 11 different players and the offensive performance (35-57) was the second-best field goal percentage of the season just behind the 0.615 night in a 111-51 win over Occidental. UCI went 21-23 from the stripe, matching the second most made this season. The 93 points are the most by the Anteaters against a Big West opponent this season and third most overall this year. The Anteaters dominated the paint, outscoring the Rainbow Warriors, 62-34, and held a 37-25 rebound advantage. Center Bent Leuchten led UCI in scoring with 15 points. He shot 5-6 (0.833) from the floor including one of UCI's two three-pointers, 4-4 from the free throw line, and pulled down six rebounds. Freshman Carter Welling tied his career-best with 14 points and led the Anteaters with a career-tying seven rebounds. 

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 25th nationally in bench points per game (28.78) and have out performed their opponent 16 times this season with non-starters. 

IMPROVEMENT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
UC Irvine has become laser focused at the free throw line and will enter Saturday's game with a 0.754 free throw percentage (325-431) and 0.809 (165-204) in Big West games. The Anteaters rose 151 spots in the national rankings for free throw percentage since the start of league play (was 195 prior to Dec. 28) and are currently 44th, the highest ranked Big West team in this category and the highest UCI has ranked thus far in the season. 

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 262 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 878, Opp. 616). The Anteaters average 38.2 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in eight games so far (Occidental--68, Pepperdine--48, Rice--44, South Dakota--72,  UC Riverside--40, Cal State Bakersfield--40, Cal Poly--40, and Hawai'i--62).

DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in 19 contests this season in assists with 141 total. The fifth year guard is averaging 6.1 assists per game and earned his 600th career dime at UC Davis on Jan. 20. Crockrell II nationally ranks 13th in total assists, 16th in assists per game, and 44th in assist turnover ratio. He also has 31 more assists on the season than the next best person in the conference. The guard recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 assists at Long Beach State (Jan. 25). The Anteaters are 11-5 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 306 total points and 13.3 points per game after his first career 20-point game at No. 16/20 USC with his 25 point outing, his second at Utah State with 21 points, and recently had his third against CSUN on Jan. 27 with 22 points. The redshirt senior has 34 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, and went on a 13 game double figure scoring stretch (Nov. 22-Jan.18). Hohn reached 700 career points in his double digit scoring performance on January 4th.

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 victory over UC Riverside on Dec. 28, Tillis posted his second double double of the season behind 10 points and 10 rebounds. Tillis recorded three double-double efforts last season and earned the program's first since Mar. 15, 2023. The forward has recorded double-figure scoring in six games and double figure rebounding in four games played this season to lead UCI with 138 rebounds, 6.3 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 the team's best percentages 32-73 (0.438) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 45 makes (45-55, 0.818). The senior has stolen the ball from opponents 21 times and is one of three players with 90+ rebounds on the season.

MR. POSTMAN
Bent Leuchten dominates at the post whether it is scoring baskets or grabbing the ball 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 4.6 rebounds a game in 16 contests played. Leucthen has posted six double-figure scoring games since this year, the latest against Hawai'i (Feb. 3) where he put up 15 points. 

LEAN MEAN DEAN MACHINE
Fifth year senior Dean Keeler as an impact off the bench for UCI. On the defensive side, Keeler is second on the team with 114 total rebounds on the year (5.0 per game) and is the squad's leader in blocks (28). Playing offense, the forward has posted five double figure scoring efforts on the season including a career high 22 points on 9-11 shooting against South Dakota. Keeler notched his first double double of the season and his career against CSUN (Jan. 27) with 12 points and a career best 14 rebounds.

CENTER OF ATTENTION
Freshman Carter Welling made his Anteater debut versus Pepperdine on Nov. 21 and has started in nine contests. Averaging 14.3 minutes a game, the center has grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game, blocked 23 shots, and is putting up 6.9 points a game after posting a career high 14-point performance versus the Rainbow Warriors on Feb. 3. In the win at Hawai'i on Jan. 11, Welling was efficient in his 10 minutes on the floor going a perfect 5-5 from the floor and drew the and-1 call on his first career made three-pointer. Additionally, at Long Beach State on Jan. 25, the freshman had a career night in steals (2), blocks (5), free throws made (6), and free throws attempted (7).

TURKISH DELIGHT
Derin Saran is second on the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game over 20 games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.540, 88-163). Saran went on an eight game double figure scoring streak ranging from Nov. 17-Dec. 16 an notched his 200th career point at Cal Poly (Feb. 1) on a career high tying 17 point performance. The young guard also has 60 rebounds, 33 assists, and 20 steals on the year.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2266 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 1st in assist rate (43.2). Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 6th in two-point percentage defense (0.431), 7th in effective field goal percentage defense (0.448), 20th in bench minutes (41.0), 21st in adjusted defensive efficiency (96.2), and 49th in free throw percentage offense (0.754).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (6th, 6.3--Tillis), field goal percentage (7th, 0.540--Saran), free throw percentage (9th, 0.800--C. Welling), three-point field goals per game (7th, 1.8--Hohn), assists per game (1st, 6.1--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.7--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (5th, 1.2--Keeler, 6th,  1.2--C. Welling, and 9th, 1.1--Leuchten).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 2.5.24
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in field goal percentage defense (19th, 0.397), assists per game (36th, 16.2), scoring defense (39th, 65.6), scoring margin (41st, 10.5), free throw percentage (44th, 75.4), and field goal percentage (50th, 0.474).

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 70 with UC San Diego locking in the second position at 106.