IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Irvine opens up the 2025 calendar year with a trip up to the central coast to face Cal Poly (Jan. 2) and then come back to Irvine to host UC Riverside (Jan. 4). 

UC Riverside at UC Irvine
Saturday, Jan. 4 | 7:00 p.m. PT
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
AM 830 | KUCI 88.9 | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | UC Riverside Game Notes 

ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
> UC Riverside enters the contest with a 10-5 overall record
> The Highlanders won their second straight after returning from the holiday break with an overtime thriller over St. Thomas (W, 81-79) and taking down Long Beach State (W, 76-60) on the road
> Their win over the Beach brought them to 3-0 against Big West opponents this season and they are the first team to reach three conference wins
> UC Riverside went 7-5 during the non-conference portion of the schedule, also defeating a common opponent in California Baptist (W, 70-69) and utilized overtime to take down Colorado State, 77-75
> UC Riverside was picked to finish fourth in the Big West this season with one first place vote and landed Barrington Hargress on the preseason team
> Hargress is one of three Highlanders who are averaging double figures as he leads the way with 19.4 points per game
> Hargress runs the point leading UCR in assists (62), steals (16), most made and attempted field goals (108-245), made and attempted three pointers (35-103), and makes and attempts at the free throw line (40-54)
> Kaleb Smith scored 11.7 points a contest on 59-166 shooting from the floor and contributes 4.9 boards a game
> Isaiah Moses rounds out the double figure scorers with his 10.5 ppg with 43.4 shooting from the floor (56-129), 34.3 percent from three (24-70), and 88.0 percent at the line (22-25)
> Nate Pickens is close to double figure scoring as he posts 9.6 points a game
> Pickens is one of the most efficient Highlander shooters from beyond the arc where he connects at a 42.0 rate (21-50) and is second on the team with 11 steals
> Joel Armotrading, the Cal Poly transfer, pulls down a team-high 6.7 rebounds a contest and has swatted away 20 shots
> Armotrading is also a hot shooter from the floor (41-63, 0.651) along with Rikus Schulte (25-42, 0.595)

20, 20, 20
Thursday's win at Cal Poly saw the program's first game where three UC Irvine players scored 20 or more points in a game since Jan. 21, 2011. Devin Tillis contributed a career-high 25 points, Bent Leuchten right behind at 24, and Myles Che posting a career-best 22. They are the first trio to accomplish the feat since Michael Wilder (24), Eric Wise (21), and Darren Moore (21) did it in the 86-76 win at Long Beach State.

DOUBLE DOSE
For the second time this season both Devin Tillis and Bent Leuchten recorded double-doubles in the same contest. In the win at Cal Poly, Tillis led the squad with 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Leuchten grabbed a team-best 11 boards and scored 24 points. Both players multiple double-doubles now on the season, the last at California Baptist (Dec. 30) for Leuchten and at Weber State (Nov. 22) for Tillis.

LAST TIME OUT VERSUS UC RIVERSIDE (FEB. 10, 2024)
UC Irvine dropped a 88-78 road contest at UC Riverside as the Highlanders knocked down 13 three-pointers inside SRC Arena. The Highlanders went 13-27 (0.481) from three-point range in the contest, including a stretch late in the first half where they made eight of nine from long distance. UCI was able to chip away at the start of the second half to cut the deficit to one point before four more three-pointers by the Highlanders pushed the margin back to 15. The Anteaters dropped to 6-7 in road contests with the loss and snapped a seven-game winning streak against the Highlanders.

DUEL OF THE GUARDS
Saturday's contest between the Anteaters and the Highlanders will pit together two preseason All-Big West guards in Barrington Hargress and Justin Hohn. UC Riverside's Hargress is second in the conference in scoring with 19.4 points per game, third in assists per game (4.2), and sixth in three-point field goals per game (2.3). Justin Hohn ranks sixth in the league in assists per game (3.5), 17th in three-point field goals per game (1.6), 23rd in scoring (11.6), and 25th in field goal percentage (0.376). 

