IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Irvine and UC San Diego rematch on the national stage inside the Bren Events Center on Saturday Feb. 8 to close out the season series between the two programs.

UC San Diego at RV UC Irvine
Saturday, Feb. 8 | 7:00 p.m. PT
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
AM 830 | KUCI 88.9 | 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 an 19-4 overall record
> The Tritons have won their last four outings, including the program's first win at Hawai'i (W, 74-63) when they erased a 13-point deficit
> In conference play, UC San Diego has only lost to the Anteaters (L, 60-52) and at UC Riverside (L, 85-81)
> UCSD were defeated twice in the month of November, the last on Nov. 16 against Seattle, 84-71 to ignite a 12-game win streak
> The Tritons finished their non-conference schedule with a 10-2 record, 6-1 on their home court. Their only home loss of the out of conference portion 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 19.9 points per contest, connects 58.5 percent of his shots from the field (144-246), has taken and made the most free throws (161-199, 0.809), blocked nine shots, dished out 70 assists, and is second in rebounds per game (5.1)
> Tyler McGhie is next up with 17.3 points per game while taking the most shots from the floor (141-320, 0.441) and from three-point range (80-201, 0.398)
> McGhie is also an 86.0 percent free throw shooter (37-43)
> Hayden Gray pours in 11.0 points per game
> Gray shoots over 40 percent from both the floor (93-196, 0.474) and from long-range (35-87, 0.402)
> Additionally, Gray has stolen the ball a team-leading 81 times and has dished out 69 assists
> Nordin Kapic scores 10.3 points a game and is the top rebounder (5.3 rpg) and shot blocker (10) on the Triton squad
> Chris Howell converts 42-88 (0.477) of his shots while being second-best in steals (50), and third in assists (66)
> All five mentioned UCSD players have played and started in all 23 games played by the Tritons

CELEBRATING THE HISTORIC 2014-15 SEASON
The 2014-15 season marked the 50th season of the UC Irvine men's basketball program and it was celebrated in a big way with the team's first Big West Tournament title and NCAA appearance. UC Irvine will honor the 10-year anniversary of the historic team on Saturday (Feb. 8) versus UC San Diego. The Anteaters ended the year 21-13 overall and were ranked No. 23 in the season's final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

STAYING IN THE NATIONAL BALLOT
For the sixth time this season and for four consecutive weeks, UC Irvine has received at least one vote in the national publications. The Anteaters earned one vote in USA Today's ballot.

MID-MAJOR POLL POSITION
The Anteaters moved up to a No. 3 rank in the College Insider Mid-Major poll, with their 693 total points. The Anteaters have been top 10 in the poll for 13 straight weeks.

AT THE TOP OF THE BIG WEST
Through 11 league games played, UC Irvine maintains their spot at the top of the standings with a 10-1 Big West record.  The Anteaters are ahead of the Tritons (19-4 overall, 9-2 Big West) and both CSUN (16-7, 8-4) and UC Riverside (15-9, 8-4) for third.

CONTINUING TO WRITE HISTORY: 20-WIN SEASON
Holding a 20-3 record, UC Irvine has earned their 15th 20-win season in program history and 10th under head coach Russell Turner. This marks the third consecutive season with 20 or more wins as the 2022-23 squad finished the year 23-12 and ended 2023-24 at a 24-10 mark. UCI recorded their 20th win in 23 games, matching the 2000-01 squad as the fastest to accomplish the feat. UCI's home winning streak extends to 22 straight. The Anteaters were the first Big West team to reach this milestone in the 2024-25 season and third to do so in the nation.

VETERAN TALENT: CAREER GAMES PLAYED IN THE BIG WEST 
In his fifth season on the court and sixth overall with the UC Irvine squad, forward Ofure Ujadughele has entered into the top five of the career games played in the Big West with 143. Ujadughele is on track to break the all-time standard of 148 games set by Mike Best (2012-16) before the season ends. Additionally, guard Justin Hohn has played 137 career games, entering the league's top ten in the category. 

LAST TIME OUT VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO (JAN. 11, 2025)
UC Irvine remains atop the Big West standings as they defeated UC San Diego, the previous winners of 12 straight contests, 60-52, in a sold out LionTree Arena Saturday evening. The Anteaters defense clamped down to hold the Tritons to 52 points, the lowest offensive production from UCSD this season. It was the eighth time this season where UCI has held opponents to under 60 points and fourth time under 52 tallies. Center Bent Leuchten was a dominant force going for 23 points and 13 rebounds to notch his seventh double-double of the season. Leuchten exploded in the second half where he scored 15 points with six makes from the line (6-7) and pulled down seven boards. Myles Che pulled together a 15-point effort on the strength of three three-pointers (3-7), tying his career-best, and dished out a team-high four assists.

