IRVINE, Calif. -- The Anteaters are set to close out two Big West series, first on the road at CSUN (Feb. 29) before returning home to host Black and Blue rival Long Beach State (Mar. 2) for UCI's Homecoming.

UC Irvine at Cal State Fullerton
Saturday, Mar. 9 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Titan Gym | Fullerton, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Game Notes

ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON
> Cal State Fullerton has gone 6-11 since the meeting with UC Irvine enters the contest with a 14-17 overall record, 7-12 in the Big West
> CSUF dropped their road contest on Thursday night to UC Riverside, 84-74
> The Titans hold the slight 7-6 advantage in contests on their home court this season but are only 3-6 in league play
> CSUF is finding their footing after losing talent in All-Big West First Team selection Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. (transferred), one of their top scorers Jalen Harris (graduated), and six reserves who parted ways 
> Cal State Fullerton returns their 2022-23 Big West Defensive Player of the Year in Tory San Antonio who has started 20 of his 25 games played
> Transfer Dominic Brewton has started in 27 games for the Titans and scores a team best 16.7 points per game (500 total)
> Brewton controls the passing with a team best 73 assists (2.4 per game)
> Brewton has scored 20 points in each of the last six contests
> Max Jones rounds out the double figure scoring for Cal State Fullerton with 366 points in 24 games played, averaging 15.3 on the year so far
> Jones has taken and made the most free throws for CSUF, 118-150 (0.787)
> Grayson Carper is one of two players on CSUF to have played in all 31 games averaging 25.6 minutes on the court and is a team leader with 4.4 rebounds per game (76 total)
> Carper is a sharp shooter from distance going a team best 59-151 (0.391) from three-point range
> The Titans have used at least eight different starting lineups this season and have used the same starting five in their last two times out
> Cal State Fullerton was picked to finish sixth in the Big West Preseason Poll

BACK TO BACK REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
After defeating Cal Poly on Thursday evening, UC Irvine holds onto the first place spot with a 16-3 Big West record to claim their seventh Big West regular season title under head coach Russell Turner in a 10 year span, ninth in program history. It is the fourth time that the Anteaters have done this is back to back years.

TICKET PUNCHED: HENDERSON
UC Irvine was the first men's team to secure their spot in the Big West Championship (Mar. 13-16) after earning the victory over Cal State Bakersfield (Feb. 17). With the Anteaters win at CSUN (Feb. 29) combined with other results, UCI clinched a berth to the Big West semifinals on Mar. 15. Lastly, UC Irvine's win against Long Beach State (Mar. 2) locked themselves as the No. 1 seed for the second straight year.

HOME COOKING: PERFECTION
UC Irvine closed out their home slate with their 82-68 victory over Cal Poly (Mar. 7) resulting in a perfect 13-0 record for the Anteaters inside the Bren Events Center. This is the first time in program history that UCI has gone undefeated on their home court.

POTENT OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
UC Irvine heads into Saturday's contest at Cal State Fullerton as the Big West's top scoring defense team limiting their opponents to 67.2 points per game while putting up a league best 77.5 points per game. The Anteaters have held seven league foes (nine games) to 65 points or fewer. UCI also holds the top mark in the conference in opponent field goal percentage (0.404). The Anteaters round out their Big West scoring leader mark with a 10.4 scoring margin in their 31 contests played this season.

CRASH THE BOARDS
UC Irvine enters Saturday's game as one of the best rebounding teams in the Big West. The Anteaters bring down 37.7 boards a game which is 4.6 more a game than their opponents. UCI should hold the advantage off the glass against Cal State Fullerton who is 10th in the league in total rebounds (33.2) and rebounding margin (-2.2).

ANTEATER IN RARE TERRITORY
With his 11 assists in last night's victory over Cal Poly, Pierre Crockrell II joins Raimonds Miglinieks (1994-95, 1995-96) as the second ever Anteater in program history to distribute 200 or more assists in a season.