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 241 makes in 292 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.825) which is also the nation's fourth 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. Additionally, UC Irvine has held nine opponents to just single digit makes from the line and have done so in four straight games. In the national standings, Bent Leuchten ranks 13th in made free throws (80) and 20th in free throw attempts (95) while Myles Che is 26th in free throw percentage (0.911) 

EFFICIENCY IN IRVINE
Bent Leuchten is the Big West's most efficient player thus far into the season with a 31.3 grade. Leuchten ranks first among all players in three categories: overall box plus/minus (10.9), offensive box plus/minus (7.7), and offensive rating (134.0). The center also ranked third in both defensive box plus/minus (3.3) and defensive rating (88.1).

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 154 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 11th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is 14 three-pointers away from catching Ben Jones (1997-01) for tenth with 168. 

STEALING THE LEAD
Guard Justin Hohn entered the top 10  in the program for steals with five takeaways at Cal Poly (Jan. 2). He is three steals away from moving in front of Mike Hess (120, 1985-88) from ninth and six from surpassing both Ben McDonald (123, 1980-84) and Scott Brooks (123, 1985-87) for eighth.

ANTEATER TRIO POWER UCI PAST CAL POLY IN OVERTIME
The UC Irvine trio of Devin Tillis, Bent Leuchten and Myles Che scored a combined 71 points in the Anteaters' 96-89 overtime victory against Cal Poly at Mott Athletics Center on Jan. 2. The Anteaters were led by Tillis' game-high 25 points, going 9-17 from the floor and 5-5 from the line. The forward had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Leuchten followed Tillis with 24 points and a game-high 11 boards, his fifth double-double of the year. The senior was 6-12 from the field and 12-14 from the line and swatted three blocks. The center scored nine of the team's 18 points in the overtime period. Guard Myles Che rounded out the trio, pouring in 22 points, hitting 9-16 from the floor and 3-4 from the line. He had five rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Once again, UCI made an impact at the line, going 28-31 from the stripe (90.3%). UCI got 42 points in the paint and had nine blocks. 

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2293 eligible players, Devin Tillis is 28th in true shooting percentage (68.5), 40th in effective field goal percentage (64.8), and 46th in free throw percentage (90.9). Bent Leuchten is eighth in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.6), and 16th in free throw rate (75.4). Che joins the duo as he is 44th in free throw percentage (0.911). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks second in free throw percentage offense (83.8), second in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (19.2), eighth in offensive rebound percentage defense (23.8), 19th in adjusted efficiency defense (94.8), 27th in two-point percentage defense (44.6), 36th in block percentage offense (6.8), and 48th in effective field goal percentage defense (46.5).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (9th, 15.6--Leuchten), rebounding (1st, 8.7--Leuchten and 3rd, 7.9--Tillis), field goal percentage (3rd, 0.603--Tillis and 6th, 0.541--Leuchten), free throw percentage (1st, 0.911--Che and 4th, 0.842--Leuchten), assists (6th, 3.5--Hohn), blocks (3rd, 1.4--Evans and 6th, 1.1--Leuchten), and steals (8th, 1,5--Hohn).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 01.02.25
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (2nd, 82.5), defensive rebounds per game (11th, 29.36), scoring defense (37th, 64.9), field goal percentage defense (39th, 39.6), and free throws made per game (44th, 17.2).

NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 2. The 'Eaters are the second highest ranked team in the Big West. UC San Diego tops the league at a 56 rank with the Anteaters two spots behind at 58. CSUN also lands within the top 100 at 96.
 

