IRVINE, Calif. -- The Anteaters face a tough test on the road with pivotal match-ups at both CSUN (Jan. 9) and then against the UC San Diego (Jan. 11) who holds the nation's longest winning streak. The game at the Triton's will be nationally televised on ESPNU. 

UC Irvine at UC San Diego
Saturday, Jan. 11 | 7:00 p.m. PT
LionTree Arena | La Jolla, Calif.
Live Stats | Watch (ESPNU) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | UC San Diego Game Notes

ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
> UC San Diego enters the contest with a 14-2 overall record
> The Tritons are on a 12-game winning streak, including wins over all four conference opponents faced: UC Santa Barbara (W, 84-76), Cal State Bakersfield (W, 81-60), Cal State Fullerton (W, 90-51), and Cal Poly (W, 95-68)
> UCSD were defeated twice in the month of November, the last on Nov. 16 against Seattle, 84-71
> The Tritons finished their non-conference schedule with a 10-2 record, 6-1 on their home court. Their only home loss of the season came against the Redhawkes
> UC San Diego was picked to finish third in the Big West this season and landed Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones on the preseason team
> Tait-Jones is one of four Tritons who are averaging double figures
> The guard puts up 18.1 points per contest, connects 59.7 percent of his shots from the field (89-149), has taken and made the most free throws (109-137, 0.796), blocked six shots, and is second in both rebounds per game (5.1) and assists (49)
> Tyler McGhie leads all UCSD players with 18.3 points per game while taking and making the most shots from the floor (102-224, 0.455) and from three-point range (65-151, 0.430)
> McGhie is also a 88.5 percent free throw shooter (23-26)
> Nordin Kapic scores 11.3 points a game and is the top rebounder (5.3 rpg) and shot blocker (6) on the Triton squad
> Hayden Gray rounds out the double-figure scoring with 11.1 points per game
> Gray shoots over 40 percent from both the floor (64-130, 0.492) and from long-range (23-56, 0.411)
> Additionally, Gray has stolen the ball a team-leading 62 times and has dished out 50 assists in all games
> Chris Howell converts 29-59 (0.492) of his shots
> All five mentioned UCSD players have played and started in all 16 games played by the Tritons

CLASH OF THE UNDEFEATED'S
For the second straight season, Saturday's contest will feature the last two remaining undefeated teams in the Big West, UC Irvine (14-2, 4-0 BW) and UC San Diego (14-2, 4-0 BW) in a battle for first place. The Tritons boast a 6-1 record inside LionTree Arena this season while the Anteaters have won three straight road contests to improve to 7-2 away from Irvine. UCI, the winners of four straight games, look to snap UCSD's 12 game win streak which is good for the nation's longest winning streak.

MAKING BIG WEST HISTORY
According to the Big West conference office, Saturday's nationally televised matchup between UC Irvine and UC San Diego will be the highest NET ranking game in the league's history. Both teams sit in the top 50 of the metric.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Anteaters are back on the road for two more contests this week at nearby CSUN (Jan. 9) and UC San Diego (Jan. 11). UC Irvine has will now play their 10th and 11th games out of the last 13 outings away from their home floor. UCI leads the nation in road victories with seven.

LAST TIME OUT VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO (FEB. 24, 2024)
The battle of the top two teams in the Big West went into overtime as the hosts UC San Diego defeated UC Irvine, 92-88, at LionTree Arena. Both teams had double-digit leads in the game. UCI held a 41-40 lead at the half only to see UCSD go up by as much as 11 points in the second half. The Anteaters roared back to take a lead with 35 seconds to go, but the Tritons nailed a three-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime, 81-81. Guard Andre Henry led the Anteaters with 18 points on 7-9 from the floor, including 3-4 from three-point range. Center Bent Leuchten went 5-10 from the floor and 4-6 from the line for 14 points in 19 minutes of action. Guard Justin Hohn posted 13 points on 5-9 shooting from the floor with two three-pointers. Forward Devin Tillis had a team-high eight rebounds and seven points on the strength of 5-8 from the line. Tillis tallied a team-best four assists and two steals.

SCORING DEFENSE
Saturday's contest between UC Irvine and UC San Diego will pit together the two best defensive teams in the league. The Tritons sit atop the Big West in opponent's points per game (62.2) which is 15th in the NCAA while the Anteaters are second in the conference with a 64.6 mark standing 33rd in the nation.