UCI SHUTS DOWN CSUF WITH LAST MINUTE SURGE (JAN. 4, 2024)
UC Irvine scored the final nine points in a 75-67 victory over Cal State Fullerton at the Bren Events Center on Thursday. After taking a 67-66 lead with 2:34 remaining, the Titans would miss their final 10 shots and watch the Anteaters go five of six from the free throw line and get two big baskets by Pierre Crockrell II to improve to 3-0 in the Big West and 10-5 overall. UCI shot 26-51 (0.510) from the floor overall and 16-22 (0.727) from the line while Cal State Fullerton (8-7, 1-2) went 20-23 (0.870) from the charity stripe and just 20-55 (0.364) from the field. Guards Justin Hohn and Derin Saran led UCI with 17 points each. Hohn was 6-11 from the floor and had three of UCI's seven three-pointers while Saran went 7-12 from the floor and 2-3 from long range in 18 minutes of action.

CLIMBING THE NCAA ACTIVE CAREER RANKS
Pierre Crockrell II currently sits seventh in the all-time active career assist leaderboard with his 689 assists in 146 games played. The fifth year senior is nine assists behind sixth 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 2.63 assist-turnover ratio. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 125 made three-pointers in his career, redshirt senior Justin Hohn is now 19th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is five three-pointers away from tying assistant coach Alex Young  (2012-16) for 18th. Additionally, Pierre Crockrell II is officially top-10 in program history for career assists, ranking seventh with 378 total. Crockrell II is now 34 assists away from catching Jerry Green (1998-02) for sixth. 

SENIOR NIGHT SUCCESS; UC IRVINE TOPS CAL POLY 82-68
UC Irvine honored three seniors with an 82-68 victory over Cal Poly at the Bren Events Center on Thursday evening. With the win, UCI claims the Big West regular season title with a 16-3 record. It is the seventh regular season title in the last 10 years.  The Anteaters went undefeated at home (13-0) and improve to 23-8 overall. Guard Andre Henry led UCI with 16 points, going 5-9 (0.556) from the floor. Guard Derin Saran came off the bench, knocking down 6-8 (0.750) from the field and 1-1 from the line for 13 points. Guard Pierre Crockrell II dished 11 assists and was 4-5 (0.800) from the floor for eight points. Seniors Dean Keeler and Dylan Thoerner had seven and six points, respectively.

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 17th nationally in bench points per game (29.16) and have out performed their opponent 21 times this season with non-starters. 

SINGLE SEASON ASSISTS LEADER BOARD
Pierre Crockrell II sits in third place in the all-time season assists leader board with his 200 assists in 2023-24. He is 30 dimes away from catching Raimond Miglinieks' (1995-96) 230 that is good for second place. Crockrell II solidified himself in UCI history as he the second ever Anteater to hit or surpass the 200 assist threshold in a season.

THE TALE OF TWO HALVES
UC  Irvine has taken the lead into the halftime break 19 times this year, 13 times in Big West contests, and have prevailed in 18 of those contests. The Anteaters reset their largest halftime lead against a Big West opponent in Thursday nights win over CSUN with a 21-point margin. Previously, UCI's highest halftime lead over a league opponent was 17 points which was tied three times and the latest was against UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 22).

IMPROVEMENT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
UC Irvine has become laser focused at the free throw line and will enter Thursday's game with a 0.762 free throw percentage (470-617) and 0.795 (310-390) in Big West games. The Anteaters rose 159 spots in the national rankings for free throw percentage since the start of league play (was 195 prior to Dec. 28) and are currently 36th, the highest ranked Big West team in this category. 

HIGHLY EFFICIENT SHOOTING
UCI has shot at or over a 0.500 clip in 12 contests this season (New Mexico State--0.526, Occidental--0.615, Pepperdine--0.517, Toledo--0.500, Rice--0.517, South Dakota--0.576, Cal State Bakersfield--0.592, Cal State Fullerton--0.510, Hawai'i--0.614, UC Santa Barbara--0.532, UC San Diego--0.508, and Cal Poly--0.500). 

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 348 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 1,186, Opp. 838). The Anteaters average 38.3 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in ten 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, UC Santa Barbara--44, and Cal Poly--48).

CONTINUED CONFERENCE PLAY SUCCESS
UC Irvine stands as just one of nine teams to have finished the season with a winning record in conference play in each of the past 12 seasons. Kansas, Oregon, and Virginia stand as the only power five conference teams on the list. Representing the mid-major schools are the Anteaters, Belmont, Gonzaga, Norfolk State, Vermont, and Yale. Additionally, UCI is the only California school on the list and one of three West Coast representatives.

DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in 26 contests this season in assists with 200 total. The fifth year guard is averaging 6.5 assists per game and earned his 600th career dime at UC Davis on Jan. 20. Crockrell II nationally ranks ninth in total assists, 11th in assists per game, and 26th in assist-turnover ratio. He also has 63 more assists on the season than the next best person in the conference. The guard recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 assists against Long Beach State (Mar. 2). The Anteaters are 16-6 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 388 total points and 12.5 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 38 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 10 games and double figure rebounding in four games played this season to lead UCI with 184 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 45-102 (0.441) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 57 makes (57-73, 0.781). The senior has stolen the ball from opponents 24 times and is one of three players with 115+ rebounds on the year.

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 4.2 rebounds a game in 25 contests played. Leucthen has posted nine double-figure scoring games since this year, the latest at CSUN (Feb. 29) where he put up 16 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 154 total rebounds on the year (5.0 per game) and is the squad's leader in blocks (33). 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 ten contests. Averaging 14.3 minutes a game, the center has grabbed 3.7 rebounds per game, blocked 30 shots, and is putting up 7.5 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. The center has posted seven double figure scoring performances of the season and has made 98 trips to the charity stripe, a team high (77-98, 0.786).

TURKISH DELIGHT
Derin Saran is third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game over 28 games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.509, 113-222). 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 92 rebounds, 50 assists, and 26 steals on the year.

THREE-HEADED BEAST IN THE CENTER
The big men down low of Bent Leuchten, Dean Keeler, and Carter Welling pose a threat both in the defensive and offensive paint. The three headed monster combined to average 21.9 points, 12.9 boards and 3.4 blocks per game.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2267 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 1st in assist rate (43.9). Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 5th in two-point percentage defense (0.437), 7th in effective field goal percentage defense (0.455), 22nd in bench minutes (40.2), 35th in adjusted defensive efficiency (98.4), and 36th in free throw percentage offense (0.762).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (5th, 6.1--Tillis), field goal percentage (7th, 0.509--Saran), free throw percentage (8th, Leuchten and 9th, C. Welling--0.786), assists per game (1st, 6.5--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.9--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (5th, 1.2--Leuchten, 7th, C. Welling and 8th, Keeler--1.1).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 3.8.24
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in field goal percentage defense (21st, 0.404), scoring margin (30th, 10.4), free throw percentage (32nd, 0.762), field goal percentage (36th, 0.476), assists per game (38th, 15.8), and rebound margin (49th, 4.6).

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 77 with UC San Diego locking in the second position at 120.
 

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Cal Poly at UC Irvine
Thursday, Mar. 7 | 7:00 p.m. PT
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
AM 830 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | Game Program | UC Irvine Game Notes | Cal Poly Game Notes

ABOUT CAL POLY
> Cal Poly has gone 0-9 since the meeting with UC Irvine enters the contest with a 4-26 overall record, 0-18 in the Big West
> The Mustangs dropped their home contest on Saturday night to Cal State Bakersfield, 68-56
> Cal Poly has not won a true road game all season, holding a 0-14 record away from San Luis Obispo
> In the Big West, Cal Poly ranks third overall in blocks per game with 3.63
> Cal Poly is paced by Kobe Sanders who scores 19.1 points per game (516) on 161-358 (0.450) shooting from the floor
> Sanders makes frequent trips to the charity stripe where he shoots 0.878 (159-181)
> The guard Sanders has passed out 82 assists, the best on the Cal Poly squad
> Jarred Hyder is second on the team with 10.4 points per game, 239 total
> Hyder has taken and made the most three-pointers on the Mustangs (43-138, 0.312)
> Quentin Jones has stolen the ball a team best 44 times
> Joel Armotrading is the team's top rebounder with his 4.7 grabs off the glass per game (131 total) in 28 games played
> Armotrading has swatted away a team best 35 shots so far this season
> Cal Poly was picked to finish eleventh in the Big West Preseason Poll

SENIOR SALUTE
Prior to the start of Thursday's contest, graduate student Dylan Thoerner along with fifth year seniors Pierre Crockrell II and Dean Keeler will be honored for their contributions to the Anteater program.

