2020–21 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record18–9 (10–4 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ryan Badrtalei
  • Michael Wilder
  • Alex Young
Captains
  • Brad Greene
  • Collin Welp
Home arenaBren Events Center
(Capacity: 5,000)
2020–21 Big West men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
UC Santa Barbara133 .813225  .815
UC Irvine104 .714189  .667
UC Riverside84 .667148  .636
UC Davis64 .600108  .556
Cal State Bakersfield97 .5631511  .577
Hawai'i99 .5001110  .524
Cal State Fullerton57 .417610  .375
Cal State Northridge59 .357913  .409
Long Beach State48 .333612  .333
Cal Poly115 .063420  .167
UC San Diego*00 710  .412
* ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament and 2021 Big West tournament due to transition period; Big West games not counted in standings
2021 Big West tournament winner

The 2020–21 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 11th-year head coach Russell Turner. The team finished the season with an 18–9 (10–4) record finishing 2nd place in the standings and advanced to the 2021 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament where they were defeated by UC Santa Barbara 63–79. The Anteaters continued their success finishing 1st or 2nd for 7 straight seasons in the Big West Conference and 4 straight Big West tournament Championship games (the 2020 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The school set a new scoring record and the largest margin of victory (80) on November 28, 2020 over NAIA opponent Bethesda University by the score of 135–55. Also new school records broken in that game were assists (31) and FGs made (56). New Bren Events Center records broken were the most points scored in a first half (70) and game FG % (0.691).

Previous season

The Anteaters finished the 2019–20 season 21–11, 13–3 in Big West play to win their second straight regular season title. However, the Big West tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, effectively ending their season.

The program has won at least 20 games in seven of the last eight seasons. Russell Turner became the winningest coach in program history on January 15 surpassing Pat Douglass's total of 197 wins and won his fourth Big West Coach of the Year Award. Evan Leonard, Eyassu Worku, and Tommy Rutherford all recorded their 1000th point during the season, the first time the program has had three players score 1,000 career points in the same season. The team was 12th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to (38.8%) shooting, 11th in total rebounds (1,269), and third in rebounding margin (+9.4). Brad Greene set a Bren Events Center record with 21 rebounds on January 11 vs Hawaii.[1]

Roster

The Anteaters had the 2nd youngest team in the nation with 13 underclassmen, behind Navy which had 19.

2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 0 JC Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SoThe Prairie School Racine, Wisconsin
G 1 Dawson Baker 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrCapistrano Valley High School Coto De Caza, California
G 2 Justin Hohn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS FrTea High Sioux Falls, South Dakota
G 4 Andre Henry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrSaint Francis High School La Cañada Flintridge, California
G 5 Isaiah Lee 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoAustralian Institute of Sport Sydney, NSW, Australia
G 10 Ofure Ujadughele (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS FrChino Hills High School Chino Hills, California
F 11 Hunter Ruck 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrRancho Solano Prep Scottsdale, Arizona
G 13 Austin Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)223 lb (101 kg) SoLink Year Prep/Wheeler High School Marietta, Georgia
G 15 Jeron Artest 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)184 lb (83 kg) SoBella Vista Prep Scottsdale, Arizona
G 21 Jayce Catchings (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrRancho Christian School St. Louis, Missouri
G 22 DJ Davis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)160 lb (73 kg) FrRiverside Polytechnic High School Moreno Valley, California
F 25 Emmanuel Tshimanga 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)300 lb (136 kg) RS FrBella Vista Prep Scottsdale, Arizona
F 31 Dean Keeler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoMarina High School Westminster, California
F 40 Collin Welp 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS JrSeattle Preparatory School Seattle, Washington
C 55 Brad Greene 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)270 lb (122 kg) RS SrLone Pine High School Lone Pine, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 1 December 2020

