IRVINE, Calif. -- The Anteaters trek out to Henderson, Nevada for the Big West Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 1 seed and a double bye into the semifinal round (Mar. 15) for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
No. 4 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 1 seed UC Irvine
Friday, Mar. 15 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Dollar Loan Center | Henderson,Nev.
AM 830|Live Stats|Watch (ESPN+)/ESPNU (tape delay)|Tickets| Tournament Central | UC Irvine Fan Central |GameNotes
ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE
> Long Beach State finished the regular season on a five game losing streak, but came out on top against No. 5 seeded UC Riverside in the quarterfinal round of the Big West Championship
> In the second half, The Beach shot at a 0.615 (16-26) from the floor while going 4-9 (0.444) from three. LBSU ended the game 30-55 (0.545) from the field, 8-19 (0.421) from long range, and 18-27 (0.667) from the free throw line
> Aboubacar Traore became the first player in Big West history to record a triple double the the championship tournament
> LBSU is 2-2 in neutral site contests on the season, 1-2 during the regular season
> In the Big West, Long Beach State ranks last overall in scoring defense (75.8) but boasts the league's best scoring offense (77.7)
> In 33 games played, the Beach have used 15 different starting lineups with their most used one of Silva, Tsohonis, Jones, A. Traore, and L. Traore going 3-4 on the year, but have gone 4-0 when using Thompson, Tsohonis, Jones, A. Traore, and L. Traore together
> Marcus Tsohonis leads Long Beach State with his 495 total points on the season, 17.7 per game
> Tsohonis is one of the team's leaders in trips made to the free throw line with his 119 makes on 156 attempts (0.763)
> Jaden Jones is next up in the scoring effort for The Beach with 12.3 points per game, 381 total
> Jones likes to shoot the three-pointer as he has taken and made the most out of any LBSU with his 0.378 clip (71-188)
> Aboubacar Traore ranks third on the team with 11.9 points per game, 392 total
> A. Traore is the top distributor for LBSU with 144 assists (4.4 apg), has blocked 50 shots, and is second on the team in rebounds (8.1 rpg)
> Additionally, the guard is the Beach's top shooter going 138-256 (0.539) from the floor
> Lassina Traore is a walking double double with 11.8 points per game (379 total) and 10.4 rebounds per game (334 total)
> AJ George rounds out the double figure scoring with his 10.6 average (349 total) in 33 games
> Long Beach State was picked to finish second in the Big West Preseason Poll with two first place votes and finished fifth in the league
UC IRVINE POSTSEASON HISTORY IN THE BIG WEST
UC Irvine has become dominant in the postseason in the Big West. The Anteaters hold an overall record of 38-37 through multiple rounds of league tournament. In the semifinal round, UCI is 9-14 and 3-3 against Long Beach State in the round to advance to the final.
BACK TO BACK REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
After defeating Cal State Fullerton on Saturday evening, UC Irvine holds onto the first place spot with a 17-3 Big West record and claimed their seventh Big West regular season title under head coach Russell Turner in a 10 year span, ninth in program history, with their win over Cal Poly (Mar. 7). It is the fourth time that the Anteaters have done this is back to back years.
ALL BIG WEST SELECTIONS
Pierre Crockrell II, Justin Hohn, and Andre Henry each received All-Big West honors, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon. Crockrell II was named to the six man All-Big West First Team, after his honorable mention nod last season. Hohn earned a spot on the All-Big West Second Team for his first career postseason award. Hohn was selected at the Big West's Best Defensive Player, the first Anteater to be named to the designation since Brad Greene in 2020. Additionally, Henry was placed as an honorable mention.
BLACK AND BLUE RIVALRY
Just 25 minutes and the 405 separate UC Irvine and Long Beach State. The series was first started in the 1965-66 season with league play picking up over 20 years later in the 1977-78 season. The two teams have split the series the last two seasons and UC Irvine earned the first sweep since 2021. UCI holds the slight 8-7 edge in neutral site contests against The Beach and have not met on a neutral floor since March 2019 where the Anteaters prevailed, 75-67.