AT THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS
After defeating Long Beach State on Saturday evening, UC Irvine holds onto the first place spot with a 15-3 Big West record. The Anteaters currently have the advantage over UC San Diego and UC Davis who hold 14-4 and 12-6 league records, respectively. 

TICKET PUNCHED: HENDERSON
UC Irvine was the first men's team to secure their spot in the Big West Championship (Mar. 13-16) after earning the victory over Cal State Bakersfield (Feb. 17). With the Anteaters win at CSUN (Feb. 29) combined with other results, UCI clinched a berth to the Big West semifinals on Mar. 15. Lastly, UC Irvine's win against Long Beach State (Mar. 2) locked themselves as the No. 1 seed for the second straight year.

POTENT DEFENSE
UC Irvine heads into Thursday's contest against Cal Poly as the Big West's top scoring defense team limiting their opponents to 67.2 points per game. The Anteaters have held seven league foes (nine games) to 65 points or fewer. UCI also holds the top mark in the conference in opponent field goal percentage (0.403).

CRASH THE BOARDS
UC Irvine enters Thursday's game as one of the best rebounding teams in the Big West. The Anteaters bring down 37.8 boards a game which is 4.6 more a game than their opponents. UCI should hold the hefty advantage off the glass against Cal Poly who is 11th in the league in total rebounds (31.5) and rebounding margin (-7.2).

GO FOR THE SCORE
The Anteaters hold a 10.2 scoring margin in their 30 contests played so far this season, which leads the Big West. Thursday's opposition, the Mustangs, are on the opposite end and score 10.5 points less than their opponents. Cal Poly is only putting up 62.7 points a game on the offensive end while UC Irvine pours in 77.4 a game.

SARAN; TILLIS LEAD UC IRVINE PAST CAL POLY (FEB. 1, 2024)
UC Irvine pulled away late in a 73-59 victory at Cal Poly on Thursday evening. The Anteaters out-scored the Mustangs 18-8 in the final six minutes to lead UCI to its third straight win. UCI shot at a 0.531 clip from the floor in the second half, knocking down 4-6 from long distance.Freshman guard Derin Saran returned to action and had a team best and career tying 17-point performance on 6-12 shooting from the floor, including 3-4 from three-point range. He also had a team high four steals which tied his career high. Forward Devin Tillis poured in 15 points, shooting 7-9 from the field. The redshirt junior grabbed a team and game-best nine rebounds as well as two assists.

CLIMBING THE NCAA ACTIVE CAREER RANKS
Pierre Crockrell II currently sits tied for eighth in the all-time active career assist leaderboard with his 678 assists in 145 games played. The fifth year senior is three 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 2.60 assist-turnover ratio. 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 124 made three-pointers in his career, redshirt senior Justin Hohn is now 19th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is six three-pointers away from tying assistant coach Alex Young  (2012-16) for 18th. Additionally, Pierre Crockrell II is officially top-10 in program history for career assists, ranking seventh with 367 total. Crockrell II is now 45 assists away from catching Jerry Green (1998-02) for sixth. 

SINGLE SEASON ASSISTS LEADER BOARD
Pierre Crockrell II sits in fourth place in the all-time season assists leader board with his 189 assists in 2023-24. He is one dime away from tying Aaron Fitzgerald (2005-06) for third (190) and 41 off from catching Raimond Miglinieks' (1995-96) 230 that is good for second place. Crockrell II is set to become the second ever Anteater to hit or surpass the 200 assist threshold in a season.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP LEADS UCI TO 82-61 WIN OVER LBSU
Guard Pierre Crockrell II took over in the second half to lead UC Irvine to an 82-61 Black & Blue Rivalry win over Long Beach State in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bren Events Center. Crockrell II went 5-8 (0.625) from the floor and had seven assists in the second half, ending the night with his fourth double-double of the season, recording 12 points and 11 dimes. The Anteaters, the Big West's best defensive team, held the league's top scoring team to 61 points for the second time this season.  The Beach struggled from long distance, shooting just 3-18 (0.167) from three-point range, the lowest mark by an opponent this year. Guard Justin Hohn paced UCI with 13 points, hitting three three-pointers. Hohn also had four rebounds and an assist.