Source[2]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
3:30 pm
vs. Pepperdine L 72–86  0–1
 20  Greene  9  Greene  6  Baker  Viejas Arena (0)
San Diego, CA
November 27, 2020*
4:00 pm, MWN/YurView
at San Diego State L 58–77  0–2
 11  Greene  8  Greene  4  Butler  Viejas Arena (0)
San Diego, CA
November 28, 2020*
8:00 pm, Big West TV
Bethesda W 135–55  1–2
 20  Johnson  16  Johnson  6  Lee  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
December 02, 2020*
6:00 pm, Big West TV
La Sierra W 104–54  2–2
 21  Baker  9  Butler  3  Tied  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
December 08, 2020*
7:00 pm, P12N
at USC L 56–91  2–3
 17  Baker  7  Tied  5  Henry  Galen Center (0)
Los Angeles, CA
December 17, 2020*
7:00 pm, WCCN
at Loyola Marymount L 48–51  2–4
 12  Baker  19  Welp  2  Welp  Gersten Pavilion (0)
Los Angeles
December 19, 2020*
4:00 pm, Big West TV
San Diego W 85–53  3–4
 16  Welp  9  Greene  6  Lee  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
December 27, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UC Santa Barbara W 75–56  4–4
(1–0)
 14  Greene  12  Greene  4  Tied  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
December 28, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UC Santa Barbara W 73–69  5–4
(2–0)
 16  Welp  9  Welp  3  Welp  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
January 01, 2021
4:00 pm
at Cal State Northridge Canceled due to COVID-19 issues. Matadome 
Northridge, CA
January 02, 2021
4:00 pm
at Cal State Northridge Canceled due to COVID-19 issues. Matadome 
Northridge, CA
January 08, 2021
4:00 pm
UC Davis Canceled due to Yolo County restrictions. Bren Events Center 
Irvine, CA
January 09, 2021
4:00 pm
UC Davis Canceled due to Yolo County restrictions. Bren Events Center 
Irvine, CA
January 8, 2021*
4:00 pm
at UC San Diego Canceled due to COVID-19 issues. RIMAC Arena 
La Jolla, CA
January 9, 2021*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at UC San Diego W 79–65  6–4
 23  Davis  6  Welp  3  Tied  RIMAC Arena (0)
La Jolla, CA
January 22, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Cal Poly W 68–49  7–4
(3–0)
 15  Welp  8  Greene  3  Welp  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
January 23, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Cal Poly W 67–44  8–4
(4–0)
 18  Welp  7  Tied  3  Hohn  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
January 29, 2021
9:00 pm, Spectrum OC16 Big West TV
at Hawaii W 53–51  9–4
(5–0)
 18  Greene  14  Greene  4  Davis  Stan Sheriff Center (0)
Honolulu, HI
January 30, 2021
9:00 pm, Spectrum OC16 Big West TV
at Hawaii L 61–62 OT 9–5
(5–1)
 20  Welp  11  Greene  2  Artest  Stan Sheriff Center (0)
Honolulu, HI
February 05, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
Cal State Bakersfield W 70–53  10–5
(6–1)
 16  Welp  8  Greene  2  Tied  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
February 06, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Cal State Bakersfield L 57–62  10–6
(6–2)
 14  Welp  8  Welp  3  Davis  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
February 12, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3 Wildcard
at UC Riverside L 65–86  10–7
(6–3)
 21  Davis  7  Greene  3  Welp  SRC (0)
Riverside, CA
February 13, 2021
9:00 pm, ESPNU
at UC Riverside W 73–67  11–7
(7–3)
 27  Welp  13  Welp  4  Lee  SRC (0)
Riverside, CA
February 19, 2021
5:00 pm, Big West TV
at Cal State Fullerton W 89–78  12–7
(8–3)
 23  Baker  11  Welp  4  Baker  Titan Gym (0)
Fullerton, CA
February 20, 2021
5:00 pm, Big West TV
at Cal State Fullerton L 64–67  12–8
(8–4)
 21  Welp  13  Greene  3  Lee  Titan Gym (0)
Fullerton, CA
February 26, 2021*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UC San Diego W 80–55  13–8
 29  Welp  10  Welp  4  Davis  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
February 27, 2021*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UC San Diego W 75–64  14–8
 19  Welp  12  Welp  3  Tied  Bren Events Center (0)
Irvine, CA
March 05, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Long Beach State W 71–68 OT 15–8
(9–4)
 18  Tied  9  Greene  5  Davis  Walter Pyramid (0)
Long Beach, CA
March 06, 2021
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Long Beach State W 73–58  16–8
(10–4)
 14  Baker  9  Welp  3  Tied  Walter Pyramid (0)
Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
March 11, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN3
(2) vs. (10) Cal Poly
Quarterfinals
W 58–51  17–8
 15  Welp  10  Welp  2  Tied  Michelob Ultra Arena (0)
Paradise, NV
March 12, 2021
9:00 pm, ESPNU
(2) vs. (3) UC Riverside
Semifinals
W 78–61  18–8
 17  Tied  7  Greene  2  Tied  Michelob Ultra Arena (0)
Paradise, NV
March 13, 2021
8:30 pm, ESPN2
(2) vs. (1) UC Santa Barbara
Championship
L 63–79  18–9
 22  Welp  8  Greene  2  Greene  Michelob Ultra Arena (17)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source[3]

References

  1. "2019–20 MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  2. "2020–21 Men's Basketball Roster". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  3. "2020–21 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.