THIS WEEK IN ANTEATER BASKETBALL
UC Irvine (16-8, 9-3) at Cal Poly (9-16, 5-8)
Mott Athletics Center (3,032) - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Thursday, Feb. 12 - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |  Live Stats 

UC Irvine (16-8, 9-3) at Cal State Fullerton (12-13, 7-6)
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Saturday, Feb. 14 - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |  Live Stats 

UC Irvine hits the road again, traveling to Cal Poly Thursday (Feb. 12) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the Mott Athletics Center before returning home to host Cal State Fullerton Saturday (Feb. 14) at the Bren Events Center. Tip is 7:00 p.m.

STORYLINES
UC Irvine is 16-8 overall and tied for the top of the Big West standings at 9-3.

Cal Poly is the lone Big West team UCI hasn't played this season.

The Anteaters have won the last seven meetings with the Mustangs, including three last season, the final one a 96-78 victory to start the Big West Championship. Kyle Evans and Jurian Dixon each added 10 points, while Evans grabbed six rebounds and had two blocks.

Nationally, UC Irvine ranks third in blocks (6.1), fourth in field goal percentage defense (37.8) and eighth in defensive rebounds (28.71).

Senior forward Kyle Evans continues to lead the country in total blocks (81) and block average (3.38).

Following last week's action, Evans moved into seventh on the Big West season block list moving past Long Beach State's Joshua Morgan (80 in 2019-20), UC Santa Barbara's Eric McArthur (78 in1988-89) and UNLV's George Ackles (77 in 1990-91) and Elmore Spencer (76 in 1990-91). He is two shy of UC Riverside's Vili Martin's mark of 83 in 2001-02.

UC Irvine is currently ranked 15th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Poll.

HONORING ALEX YOUNG
UCI will formally induct Alex Young (2012-16) into the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 on Friday followed by an on court celebration at halftime on Saturday.

Young is the only player in UCI history to record at least 1,000 points, 500 assists and 500 rebounds in his career. He currently ranks No. 1 in UCI career assists (576), fourth in steals (154), 12th in points (1,324), 19th in three-point field goals made (130) and 29th with 504 career rebounds. The guard played on four consecutive postseason teams at UCI, including UCI first NCAA Tournament team. He played in 139 career games, winning 93 times. He was named to the 2016 All-Big West Conference Second Team as well as All-Big West Honorable Mention selection in 2014 and 2015. He was honored as Big West co-Freshman of the Year in 2013.

He would go on to serve as an assistant coach, helping the Anteaters to their second NCAA appearance from the bench.

CAL POLY LOWDOWN
The 'Eaters have won seven straight over the Mustangs and 17 of the last 18.

The Mustangs are in the second year of the Mike DeGeorge era winning 16 games last year and finishing seventh in the Big West, and are 9-16 so far this year. Notably, they won at Seattle U and at Utah in non-conference, and have five Big West wins including at Fullerton, at UC Davis, and home vs. UC San Diego.

Cal Poly is on the run on the offensive end as the third-highest-scoring team in the Big West with 81.1 average, scoring 80 or more points 15 times this season. They do most of their damage from deep, averaging 32.4 three-point attempts and 11 makes.

Dayton transfer Hamad Mousa sets the tone with 20.8 points per game while leading with a 5.9 rebounds average and making 87.2% from the line. Twelve Mustangs average 10+ minutes with Peter Bandelj and Cayden Ward both averaging 14 points per game in over 29 minutes a game.

TITANS ON THE HORIZON
The season's final meeting between the Orange County rivals comes to the Bren on Saturday night. UCI has won five straight to lead in the all-time series, 65-60, in which they're 31-25 in the Bren.

The last matchup in early January was back and forth in the first half before UCI went on a run to close it and lead by 10 never looking back for an 86-64 victory. Derin Saran led the team in all offensive categories and had a double-double while the team knocked down 11 threes. The Titans also had 11 threes getting a game-high 19 points from KJ Garris.

Cal State Fullerton is 7-6 in the Big West standings with a 12-13 overall record. Since the teams met, Fullerton is 6-3 which has included a win at UCSD, vs. CSUN, and road losses at UC Davis, UCR, and UCSB. They stop by LBSU Thursday before heading to UCI. The Titans still boast four players averaging double figures and score 83.8 points per game.

MORE ON EVANS
Senior forward Kyle Evans has totaled a nation's leading 81 blocks this season, the most by an Anteater player since Will Davis II had 85 in 2012-13. Evans ranks seventh all-time in UCI blocks with 126. He is now tracking down Brad Greene who totaled 150 from 2016-21.

The senior has been named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List as well as earning Lute Olson Award National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 2.

Evans is second in the Big West in field goal percentage (.633) and rebounding with an 8.4 average, while being 22nd in scoring at 12.2 points per game. He has recorded six double-doubles this season, the second most in the Big West.

OFF THE BENCH
Guard Andre Henry and forward Harrison Carrington have made a huge impact off the bench this season and particularly the last five games.

Henry is averaging 14.2 points and shooting .500 (26-52) from the floor over the last five games. He has recorded points in double figures 11 times this season, including a season-high 18 points to lead UCI against UCSB last time out.

Henry is the NCAAs active leader in career games played at the same school, seeing action in 135 over his five-plus years. The 2024 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 8.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game overall.

Carrington has recorded double-digit points in each of the last six games and has grabbed a career-best eight rebounds in two of the last three. Over the last five outings, he has averaged 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, shooting .541 (20-37) from the floor.

Overall, Carrington is averaging 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

AMONG THE BIG WEST BEST
Redshirt sophomore Jurian Dixon is seventh in the Big West in scoring with a 15.7 mark, recording double-digit scoring in all but four games this season. He has led the Anteaters in scoring 11 times and posted 20 or more points four times this season. The guard leads the team in threes with 45.

Following last week's action, Dixon broke the 700 career points plateau with 715 in 63 games.

Redshirt sophomore Derin Saran ranks eighth in assists (3.6), 14th in rebounds (5.5) and 16th in minutes played (30.0) among Big West players. He has recorded 20 or more points four times this season, including a career and Anteater-high 29 versus Northern Iowa. He has led the Anteaters in scoring on seven occasions and topped the squad in rebounding seven times.

True freshman Tama Isaac is averaging 4.3 assists per game, which is fourth in the Big West. Against the Roadrunners last Thursday, he posted his second career double-double with 11 points and 13 assists.

SHARING IS CARING
Tama Isaac dished a career-high 13 assists last Thursday, the third most by a Big West player this season, tied for 24th nationally and the most by a UCI player since Pierre Crockrell II had 16 against CSU Bakersfield in 2023.

Isaac has recorded seven or more assists five times this season.

LAST WEEK REWIND
UCI split a pair of games, beating CSU Bakersfield 78-62 at home and falling 84-79 at UC Santa Barabra on Saturday,

UCI used a 10-2 run in the final minutes of the first half to take control of the game against the Roadrunners and never relinquish the lead.

The Anteaters had five players in double-digit scoring. UCI went 29-70 from the floor (41.4%), scoring 18 points on fast breaks and 20 off of Roadrunner turnovers.

Versus UCSB, the Anteaters mounted a comeback after being 21 points down in the second half using a 15-3 run, including nine from Andre Henry, to close within five (75-70) with 42 seconds to play. The Gauchos were able to finish the game 8-10 from the line to seal the win.

Both teams shot 50.0 percent from the field with the Gauchos holding a 37-27 advantage in rebounds.