SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Basketball team (20-4, 11-2 Big West) will be back in The Thunderdome for the second leg of this series against the UC Irvine Anteaters. The last time these two teams played each other was down in Irvine where the Gauchos grabbed a lead late in the second half to come out with a 73-65 win. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos hosted the Aggies of UC Davis to The Thunderdome for a physical Big West game. It was a tight game through the first timeout on the floor before UC Santa Barbara took the lead. They put themselves ahead of the visitors and never let up the lead as the Gauchos secured the 84-74 win at home. 

SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS
UC Irvine won four of the last five games, taking down UC Riverside most recently. Their only loss during this stretch was to Long Beach State, where the Anteaters lost 93-88 in overtime in the Pyramid. Along with defeating the Highlanders, UC Irvine took down Cal Poly, UC San Diego and CSUN.

The Anteaters have one of the best field goal percentages in the country, and sit just behind the Gauchos in The Big West rankings. UC Irvine ranks 38th in the NCAA with a 47.6 field goal percentage while they are 16th in the nation when it comes to holding their opponents to a low shooting percentage as they average a 39.7 field goal percentage when playing the Anteaters. They are also one of the best three-point field goal shooting teams in the country and The Big West, ranking 14th in the NCAA and No. 1 in the conference as they shoot at 38.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Junior guards Dawson Baker and DJ Davis lead the Anteaters as they average 15.12 and 14.12 points a game, respectively. They are two of the three players who have started every game this season for UC Irvine. The other player to start every single game, junior forward Devin Tillis, is the team's primary rebounder as he averages 5.96 a game, which totals 149 on the season.

The Anteaters are coached by Russell Turner, who is in his 13th season with the team. Over the course of his career, he has accumulated a 259-166 record. 

WHEREABOUTS
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. in The Thunderdome for the Blue Out game as the Gauchos ask all fans in attendance to support them by wearing blue. For fans who can't make it to The Thunderdome, the game will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.