Photo by: Regents of the University of California
UC Irvine Hosts Cal Poly; UC Davis In Final Regular Season Games
March 04, 2026 | Men's Basketball
THIS WEEK IN ANTEATER BASKETBALL
Cal Poly ย (13-17, 9-9) at UC Irvine (20-10, 13-5)ย
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Thursday, Mar. 5 - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ย |ย Live Statsย
UC Davis (17-12, 10-8) at UC Irvine (20-10, 13-5)ย
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Saturday, Mar. 7 - 5:00 PM | ESPNUย |ย Live Statsย
UC Irvine closes out the regular season with a pair of games at the Bren Events Center, beginning with Cal Poly Thursday (Mar. 5) at 7:00 p.m. followed by UC Davis Saturday (Mar. 7) at 5:00 p.m. - NOTE time change for Saturday.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU with James Westling and Corey Williams calling the action.
UCI will celebrate graduating players Andre Henry, Kyle Evans and Akiva McBirney-Griffin before the game against the Aggies.
STORYLINES
UC Irvine improved to 20-10 overall after wins over CSUN (68-67) and UC Santa Barbara (64-60) last week.
Entering the final week of the regular season, UCI and Hawaii share the top of the Big West standings at 13-5. UC San Diego and CSUN follow at 11-7.
The Anteaters have recorded 20 wins for the 11th time under head coach Russell Turner and 16th time in program history.
Nationally, UC Irvine ranks fourth in blocks (6.0), third in field goal percentage defense (38.0) and ninth in defensive rebounds (28.47).
With six blocks last week, senior forward Kyle Evans increased his nation-leading total to 102, just four shy of tying Mamadou Ndiaye's UCI and Big West single season blocks record of 106 set in 2013-14.
Evans also leads the country in block average (3.40).
UCI's bench out-scored the opponents 64-18 last week.
The Anteaters are 20th in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll.
CAL POLY LOWDOWN
Cal Poly beat UCI in the first meeting where they erased a 15-point deficit to win, 79-73, back on February 12 in San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs put up 50 points in the second half and were14-for-38 from three for the game. Jurian Dixon hit a career-high six threes for the 'Eaters and totaled 19 points alongside Derin Saran.
The win sparked a run of four straight for Cal Poly who beat UC Santa Barbara by 10, won at Hawai'i by 11, and recorded 102 points in a win versus Long Beach State. They were stopped last Saturday losing at UC San Diego.
The Mustangs are near the top of the Big West in scoring averaging 81.6 per game while allowing 83.7 points per game to opponents. Hamad Mousa is leading the charge for Cal Poly as the Big West leader at 21.3 points per game and also the only player shooting 90% from the line in Big West action (90.4%) while also hitting 2.9 threes a game. In the last meeting, Mousa only had three points and was picked up by four other Mustangs in double figures led by 18 from Guzman Vasilic.
UC DAVIS ON DECK
UC Davis is 17-12 overall and 10-8 in the Big West, tied for sixth place. The Aggies will play at Long Beach State Thursday before heading to Irvine.
The first matchup in Davis went to the Aggies edging UCI by three points in a game that was tied both at halftime and at the final media timeout. Niko Rocak (17pts, 4-11 3pt) led the way for UCD as the team dropped in 11 threes and made their way to the line for 30 free throws. At the time, the teams were separated by one in the overall and Big West win columns. Since, UC Davis has gone 6-5 notably beating UCSB and Cal Poly at home while dropping games to UCSD, twice, and additional road games at CSUN, Cal State Fullerton, and Hawai'i.
In Big West action, the Aggies score and allow right around 76 points a game as one of the better three-point shooting teams in the conference. Connorย Sevillaย is the only Aggie averaging over 27 minutes a game in Big West action and leads them with 13.6 points per game. They excel in assists with two of the better players at it in the Big West between Marcus Wilson and Brayden Fagbemi averaging 4.3 a contest.
TEAM EFFORT
UC Irvine has a balanced offensive attack with four or more players recording double-digit points in 18 games this year, including the win over CSUN last week. Six different Anteaters have led UCI in scoring this season with Jurian Dixon topping the squad 15 times.