DEFEND THE THREE
UC Irvine, the Big West's second best three-point defending team at a 0.315 clip, will need to clamp down on beyond the arc defense as the Tritons enter the game on Saturday with the nation's 14th best three-point pointers per game mark standing at 10.8. UC San Diego also attempt 30.1 from long-range per game which is good for 15th in the NCAA. For UCSD, Tyler McGhie ranks first in the NCAA in both three-pointers per game (4.06) and total three-point field goals made (65), third in three-point attempts (151), and 39th in three-point percentage (43.0). On the other hand, the Tritons are 11th in the league in opponent three-point field goal percentage (0.364).

SLOW YOUR ROLL
UCI enters the contest in La Jolla as the nation's 25th ranked team in field goal percentage as they hold their opponents to a 0.390 clip from the field. Although UC San Diego shoots under this mark over their 16 games played, they hold a 0.556 effective field goal clip which ranks 45th in the nation which helps power their 82.0 scoring offense (46th nationally).

WATCH YOUR HANDLE
UC San Diego enters Saturday's game as the nation's best turnover margin team (1st, 8.2) while ranking within the top 10 in steals per game (2nd, 11.2), turnovers committed per game (5th, 9.2) and turnovers forced per game (7th, 17.38). The Tritons Hayden Gray is first in the NCAA in both total steals (62) and steals per game (3.88).

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 287 makes in 352 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.815) which is also the nation's fifth 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 did so in four consecutive games (Dec. 19-Jan. 2). In the national standings, Bent Leuchten ranks 13th in made free throws (19) and 20th in free throw attempts (109) while Myles Che is 22nd in free throw percentage (0.905). 

EFFICIENCY IN IRVINE
Bent Leuchten is the Big West's most efficient player thus far into the season with a 30.8 grade. Leuchten ranks first among all players in three categories: overall box plus/minus (11.2), offensive box plus/minus (7.5), and offensive rating (133.8). The center also ranked ranks second in defensive box/plus minus (3.7) and third in defensive rating (86.7).

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 159 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 11th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is nine three-pointers away from catching Ben Jones (1997-01) for tenth with 168. Additionally, Devin Tillis will start making his way up the three-point standings as he just entered into the rankings tied 23rd with Brett Lauer (2007-09) with 113 career made triples and is just four away from passing Jerry Green (116, 1998-02) and Mike Hood (116, 2001-03) for 21st.

UC IRVINE SURVIVES CSUN'S SECOND HALF RALLY IN 77-67 WIN
An 8-0 run by the Anteaters followed by free throw shooting down the stretch fueled UC Irvine to a 77-67 victory over CSUN Thursday evening. The Matadors cut their deficit to five, 63-58, with six minutes remaining in the second half, but the Anteaters rattled off eight straight points to stay ahead. Center Bent Leuchten posted his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Leuchten scored 11 of his points from the free throw line and shot 60 percent from the field (3-5). Guard Justin Hohn followed with 16 points on the strength of four three-pointers, tying his career-best from beyond the arc. Hohn dished out a game best five assists and recorded three steals. UC Irvine improved to 14-2 on the year and an unbeaten 4-0 in the Big West. The Anteaters remain the most winningest team away from their home court this season with seven road wins. 
 
KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2284 eligible players, Devin Tillis is 22nd in free throw percentage (0.914) and 36th in true shooting percentage (67.6). Bent Leuchten is 10th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.6), 10th in free throw rate (80.0), and 43rd in defensive rebound percentage (26.2). Myles Che joins the duo and is ranked 36th in free throw percentage (0.905). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks second in free throw percentage offense (82.4), second in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (20.3), 13th in adjusted efficiency defense (93.4), 14th in offensive rebound percentage defense (24.5), 16th in two-point percentage defense (44.1), 23rd in block percentage offense (6.8), and 23rd in effective field goal percentage defense (45.3).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (9th, 15.2--Leuchten), rebounding (2nd, 8.6--Leuchten and 5th, 7.6--Tillis), field goal percentage (5th, 0.583--Tillis and 7th, 0.541--Leuchten), free throw percentage (1st, 0.905--Che and 6th, 0.835--Leuchten), assists (6th, 3.5--Hohn), blocks (4th, 1.3--Evans and 6th, 1.3--Leuchten), and steals (9th, 1.6--Hohn).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 01.09.25
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (5th, 81.5), defensive rebounds per game (7th, 29.63), winning percentage (7th, 87.5), free throws made per game (24th, 17.9), and field goal percentage (25th, 39.0), and scoring defense (33rd, 64.6).

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 43 rank with the Anteaters next at 50.
 