BEST OF THE BIG WEST: COACHING DUEL
UC Irvine's Russell Tuner and Long Beach State's Dan Monson are among some of the best coaches in the league. Turner is fourth (289) and Monson is fifth (273) in Big West victory leaders, fourth (161) and fifth (154) in Big West conference game wins, and fourth (26) and third (29) in Big West tournament game wins.
LEAGUE'S BEST OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
Friday's game will be a battle between the Big West's best scoring offense and defense. UC Irvine boasts the best defense in the league, holding opponents to 67.3 points a game which happens to be 10.4 points under the Long Beach State's Big West leading scoring offense of 77.7 points per game. The Anteaters also hold the league lead in scoring margin on 10.3 as well as the second mark in the conference in opponent field goal percentage (0.406). UCI has held seven league foes (nine games).
VETERAN LEADERSHIP LEADS UCI TO 82-61 WIN OVER LBSU (MAR. 2)
Guard Pierre Crockrell II took over in the second half to lead UC Irvine to an 82-61 Black & Blue Rivalry win over Long Beach State in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bren Events Center. Crockrell II went 5-8 (0.625) from the floor and had seven assists in the second half, ending the night with his fourth double-double of the season, recording 12 points and 11 dimes. The Anteaters, the Big West's best defensive team, held the league's top scoring team to 61 points for the second time this season. The Beach struggled from long distance, shooting just 3-18 (0.167) from three-point range, the lowest mark by an opponent this year. Guard Justin Hohn paced UCI with 13 points, hitting three three-pointers. Hohn also had four rebounds and an assist.
CONTINUED CONFERENCE PLAY SUCCESS
UC Irvine stands as just one of nine teams to have finished the season with a winning record in conference play in each of the past 12 seasons. Kansas, Oregon, and Virginia stand as the only power five conference teams on the list. Representing the mid-major schools are the Anteaters, Belmont, Gonzaga, Norfolk State, Vermont, and Yale. UCI is the only California school on the list and one of three West Coast representatives. Additionally, the Anteaters are one of six teams (Belmont, Gonzaga, Norfolk State, Vermont, and Virginia) have finished at least four games above 0.500 in conference play in each of the past 12 years.
ANTEATER IN RARE TERRITORY
With his 11 assists in the March 7th victory over Cal Poly, Pierre Crockrell II joined Raimonds Miglinieks (1994-95, 1995-96) as the second ever Anteater in program history to distribute 200 or more assists in a season.
CLIMBING THE NCAA ACTIVE CAREER RANKS
Pierre Crockrell II currently sits seventh in the all-time active career assist leader board with his 692 assists in 148 games played. The fifth year senior is nine assists behind sixth place and has amassed this amount in the third fewest games out of the top-10 active players. Additionally, Crockrell II is fifth with his 2.62 assist-turnover ratio.
CAREER LEADER BOARD WATCH
With 128 made three-pointers in his career, redshirt senior Justin Hohn is now 19th in the career made three-pointers leader board and is two three-pointers away from tying assistant coach Alex Young (2012-16) for 18th. Additionally, Pierre Crockrell II is officially top-10 in program history for career assists, ranking seventh with 381 total. Crockrell II is now 31 assists away from catching Jerry Green (1998-02) for sixth.
UC IRVINE DOMINATES GLASS TO BEAT CAL STATE FULLERTON, 81-71
UC Irvine dominated Cal State Fullerton on the glass to beat the Titans 81-71, closing out the regular season at Titan Gym on Saturday. The Anteaters out-rebounded the Titans 41-20 and owned a 19-3 advantage in second chance points with 13 offensive rebounds.Forward Devin Tillis pulled down a game-high ten rebounds followed by Bent Leuchten with eight and Justin Hohn's seven. Leuchten led all players with 17 points, going 5-9 (0.556) from the floor and 7-8 (0.875) from the line in addition to a block. Another key was the free throw line with the Anteaters hitting 19-25 (0.760), while CSUF was 8-14 (0.571).