MORE ON DIXON
Redshirt sophomore Jurian Dixon leads UCI and is eighth in the Big West in scoring with a 15.5 mark, recording double-digit scoring in all but four games this season. He has posted 20 or more points five times this season.
He leads the team with 62 three-pointers and ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.395) and eighth in three-pointers made per game (2.1) among Big West players.
EVANS MAKING HIS MARK
Senior Kyle Evans' 102 blocks is 20 more than anyone in the nation. Evans has recorded 10 double-doubles on the season, which are second most in the Big West. The forward is also second in the Big West in field goal percentage (.615) and rebounding with an 8.6 average. Against Big West opponents, Evans tops the league with 9.4 rebounds per outing. He is averaging 11.9 points per game, which is second on the team.
CLUTCH
With just 1.3 on the clock, guard Derin Saran knocked in the short bank to give UCI the victory over the Matadors. Saran is third on the team in scoring (11.4) and assists at 3.3 which is eighth in the Big West. He is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per outing. The redshirt sophomore has led the Anteaters in scoring eight times this season, including dropping a career-high 29 versus Northern Iowa. The guard has also led the Anteaters in rebounding seven times.
OFF THE BENCH
Guard Andre Henry scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half against the Gauchos last Saturday leading the comeback victory. He posted a season-high 19 points to lead UCI against Cal State Fullerton, going 8-8 from the floor with three threes. Henry is the NCAAs active leader in career games played at the same school, seeing action in 141 over his five-plus years. The 2024 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game overall.
Forward Harrison Carrington has recorded points in double figures in nine of the last 12 games. He is averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds on the year. Carrington pulled down a career-best eight rebounds twice this season and totaling a career-high 19 points versus Lincoln.
Jester Jr. is second on the team in steals with 41, swiping a career-high six against North Dakota State. The redshirt freshman is averaging 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Jester Jr. shared the team lead against the Gauchos last week with 13 points.
Elijah Chol returned to the Anteater lineup last week after missing eight games with an injury. The big man has scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound in all but one game he has played in this season and is averaging 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He is second on the team in blocks, swatting 1.0 per contest.
RUNNING THE SHOW
Freshman Tama Isaac has started every game this season at point guard, averaging 4.2 assists per game which ranks third among Big West players. He dished a career-best 13 assists versus CSU Bakersfield, the third most in the league this year. He is also averaging 6.5 and 3.3 points per game.
DOWN LOW
Post player Akiva McBirney-Griffin has started the last 10 games, recording at least one rebound in every game during that stretch and at least two points in all but one game. He is averaging 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He recorded a season-high eight points twice this year and grabbed a season-best seven rebounds in the opener against Bethesda.
LAST WEEK REWIND
In a battle of first place teams, UCI's Derin Saran snuck underneath the basket for a layup as time expired to give UCI a 68-67 victory, snapping CSUN's seven-game winning streak. After trailing by four with 55 seconds remaining, UCI rallied with the final five points. Guard Jurian Dixon pulled up for a free throw line jumper with 38 seconds before Saran's heroics at the buzzer.
Dixon led the Anteaters with 14 points, hitting 6-12 from the floor, including two three pointers. He also totaled four assists and two steals. Saran followed with 13 points, five rebounds, four steals and an assist.
Once again UCI trailed late on Saturday versus UCSB. The Gauchos held a 57-55 lead with 3:27 to play before UC Irvine went on a 9-3 run to end the game.
Dixon gave UCI a 59-57 lead with 1:15 to go before guard Andre Henry stole the ball on the defensive end then drained a jumper on the other. A Gaucho technical foul following the play put Henry on the line for two more, giving UCI a 63-57 lead with 25 seconds to go. Tama Issac added a free throw to seal the victory with four seconds left.
UCI was led by Jovan Jester Jr. and Jurian Dixon with 13 points each. Jester Jr. went 4-6 from the floor and 5-7 from the line with four steals and four rebounds. Dixon scored 11 of his points in the first half, hitting 5-11 from the field for the game, including the team's lone three-pointer. Dixon also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and had two assists.