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UC Irvine at Cal Poly
Thursday, Jan. 2 | 5:00 p.m. PT
Mott Athletics Center | San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | Cal Poly Game Notes

ABOUT CAL POLY
> Cal Poly enters the contest with a 6-8 overall record
> The Mustangs, who have not played since Dec. 21, dropped their non-conference closer at Omaha (86-82)
> Their out of conference results are highlighted by a 97-90 upset win at Stanford and a 20-point comeback from behind 95-94 effort over Denver
> Cal Poly holds a 4-1 record inside of the Mott Athletics Center this season, 4-0 in the non-conference portion of the schedule 
> The Mustangs are looking for their first Big West win of the season, dropping on the road at UC Davis (77-66) and CSUN (102-91)
> In the offseason, Mike DeGeorge, an accomplished Division II coach, took over the reign of the Mustang program
> Cal Poly has four players who average double figures
> Owen Koonce leads Cal Poly with 18.5 points per game (259 total) at a 54.7 rate (93-170)
> Koonce also leads off the glass with 5.4 rebounds a contest
> He is complimented by Mac Riniker who scores 10.9 a contest, shoots 53 percent from the floor (61-115), pulls down 5.3 boards a game, and leads the Mustangs with 39 assists
> Jarred Hyder has tallied 193 total points in 12 contests played (16.1 ppg)
> Hyder has taken and made the most three's of an Cal Poly player (41-110, 0.373)
> Isaac Jessup puts up 13.5 points per game and is the most efficient Mustang beyond the arc as he converts at a 0.461 clip (35-76) while leading the team with 21 steals
> Peter Bandelj is close to the double figure scoring mark with 9.1 points a game
> Bandelj makes frequent trips to the free throw line where he has made 52 of his 63 attempts (52-63, 0.825) the most of any player on the team

A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
As the calendar flips to 2025, the UC Irvine men's basketball program plans to celebrate their accomplishments. 2025 signifies the ten-year anniversary of the 2014-15 team, the first squad in Anteater history to win the Big West tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.  

300 WINS ACHIEVED
Head coach Russell Turner earned his 300th career win at the end of 2024 with the 71-63 win at California Baptist. Turner becomes the tenth active head coach who has only coached at one institution to reach this achievement.

MID-SEASON ACCOLADE
HoopsHD handed out some end of the calendar year hardware to recognize the best players during 2024 and chose five of the best players of each conference based on their all-around stats. Senior Bent Leuchten was named to the Big West's five-player team.

POLL POSITION
UC Irvine remains inside the top 10 of the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Poll where they rank fifth in the ballot. The Anteaters have held a spot as a top five team for six straight weeks.

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.  

WWWWWINNING ON THE ROAD
Entering Thursday's contest at Cal Poly, UC Irvine leads the nation with the most road wins (5). 12 teams fall behind the Anteaters in the stat including Big West foes in CSUN and UC San Diego.

LAST TIME OUT; UC IRVINE TOPS CAL POLY 82-68 (MAR. 7, 24)
UC Irvine closed out the home schedule with an 82-68 victory over Cal Poly at the Bren Events Center. With the win, UCI claimed the Big West regular season title with a 16-3 record. It was the seventh regular season title in the last 10 years.  The Anteaters went undefeated at home (13-0).Guard Andre Henry led UCI with 16 points, going 5-9 (0.556) from the floor. Forward Devin Tillis had nine points on 4-6 (0.667) shooting with four rebounds. 

DEFEND THE THREE
Cal Poly enters the game on Thursday with the nation's 16th best three-point pointers per game standing at 10.8. The Mustangs also attempt 30.8 from long-range per game which is good for 11th in the NCAA. For Cal Poly, Jarred Hyder ranks 15th in the nation in three-pointers per game (3.42), 21st in three-point attempts (110), and 32nd in total three-point field goals made (41).

UP THE TEMPO
Thursday's contest will feel upbeat as Cal Poly leads the nation in both adjusted tempo (76.6) and average possession length (14.0) according to KenPom. 

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 213 makes in 261 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.816) which is also the nation's fourth 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.

EFFICIENCY IN IRVINE
Bent Leuchten is the Big West's most efficient player thus far into the season with a 30.7 grade. Leuchten ranks first among all players in overall box plus/minus (10.9), second in three categories: offensive box plus/minus (7.5), offensive rating (132.7), defensive rating (87.1), and is third in defensive box plus/minus (3.5). 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 154 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 11th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is 14 three-pointers away from catching Ben Jones (1997-01) for tenth with 168. Hohn is also five steals away from becoming top 10 in the program for steals (has 113, to enter is 118).