ALL ABOUT THE ROTATION
The 'Eaters, who are a strong scoring team receive a lot of momentum from the second and third rotations. UCI is ranked 16th nationally in bench points per game (29.00) and have out performed their opponent 21 times this season with non-starters.
SINGLE SEASON ASSISTS LEADER BOARD
Pierre Crockrell II sits in third place in the all-time season assists leader board with his 203 assists in 2023-24. He is 27 dimes away from catching Raimond Miglinieks' (1995-96) 230 that is good for second place. Crockrell II solidified himself in UCI history as he the second ever Anteater to hit or surpass the 200 assist threshold in a season.
THE TALE OF TWO HALVES
UC Irvine has taken the lead into the halftime break 20 times this year, 14 times in Big West contests, and have prevailed in 19 of those 20 contests. The Anteaters reset their largest halftime lead against a Big West opponent in Thursday nights win over CSUN with a 21-point margin. Previously, UCI's highest halftime lead over a league opponent was 17 points which was tied three times and the latest was against UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 22).
IMPROVEMENT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
UC Irvine has become laser focused at the free throw line and will enter Thursday's game with a 0.762 free throw percentage (489-642) and 0.793 (329-415) in Big West games. The Anteaters rose 162 spots in the national rankings for free throw percentage since the start of league play (was 195 prior to Dec. 28) and are currently 33rd, the highest ranked Big West team in this category.
HIGHLY EFFICIENT SHOOTING
UCI has shot at or over a 0.500 clip in 13 contests this season (New Mexico State--0.526, Occidental--0.615, Pepperdine--0.517, Toledo--0.500, Rice--0.517, South Dakota--0.576, Cal State Bakersfield--0.592, Cal State Fullerton--0.510, Hawai'i--0.614, UC Santa Barbara--0.532, UC San Diego--0.508, Cal Poly--0.500, and Cal State Fullerton--0.500).
PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 362 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 1,226, Opp. 864). The Anteaters average 38.3 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in 11 games so far (Occidental--68, Pepperdine--48, Rice--44, South Dakota--72, UC Riverside--40, Cal State Bakersfield--40, Cal Poly--40, Hawai'i--62, UC Santa Barbara--44, Cal Poly--48, and Cal State Fullerton--40).
DISHIN' DIMES
Pierre Crockrell II has led the Anteaters in 27 contests this season in assists with 203 total. The fifth year guard is averaging 6.3 assists per game and earned his 600th career dime at UC Davis on Jan. 20. Crockrell II nationally ranks 11th in total assists, 11th in assists per game, and 27th in assist-turnover ratio. He also has 49 more assists on the season than the next best person in the conference. The guard recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 assists against Long Beach State (Mar. 2). The Anteaters are 16-6 when Crockrell II dishes out five or more dimes in a game and were 15-3 in 2022-23 when he hit the same mark.
THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 401 total points and 12.5 points per game after his first career 20-point game at No. 16/20 USC with his 25 point outing, his second at Utah State with 21 points, and recently had his third against CSUN on Jan. 27 with 22 points. The redshirt senior has 39 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, and went on a 13 game double figure scoring stretch (Nov. 22-Jan.18). Hohn reached 800 career points in his seven-point performance on February 8th at UCSB.
SEEING DOUBLE THE ANDRE SPECIAL
Devin Tillis notched the Anteaters first double-double of the season on Saturday night (Nov. 11) with an 18 point and 10 rebound showing. In the victory over UC Riverside on Dec. 28, Tillis posted his second double double of the season behind 10 points and 10 rebounds. The redshirt sophom*ore closed out the regular season with his third double double of the season with a 13 point and 10 rebound effort at Cal State Fullerton (Mar. 11). Tillis recorded three double-double efforts last season and earned the program's first since Mar. 15, 2023. The forward has recorded double-figure scoring in 11 games and double figure rebounding in five games played this season to lead UCI with 194 rebounds, 6.3 per game.