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 (62.8) which is 12th in the NCAA while the Anteaters are second in the conference with a 65.1 mark standing 29th in the nation.

DEFEND THE THREE
UC Irvine, the Big West's best three-point defending team at a 0.313 clip, will need to clamp down on beyond the arc defense as the Tritons enter the game on Saturday with the nation's 23rd best three-point pointers per game mark standing at 10.1. UC San Diego also attempts 29 from long-range per game which is good for 16th in the NCAA. For UCSD, Tyler McGhie ranks fifth in total three-point field goals made (80), sixth in the NCAA in both three-pointers per game (3.48), 13th in three-point attempts (201), and 65th in three-point percentage (39.8). On the other hand, the Tritons are 10th in the league in opponent three-point field goal percentage (0.353).

SLOW YOUR ROLL
UCI enters the contest in as the nation's 10th ranked team in field goal percentage defense as they hold their opponents to a 0.390 clip from the field. UC San Diego shoots over this mark over their 23 games played, as they hold a 0.546 effective field goal clip which ranks 54th in the nation which helps power their 80.3 scoring offense (50th nationally).

WATCH YOUR HANDLE
UC San Diego enters Saturday's game as one of the nation's best turnover margin team (2nd, 7.2) while ranking within the top 10 in steals per game (2nd, 10.7), turnovers forced per game (6th, 16.52), and turnovers committed per game (6th, 9.3). The Tritons Hayden Gray is first in the NCAA in both steals per game (3.52) and total steals (81).

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 401 makes in 497 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.807) which is also the nation's third best shooting clip at the line. UC Irvine went a perfect 13-13 at the charity stripe on Jan. 30, their second time doing so this season (14-14 vs. Pepperdine on Nov. 16).  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 13 opponents to just single digit makes from the line, the last at Long Beach State (Jan. 30) and did so in four consecutive games (Dec. 19-Jan. 2). In the national standings, Bent Leuchten ranks eighth in made free throws (131) and 22nd in free throw attempts (156) while Myles Che is 33rd in free throw percentage (0.883). 

EFFICIENCY IN IRVINE
Bent Leuchten is the Big West's most efficient player thus far into the season with a 31.1 grade which is the fifth best mark in the nation. Leuchten ranks first among all players in four categories: defensive rating (87.3), overall box plus/minus (11.9), offensive box plus/minus (8.2), and offensive rating (134.9). The center also ranks fifth in defensive box/plus minus (3.5).

CHASING 1K
Senior Bent Leuchten enters Saturday's contest with 941 career points, just 59 away from the 1,000 career scorers milestone. Leuchten would become the 34th Anteater to accomplish this feat in a UC Irvine uniform, the second of the season to join guard Justin Hohn in the list. 

UCI HITS 20 WINS WITH 73-66 VICTORY OVER UC DAVIS
Center Bent Leuchten posted his 11th double-double of the season in RV UC Irvine's 73-66 victory over UC Davis at the Bren Events Center Saturday afternoon. With the win, UCI became the third team in the country to win 20 games this season (20-3), for the 15th 20-win season in program history and 10th under head coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters recorded their 20th win in 23 games, matching the 2000-01 squad as the fastest to accomplish the feat. UCI's home winning streak extends to 22 straight. Leuchten, who ranks eighth nationally in double-doubles, had a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds and dished a career-best six assists in addition to two blocks. The center went 5-11 from the floor and 9-9 from the free throw line in 30 minutes of action.

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 281 total points and 12.2 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 58 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, Hohn reached 1,100 career points in his 16-point outing at CSUN on Jan. 9. The guard leads the Anteaters in both assists (85) and steals (35).

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 (113-207, 0.546) and has 15 double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 175 total (8.0 rpg). Tillis is tied for the team lead of 11 career double-doubles, posting his fifth of the season versus Hawai'i on Jan. 25 (11 pts, 13 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 9.2 rebounds a game in 23 contests played, and paces the scoring at 15.7 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in 18 games this year, the latest versus UC Davis (Feb. 1) where he put up 21 points. The German is just one of seven players who have seven or more 20 point, 10 rebound efforts this season.

CHE-SANITY
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che helps lead the distribution effort with his 66 total assists. Che adds to the scoring effort with his 12.4 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 15th double figure scoring effort of the season, 11th straight, with 17 versus UC Davis. Che has had three 20-point efforts this season with all three happening in the month of January. 