ย
Cal Poly ย (13-17, 9-9) at UC Irvine (20-10, 13-5)ย
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Thursday, Mar. 5 - 7:00 PM | ESPN+ย |ย Live Statsย
UC Davis (17-12, 10-8) at UC Irvine (20-10, 13-5)ย
Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Saturday, Mar. 7 - 5:00 PM | ESPNUย |ย Live Statsย
UC Irvine closes out the regular season with a pair of games at the Bren Events Center, beginning with Cal Poly Thursday (Mar. 5) at 7:00 p.m. followed by UC Davis Saturday (Mar. 7) at 5:00 p.m. - NOTE time change for Saturday.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU with James Westling and Corey Williams calling the action.
UCI will celebrate graduating players Andre Henry, Kyle Evans and Akiva McBirney-Griffin before the game against the Aggies.
STORYLINES
UC Irvine improved to 20-10 overall after wins over CSUN (68-67) and UC Santa Barbara (64-60) last week.
Entering the final week of the regular season, UCI and Hawaii share the top of the Big West standings at 13-5. UC San Diego and CSUN follow at 11-7.
The Anteaters have recorded 20 wins for the 11th time under head coach Russell Turner and 16th time in program history.
Nationally, UC Irvine ranks fourth in blocks (6.0), third in field goal percentage defense (38.0) and ninth in defensive rebounds (28.47).
With six blocks last week, senior forward Kyle Evans increased his nation-leading total to 102, just four shy of tying Mamadou Ndiaye's UCI and Big West single season blocks record of 106 set in 2013-14.
Evans also leads the country in block average (3.40).
UCI's bench out-scored the opponents 64-18 last week.
The Anteaters are 20th in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll.
CAL POLY LOWDOWN
Cal Poly beat UCI in the first meeting where they erased a 15-point deficit to win, 79-73, back on February 12 in San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs put up 50 points in the second half and were14-for-38 from three for the game. Jurian Dixon hit a career-high six threes for the 'Eaters and totaled 19 points alongside Derin Saran.
The win sparked a run of four straight for Cal Poly who beat UC Santa Barbara by 10, won at Hawai'i by 11, and recorded 102 points in a win versus Long Beach State. They were stopped last Saturday losing at UC San Diego.
The Mustangs are near the top of the Big West in scoring averaging 81.6 per game while allowing 83.7 points per game to opponents. Hamad Mousa is leading the charge for Cal Poly as the Big West leader at 21.3 points per game and also the only player shooting 90% from the line in Big West action (90.4%) while also hitting 2.9 threes a game. In the last meeting, Mousa only had three points and was picked up by four other Mustangs in double figures led by 18 from Guzman Vasilic.
UC DAVIS ON DECK
UC Davis is 17-12 overall and 10-8 in the Big West, tied for sixth place. The Aggies will play at Long Beach State Thursday before heading to Irvine.
The first matchup in Davis went to the Aggies edging UCI by three points in a game that was tied both at halftime and at the final media timeout. Niko Rocak (17pts, 4-11 3pt) led the way for UCD as the team dropped in 11 threes and made their way to the line for 30 free throws. At the time, the teams were separated by one in the overall and Big West win columns. Since, UC Davis has gone 6-5 notably beating UCSB and Cal Poly at home while dropping games to UCSD, twice, and additional road games at CSUN, Cal State Fullerton, and Hawai'i.
In Big West action, the Aggies score and allow right around 76 points a game as one of the better three-point shooting teams in the conference. Connorย Sevillaย is the only Aggie averaging over 27 minutes a game in Big West action and leads them with 13.6 points per game. They excel in assists with two of the better players at it in the Big West between Marcus Wilson and Brayden Fagbemi averaging 4.3 a contest.
TEAM EFFORT
UC Irvine has a balanced offensive attack with four or more players recording double-digit points in 18 games this year, including the win over CSUN last week. Six different Anteaters have led UCI in scoring this season with Jurian Dixon topping the squad 15 times.
MORE ON DIXON
Redshirt sophomore Jurian Dixon leads UCI and is eighth in the Big West in scoring with a 15.5 mark, recording double-digit scoring in all but four games this season. He has posted 20 or more points five times this season.
He leads the team with 62 three-pointers and ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.395) and eighth in three-pointers made per game (2.1) among Big West players.