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 17th nationally in bench points per game (28.93) and have out performed their opponent 20 times this season with non-starters. 

DEFENSE BEHIND THE ARC
UCI has now held two different opponents to zero three-pointers in a half two different times this season (Hawai'i on Jan. 25 and CSUN on Feb. 29) as well as limiting opponents to one three-point make in a half tn times. The Anteaters allowed Long Beach State to shoot at a 0.167 clip (3-18) from long range on Mar. 2, the lowest three-point percentage for an opponent this season. 

THE TALE OF TWO HALVES
UC  Irvine has taken the lead into the halftime break 18 times this year, 12 times in Big West contests, and have prevailed in 17 of those contests. The Anteaters reset their largest halftime lead against a Big West opponent in Thursday nights win over CSUN with a 21-point margin. Previously, UCI's highest halftime lead over a league opponent was 17 points which was tied three times and the latest was against UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 22).

IMPROVEMENT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
UC Irvine has become laser focused at the free throw line and will enter Thursday's game with a 0.761 free throw percentage (455-598) and 0.795 (295-371) in Big West games. The Anteaters rose 158 spots in the national rankings for free throw percentage since the start of league play (was 195 prior to Dec. 28) and are currently 37th, the highest ranked Big West team in this category. 

DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in 25 contests this season in assists with 189 total. The fifth year guard is averaging 6.3 assists per game and earned his 600th career dime at UC Davis on Jan. 20. Crockrell II nationally ranks 13th in both total assists and assists per game, and 32nd in assist-turnover ratio. He also has 57 more assists on the season than the next best person in the conference. The guard recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 assists against Long Beach State (Mar. 2). The Anteaters are 15-6 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 383 total points and 12.8 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 38 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 10 games and double figure rebounding in four games played this season to lead UCI with 180 rebounds, 6.2 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 42-98 (0.429) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 54 makes (54-69, 0.783). The senior has stolen the ball from opponents 24 times and is one of three players with 115+ rebounds on the year.

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 4.2 rebounds a game in 24 contests played. Leucthen has posted nine double-figure scoring games since this year, the latest at CSUN (Feb. 29) where he put up 16 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 150 total rebounds on the year (5.0 per game) and is the squad's leader in blocks (32). 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 ten contests. Averaging 14.4 minutes a game, the center has grabbed 3.7 rebounds per game, blocked 29 shots, and is putting up 7.5 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. The center has posted seven double figure scoring performances of the season and has made 94 trips to the charity stripe, a team high (75-94, 0.798).

TURKISH DELIGHT
Derin Saran is third on the team in scoring with 10.0 points per game over 27 games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.500, 107-214). 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 88 rebounds, 49 assists, and 25 steals on the year.

THREE-HEADED BEAST IN THE CENTER
The big men down low of Bent Leuchten, Dean Keeler, and Carter Welling pose a threat both in the defensive and offensive paint. The three headed monster combined to average 21.9 points, 12.9 boards and 3.4 blocks per game.

DEFEND THE BREN
In the Turner era of Anteater basketball, UC Irvine holds a 154-46 (0.770) record inside the Bren Events Center. In similar fashion to their overall conference domination over the last five years, the 'Eaters have gone 81-14 (0.853) in Big West play on their home court. 

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2263 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is 2nd in assist rate (43.0). Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 7th in two-point percentage defense (0.438), 7th in effective field goal percentage defense (0.453), 20th in bench minutes (40.2), 28th in adjusted defensive efficiency (98.3), and 41st in free throw percentage offense (0.761).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (5th, 6.2--Tillis), free throw percentage (7th, 0.798--C. Welling and 8th, 0.790--Leuchten), assists per game (1st, 6.3--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.8--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (5th, 1.2--Leuchten, 7th, C. Welling and 8th, Keeler--1.1).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 3.4.24
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in field goal percentage defense (17th, 0.403), scoring margin (31st, 10.2), free throw percentage (37th, 0.761), field goal percentage (38th, 0.476), assists per game (39th, 15.8), and rebound margin (49th, 4.6).

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 76 with UC San Diego locking in the second position at 111.