FITTING RIGHT IN
Redshirt freshman guard Jurian Dixon entered the UC Irvine starting lineup on Dec. 14 at Oregon State and has proved himself on both the offensive and defensive ends. The guard averages 7.2 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game over 23 contests. Dixon continues to have career performances or break through nights, his latest versus Cal Poly (Jan. 18) with seven rebounds and four steals.

SWAT TEAM
Junior transfer Kyle Evans registered multiple blocks in three straight contests (Nov. 29-Dec. 5) and just saw his six-game block streak (Jan. 11-Jan. 30) come to an end, totaling 32 over 23 contests. His 32 swats at the rim rank third in the Big West. The forward had several career performances in a few games span with his latest on Jan. 25 versus Hawai'i where he matched his career high 12 points on perfect 6-6 shooting from the floor and tied his career best four blocks.

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 9.9 defensive rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. All three big men have double figure blocks on the season: Evans (32), Leuchten (27), and Chol (10). In conference contests, the trio average 10.5 defensive rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 140 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 762, Opp. 622). The Anteaters average 33.2 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in eight games so far (Chapman--42, Northern Iowa--48, Weber State--44, Kennesaw State--44, Belmont--42, California Baptist--46, Cal Poly--42, Cal Poly--46).

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 15.7, Devin Tillis right behind at 13.4, and Justin Hohn next at 12.2. While not a veteran who has played their whole career at UC Irvine, Myles Che is the fourth player on the team to average double digits with 12.4 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 1,198 career tallies. Hohn begins his ascent in the ranks and is 10 points away from passing Chris McNealy (1,207--2010-14) for 24th, 15 to go ahead of Jerry Maras (1,212--1972-75), and 16 to move ahead of Ricky Butler (1,213--1988-91).

500-REBOUND MACHINES 
Redshirt senior Devin Tillis put his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 28th Anteater to reach the 500-rebound achievement. The forward reached this milestone in the win at California Baptist (Dec. 30) and has 582 career boards. Tillis continues his ascent in the ranks and is three behind Mark Nelson (585, 1965-67) for 19th, four back from both Nick Sanden (586, 1966-69) and Jeff Cunningham (586, 1967-70) for 18th, and 14 away from assistant coach Michael Wilder (596, 2009-13). Additionally, senior Bent Leuchten became the 29th Anteater to pull down 500 rebounds in their UCI career. The center accomplished this feat at UC Riverside (Jan. 23) and has 536 career rebounds. Leuchten sits 23rd and needs 18 more to move in front of Eric Wise (553, 2008-11) for 22nd.

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 ranks seventh with 132 in his career and needs 12 more in order to move in front of Evan Leonard (143, 2016-20) for sixth.

THREE-POINT SNIPER
Justin Hohn placed his name in the record book for the third time this season, entering the top 10 in career made three-pointers made with his three triples against Hawai'i (Jan. 25). He is eighth with 176. Hohn needs 14 more three-pointers to reach Jaron Martin (190, 2013-17) for seventh.

TEN'S ALL AROUND
Through 23 games in the season, Bent Leuchten has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in 19 of those contests to average 15.7 points and 9.2 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.

HOME SWEET HOME RECORD
The Anteaters, who have won 22 consecutive home games, have set the new consecutive home win standard, broke the mark of 19 set between Dec. 2, 2000-Jan. 17, 2002 on Jan. 18 against Cal Poly. UCI currently holds the nation's longest home winning streak.

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2296 eligible players, Bent Leuchten is ninth in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.4), 10th in free throw rate (75.8), and 35th in defensive rebound percentage (25.7). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks third in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (21.0), third in free throw percentage offense (81.2), fifth in two-point percentage defense (42.9), eighth in adjusted efficiency defense (92.9), 10th in effective field goal percentage defense (44.5), 19th in assists per field goals made (61.2), 26th in offensive rebound percentage defense (25.8), 27th in block percentage offense (7.1), 30th in free throw offense (22.6), and 30th in average possession length defense (16.7).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (8th, 15.47-Leuchten), rebounding (2nd, 9.2--Leuchten and 3rd, 8.0--Tillis), field goal percentage (4th, 0.546--Tillis and 6th, 0.530--Leuchten), free throw percentage (2nd, 0.883--Che and 6th, 0.840--Leuchten), three-point field goals per game (10th, 1.9--Hohn), assists (5th, 3.7--Hohn), blocks (3rd, 1.4--Evans and 5th, 1.2--Leuchten), and steals (8th, 1.5--Hohn).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 02.06.25
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (3rd, 80.7), defensive rebounds per game (3rd, 30.26), field goal percentage defense (10th, 38.3), free throws made per game (16th, 17.4), rebounds per game (26th, 39.74), scoring defense (29th, 65.1), and scoring margin (35th, 11.0).

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 52 rank with the Anteaters next at 56.