EVANS MAKING HIS MARK
Senior Kyle Evans' 102 blocks is 20 more than anyone in the nation. Evans has recorded 10 double-doubles on the season, which are second most in the Big West. The forward is also second in the Big West in field goal percentage (.615) and rebounding with an 8.6 average. Against Big West opponents, Evans tops the league with 9.4 rebounds per outing. He is averaging 11.9 points per game, which is second on the team.
CLUTCH
With just 1.3 on the clock, guard Derin Saran knocked in the short bank to give UCI the victory over the Matadors. Saran is third on the team in scoring (11.4) and assists at 3.3 which is eighth in the Big West. He is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per outing. The redshirt sophomore has led the Anteaters in scoring eight times this season, including dropping a career-high 29 versus Northern Iowa. The guard has also led the Anteaters in rebounding seven times.
OFF THE BENCH
Guard Andre Henry scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half against the Gauchos last Saturday leading the comeback victory. He posted a season-high 19 points to lead UCI against Cal State Fullerton, going 8-8 from the floor with three threes. Henry is the NCAAs active leader in career games played at the same school, seeing action in 141 over his five-plus years. The 2024 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game overall.
Forward Harrison Carrington has recorded points in double figures in nine of the last 12 games. He is averaging 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds on the year. Carrington pulled down a career-best eight rebounds twice this season and totaling a career-high 19 points versus Lincoln.
Jester Jr. is second on the team in steals with 41, swiping a career-high six against North Dakota State. The redshirt freshman is averaging 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Jester Jr. shared the team lead against the Gauchos last week with 13 points.
Elijah Chol returned to the Anteater lineup last week after missing eight games with an injury. The big man has scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound in all but one game he has played in this season and is averaging 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He is second on the team in blocks, swatting 1.0 per contest.
RUNNING THE SHOW
Freshman Tama Isaac has started every game this season at point guard, averaging 4.2 assists per game which ranks third among Big West players. He dished a career-best 13 assists versus CSU Bakersfield, the third most in the league this year. He is also averaging 6.5 and 3.3 points per game.
DOWN LOW
Post player Akiva McBirney-Griffin has started the last 10 games, recording at least one rebound in every game during that stretch and at least two points in all but one game. He is averaging 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He recorded a season-high eight points twice this year and grabbed a season-best seven rebounds in the opener against Bethesda.
LAST WEEK REWIND
In a battle of first place teams, UCI's Derin Saran snuck underneath the basket for a layup as time expired to give UCI a 68-67 victory, snapping CSUN's seven-game winning streak. After trailing by four with 55 seconds remaining, UCI rallied with the final five points. Guard Jurian Dixon pulled up for a free throw line jumper with 38 seconds before Saran's heroics at the buzzer.
Dixon led the Anteaters with 14 points, hitting 6-12 from the floor, including two three pointers. He also totaled four assists and two steals. Saran followed with 13 points, five rebounds, four steals and an assist.
Once again UCI trailed late on Saturday versus UCSB. The Gauchos held a 57-55 lead with 3:27 to play before UC Irvine went on a 9-3 run to end the game.
Dixon gave UCI a 59-57 lead with 1:15 to go before guard Andre Henry stole the ball on the defensive end then drained a jumper on the other. A Gaucho technical foul following the play put Henry on the line for two more, giving UCI a 63-57 lead with 25 seconds to go. Tama Issac added a free throw to seal the victory with four seconds left.
UCI was led by Jovan Jester Jr. and Jurian Dixon with 13 points each. Jester Jr. went 4-6 from the floor and 5-7 from the line with four steals and four rebounds. Dixon scored 11 of his points in the first half, hitting 5-11 from the field for the game, including the team's lone three-pointer. Dixon also grabbed a team-high six rebounds and had two assists.
ย
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballCan you answer them all??
Friday, March 27
TISHAN for THREEEE ๐
Thursday, March 26
UCI Men's Basketball | Head Coach Russell Turner | CBS Segment
Monday, March 23
UCI Men's Basketball vs. Cal Poly | 3.5.2026 | Postgame Interview
Friday, March 06