Andre Henry has helped the Anteaters get it done on both ends of the court this season. From three-point range, Henry is shooting the team's best percentages 46-108 (0.426) and is a top shooter at the free throw line with his 60 makes (60-77, 0.779). The senior has stolen the ball from opponents 25 times and is one of three players with 115+ rebounds on the year.
MR. POSTMAN
Bent Leuchten dominates at the post whether it is scoring baskets or grabbing the ball off the glass. The center returned to action for the Anteaters on Dec. 16 and is one of the teams leaders off the glass, averaging 4.3 rebounds a game in 26 contests played. Leucthen has posted ten double-figure scoring games since this year, the latest at Cal State Fullerton (Mar. 9) where he put up 17 points.
LEAN MEAN DEAN MACHINE
Fifth year senior Dean Keeler as an impact off the bench for UCI. On the defensive side, Keeler is second on the team with 158 total rebounds on the year (4.9 per game) and is the squad's leader in blocks (33). Playing offense, the forward has posted five double figure scoring efforts on the season including a career high 22 points on 9-11 shooting against South Dakota. Keeler notched his first double double of the season and his career against CSUN (Jan. 27) with 12 points and a career best 14 rebounds.
CENTER OF ATTENTION
Freshman Carter Welling made his Anteater debut versus Pepperdine on Nov. 21 and has started in ten contests. Averaging 14.1 minutes a game, the center has grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game, blocked 30 shots, and is putting up 7.4 points a game after posting a career high 14-point performance versus the Rainbow Warriors on Feb. 3. In the win at Hawai'i on Jan. 11, Welling was efficient in his 10 minutes on the floor going a perfect 5-5 from the floor and drew the and-1 call on his first career made three-pointer. The center has posted seven double figure scoring performances of the season and has made 98 trips to the charity stripe, a team high (77-98, 0.786). Lastly, C. Welling recorded his 200th career point against Cal Poly (Mar. 7)
TURKISH DELIGHT
Derin Saran is third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game over 29 games played and has one of the best shooting percentages on the Anteater squad (0.509, 115-226). Saran went on an eight game double figure scoring streak ranging from Nov. 17-Dec. 16 an notched his 200th career point at Cal Poly (Feb. 1) on a career high tying 17 point performance. The young guard also has 93 rebounds, 52 assists, and 26 steals on the year.
THREE-HEADED BEAST IN THE CENTER
The big men down low of Bent Leuchten, Dean Keeler, and Carter Welling pose a threat both in the defensive and offensive paint. The three headed monster combined to average 21.9 points, 12.9 boards and 3.4 blocks per game.
KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2261 eligible players, Pierre Crockrell II is second in assist rate (43.4). Out of 362 teams, UC Irvine ranks 10th in two-point percentage defense (0.441), 11th in effective field goal percentage defense (0.458), 21st in bench minutes (40.2), 35th in adjusted defensive efficiency (98.8), and 37th in free throw percentage offense (0.761).
LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: rebounds per game (5th, 6.3--Tillis), free throw percentage (8th, Leuchten--0.793 and 10th, C. Welling--0.786), assists per game (1st, 6.3--Crockrell II), assist-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.9--Crockrell II), and blocks per game (5th, Leuchten--1.2, 8th, C. Welling--1.1, and 9th, Keeler--1.0).
NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 3.13.24
UC Irvine is ranked top-50 nationally in field goal percentage defense (27th, 0.406), scoring margin (28th, 10.3), free throw percentage (33rd, 0.762), field goal percentage (34th, 0.477), assists per game (45th, 15.7), and rebound margin (38th, 5.1).
NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 4. The 'Eaters are the highest ranked and only Big West team within the top-100 sitting at 75 with UC San Diego locking in the second position at 121.
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