LATE RUN LEADS UC IRVINE TO 71-63 VICTORY OVER CBU
A 9-0 run in the final five minutes helped UC Irvine to a 71-63 victory over California Baptist in the final non-conference game of the season at the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. Center Bent Leuchten, scored a game-high 20 points with 16 in the second half, including scored seven points in the nine-point run. He went 6-8 (0.750) from the floor and 7-8 (0.875) from the line. The senior had a double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds, his fourth of the season. Both Devin Tillis and Justin Hohn posted 13 points in the win. Tillis scored 11 of his points in the second half on 5-6 shooting, 6-14 overall in the contest. 11 of Hohn's points came in the first half including the lone Anteater three-pointer in the first 20 minutes. Guard Myles Che rounded out the double figure scoring with 12 points while leading UCI with four assists.

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 153 total points and 11.8 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 49 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 (47) and steals (16).

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 (64-104, 0.615) and has eight double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 100 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 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 8.5 rebounds a game in nine contests played, and helps pace the scoring at 14.9 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in nine games this year, the latest at California Baptist (Dec. 30) where he put up 20 points. 

CHE-SANITY
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che helps lead the distribution effort with his 29 total assists. Che adds to the scoring effort with his 9.3 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 fifth double figure scoring effort with 12 points at California Baptist. 

SWAT TEAM
Junior transfer Kyle Evans has registered multiple blocks in three straight contests (Nov. 29-Dec. 5), totaling 18 over 12 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 110 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 458, Opp. 348). The Anteaters average 35.2 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in six games so far (Chapman--42, Northern Iowa--48, Weber State--44, Kennesaw State--44, Belmont--42, California Baptist--46).

TEN'S ALL AROUND
Through 13 games in the season, Bent Leuchten has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in 11 of those contests to average 14.9 points and 8.5 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 14.9, Devin Tillis right behind at 12.8, and Justin Hohn next at 11.8. Myles Che is fourth in the scoring department with his 9.3 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 1,070 career tallies. Hohn begins his ascent in the ranks and is 12 points away from surpassing assistant coach Michael Wilder for 29th in the standings (1,082--2009-13).

500-REBOUND MACHINE 
Redshirt senior Devin Tillis put his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 28th Anteater to reach the 500-point achievement. The forward reached this milestone in the win at California Baptist (Dec. 30) and has 507 career boards. Tillis continues his ascent in the ranks and is 12 rebounds away from surpassing Chris McNealy (518, 2010-14) for 24th and 13 from catching Bill Moore (519, 1969-72) for 23rd.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2292 eligible players, Devin Tillis is 22nd in true shooting percentage (69.2) and 35th in effective field goal percentage (65.8). Bent Leuchten is 19th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.2), 32nd in free throw rate (70.6), and 42nd (26.4) in defensive rebound percentage (27.0). Myles Che joins the duo as he is 22nd in free throw percentage (0.927). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks second in free throw percentage offense (82.9), second in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (19.8), fourth in offensive rebound percentage defense (23.0),  19th in adjusted efficiency defense (94.5), 20th in two-point percentage defense (43.9), and 45th in effective field goal percentage defense (46.3).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (9th, 14.9--Leuchten), rebounding (2nd, 8.5--Leuchten and 4th, 7.7--Tillis), field goal percentage (3rd, 0.615--Tillis and 6th, 0.545--Leuchten), free throw percentage (1st, 0.927--Che and 5th, 0.840--Leuchten), assists (6th, 3.6--Hohn), and blocks (4th, 1.4--Evans and 6th, 1.2--Leuchten).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 12.31.24
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (4th, 81.6), defensive rebounds per game (16th, 28.85), and scoring defense (22nd, 63.1).

NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 2. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked team in the Big West. The Anteaters top the league at a 59 rank with UC San Diego one spot behind at 60.