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UC Irvine at CSUN
Thursday, Jan. 9 | 7:00 p.m. PT
Premier America Credit Union Arena | Northridge, Calif.
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | CSUN Game Notes

ABOUT CSUN
> CSUN enters the contest with an 11-4 overall record
> The Matadors are on a four-game winning streak, two against Big West foes in Cal State Fullerton (W, 95-65) and UC Davis (W, 73-61)
> CSUN is 3-1 so far during the league slate, dropping their  first game against a conference opponent to UC Riverside, 68-64, on Dec. 5
> The Matadors finished their non-conference schedule with a 8-3 record, a perfect 3-0 on their home court. Their only home loss of the season came against the Highlanders
> CSUN was picked to finish sixth in the Big West this season and landed Keonte Jones on the preseason team
> Jones is one of three Matadors who are averaging double figures as he is second on the team with 14.2 points per game
> Jones averages a near double-double with a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game (137 total), dished out 61 assists, blocked 26 shots, recorded 30 steals, and has made and attempted the most shots at the free throw line (61-90, 0.678)
> Marcus Adams Jr. leads the scoring for CSUN at 15.5 points per contest and is shooting at a 0.417 clip from three-points range
> Adams Jr. is also efficient from the floor converting 52.9 percent of his shots from the field (92-174)
> Scotty Washington rounds out the double figure scoring with 13.3 points per game
> Washington has taken the most three-pointers of any Matador (77) and shoots at the highest rate of all players, 46-55, 0.836)
> PJ Fuller is one of three CSUN players to have started and played in all 15 games joining Jones and Washington and is second on the team with 54 assists
> Both Mahmoud Fofana and Grady Lewis are both shooting over 60 percent from the floor with Lewis leading the way at a 63.4 rate (45-71) and Fofana at a 62.3 rate (43-69)
> Fofana is second on the squad with 22 total steals

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

ROAD WARRIORS
The Anteaters are back on the road for two more contests this week at nearby CSUN (Jan. 9) and UC San Diego (Jan. 11). UC Irvine has will now play their 10th and 11th games out of the last 13 outings away from their home floor. UCI leads the nation in road victories with six.

LAST TIME OUT VERSUS CSUN (FEB. 29, 2024)
UC Irvine held a 13-point lead four minutes into the game and never looked back in an 89-64 victory over CSUN at the Premier America Credit Union Arena. The Anteaters, who had 12 players score, jumped out to the 17-4 lead at 15:58 in the first half and would hold the 47-26 lead at the half, the largest at the break over a Big West opponent during the 2023-24 season. UCI dominated down low, scoring 43 points by post players led by Bent Leuchten's 16. The center went 6-9 (0.667) from the floor and 3-4 (0.750) from the line with one three-pointer. Defensively, he had six rebounds, two steals and a block. Forward Devin Tillis posted 11 points and seven rebounds. With the win, UCI clinched one of the top two spots in the Big West and earned the bye to the Big West Championship semifinal round.

SCORING DEFENSE
Thursday's contest between UC Irvine and CSUN will pit together the two best defensive teams in the league. The Matadors sit atop the Big West in opponent field goal percentage (0.374) which is ninth in the NCAA while the Anteaters are second in the conference with a 0.391 mark standing 32nd in the nation.

BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Two strong rebounding teams in CSUN and UC Irvine go head-to-head on Thursday evening. The Matadors average 41.4 rebounds per game (1st in BW, 15th in NCAA) to the Anteaters  39.1 (2nd in BW, 52nd in NCAA). Both teams are strong off the defensive glass, as UCI pulls down 29.67 defensive boards a game, sixth in the nation, and CSUN grabs the nation's 11thbest mark of 29.13. The Matadors also top the Big West in rebounding margin (8.5) which is 17th in the nation.

DUEL OF THE BIGS
Thursday's game will see two of the most talented bigs in the Big West go against each other. CSUN's Keonte Jones is a nationally leader in double-doubles (7th, 8), in rebounds (24th, 137), defensive rebounds per game (27th, 6.7), and rebounds per game (27th, 9.1). Jones ranks first in the Big West in all four categories. UC Irvine's own Bent Leuchten ranks 39th in the NCAA and second in the league with five double-doubles on the season and 48th in defensive rebounds (6.27). Leuchten is also second in the conference in rebounds (126) and rebounds per game (8.4).

WATCH YOUR HANDLE
CSUN enters Thursday's match-up as the nations 29th best team in forcing turnovers (15.8) to go along with 8.5 steals per game and have a positive turnover margin of 2.1. On the other hand, UC Irvine only forces opponents to turn the ball over 13.2 times per contest to go with 6.9 steals.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 261 makes in 320 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. Additionally, UC Irvine has held nine opponents to just single digit makes from the line and did so in four consecutive games (Dec. . In the national standings, Bent Leuchten ranks 23rd in made free throws (80) and 39th in free throw attempts (95) while Myles Che is 31st in free throw percentage (0.895) 

EFFICIENCY IN IRVINE
Bent Leuchten is the Big West's most efficient player thus far into the season with a 30.6 grade. Leuchten ranks first among all players in overall box plus/minus (10.9) and offensive rating (133.3). 

CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 155 made three-pointers in his career, graduate student Justin Hohn ranks 11th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is 13 three-pointers away from catching Ben Jones (1997-01) for tenth with 168. 

UCI SECOND HALF DEFENSE FRUSTRATES UCR IN 81-57 WIN
The UC Irvine defense held UC Riverside to 22 second half points in an 81-57 victory at the Bren Events Center on Saturday evening. The crowd of 3,316 saw the Anteaters trail 35-29 at the half before exploding with 52 second half points, shooting 64.3 percent from the floor (18-28) while limiting the Highlanders to 7-29 (21.4%) from the field. Guard Justin Hohn led UCI with 17 points, going 8-14 from the field with a three-pointer. He also grabbed five rebounds and recorded two assists and a steal. Guard Myles Che dished a career-high seven assists and added 16 points on the strength of 10-12 shooting from the line. Forward Devin Tillis scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, making 5-6 shots, including two from long range in the final 20 minutes. The senior pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
 
THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 180 total points and 12.0 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 51 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 (51) and steals (22).

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 (78-132, 0.591) and has ten double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 118 total (7.9 rpg). Tillis also leads all Anteaters with nine career double-doubles posting his third of the season at Cal Poly on Jan. 2 (25 pts, 10 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 8.4 rebounds a game in 15 contests played, and paces the scoring at 15.1 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in ten games this year, the latest at Cal Poly (Jan. 2) where he put up 24 points. 

CHE-SANITY
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che helps lead the distribution effort with his 38 total assists. Che adds to the scoring effort with his 10.6 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 seventh double figure scoring effort with 16 points versus UC Riverside. 

SWAT TEAM
Junior transfer Kyle Evans has registered multiple blocks in three straight contests (Nov. 29-Dec. 5), totaling 21 over 15 contests. His 21 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. 

BRICK WALL
The big men down low of Bent Leuchten, Kyle Evans, and Elijah Chol pose a threat in the defensive paint for opponents. The three trio combine to average 9.4 defensive rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Both Evans (21) and Leuchten (18) have double figure swats at the rim with Chol close at eight.

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 120 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 528, Opp. 408). The Anteaters average 35.2 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in seven games so far (Chapman--42, Northern Iowa--48, Weber State--44, Kennesaw State--44, Belmont--42, California Baptist--46, Cal Poly--42).

TEN'S ALL AROUND
Through 15 games in the season, Bent Leuchten has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in 12 of those contests to average 15.1 points and 8.4 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 15.1, Devin Tillis right behind at 13.7, and Justin Hohn next at 12.0. While not a veteran who has played their whole career at UC Irvine, Myles Che is the fourth player on the team ti average double digits with 10.6 points.

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 1,097 career tallies. Hohn begins his ascent in the ranks and is 40 points away from surpassing Patrick Sanders (1,136--2004-08) for 27th.

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 525 career boards. Tillis continues his ascent in the ranks and is three rebounds away from surpassing Jeff Herdman (527, 1987-91) and 29 grabs off the glass from moving in front of Eric Wise (553, 2008-11) for 21st.

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 two steals away from moving in front of Mike Hess (120, 1985-88) from ninth and five from surpassing both Ben McDonald (123, 1980-84) and Scott Brooks (123, 1985-87) for eighth.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2288 eligible players, Devin Tillis is 22nd in free throw percentage (0.914), 25th in true shooting percentage (67.7), 44th in effective field goal percentage (63.9). Bent Leuchten is 17th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.2) and 25th in free throw rate (71.7). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks second in free throw percentage offense (82.6), second in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (19.5), eighth in offensive rebound percentage defense (24.0), 15th in adjusted efficiency defense (94.0), 15th in block percentage offense (6.4), 16th in two-point percentage defense (44.1), and 31st in effective field goal percentage defense (45.8).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (10th, 15.1--Leuchten), rebounding (2nd, 8.4--Leuchten and 3rd, 7.9--Tillis), field goal percentage (4th, 0.591--Tillis and 5th, 0.539--Leuchten), free throw percentage (1st, 0.895--Che and 4th, 0.842--Leuchten), assists (6th, 3.4--Hohn), blocks (3rd, 1.4--Evans and 6th, 1.2--Leuchten), and steals (8th, 1.5--Hohn).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 01.07.25
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (4th, 81.6), defensive rebounds per game (6th, 29.67), field goal percentage defense (31st, 0.391), scoring defense (32nd, 64.4), and free throws made per game (41st, 17.4)

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 46 rank with the Anteaters next at 57. CSUN also lands within the top 100 at 98.