UCSB vs UCI Game Preview, by gauchodan

Game 17 (BW Game 5)
UCSB at UC Irvine
Monday, January 16, 2023, 6:00 pm PST
Irvine, Calif.
 
Quick Bite
Well, that sucked.  Clever writing aside, the Gauchos (13-3, 4-1) cheated the Devil one too many times.  Lots of bugaboos reared up at the wrong time vs. UC Riverside.  Poor perimeter defense.  Ugly three-point shooting.  Little bench production. 

The Anteaters (12-5, 5-0) are not the antidote for a return to success.  UC Irvine was knocking on the door of the Top 25 in November but inexplicably went into a 1-4 funk after Thanksgiving.  Dawson Baker has stepped up in conference play to help right the ship, and DJ Davis is starting to get going again.  Pierre Crockrell II leads the conference in assists.  Unfortunately for the 'Eaters, their best big man Bent Leuchten just went under the knife and is out for this game.  More than any other team in the conference, Irvine employs the next-man-up mentality as Russell Turner does not hesitate to hockey-line change his lineup when he sees fit.

UCSB-UC Irvine History
UCSB leads the series 55-45.
Recent games
March 10, 2022: W 78-69 at BWT, Henderson, NV
February 3, 2022: L 52-53 at Santa Barbara
March 13, 2021: W 79-63 at BWT, Anaheim, CA (Gauchos win BWT Championship)
December 28, 2020: L 69-73 at Irvine
December 27, 2020: L 56-75 at Irvine
February 29, 2020: L 58-69 at Irvine
February 8, 2020: W 64-61 at Santa Barbara
February 16, 2019: L 70-83 at Irvine
January 31, 2019: L 62-66 (OT) Santa Barbara
March 9, 2018: L 58-61 at BWT, Anaheim, CA
February 22, 2018: L 49-69 at Irvine
January 6, 2018: W 70-58 at Santa Barbara 

The Arena
Bren Events Center
Capacity: 5,608
Gaucho pre-game is at Eureka! Irvine, 4143 Campus Drive, Irvine, CA 92612.  Be forewarned.  The jinx plans to attend.

Head Coach
Russell Turner
overall/UC Irvine: 254-163 (.609)
Turner is in his 13th season at UCI.  He has 10 consecutive winning seasons, 7 seasons of 20+ wins, five regular-season conference titles and two NCAA appearances.  His 2018-19 squad went 31-6 and advanced to the 2nd round of the Tournament.  Turner is the leading scorer in D3 Hampden-Sydney (Va.) history.

UC Irvine Roster
Dawson Baker #1, JR G, 6-3 180, Coto de Caza, CA -- 14.1 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.7 Ast
DJ Davis #22 JR G, 5-6, 170, Moreno Valley, CA -- 13.9 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 1.4 Ast
Bent Leuchten #15 SO C, 7-0 258, Karlsfeld, Germany -- 10.4 Pts, 6.1 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Justin Hohn #2 JR G, 6-1 180, Sioux Falls, SD -- 8.4 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 2.6 Ast
Devin Tillis #11 JR F, 6-6 215, Los Angeles, CA -- 6.8 Pts, 6.1 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Andre Henry #4 JR G, 6-4 175, La Canada-Flintridge, CA -- 4.9 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Pierre Crockrell II #3 SR G, 6-0 175, Tacoma, WA -- 4.9 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 4.9 Ast
JC Butler #00 SR F, 6-5 200, Racine, WI -- 4.5 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Dean Keeler #31 SR F, 6-9 210, Westminster, CA -- 4.0 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Chazz Hutchison #5 JR F, 6-9 215, Mission Viejo, CA -- 2.8 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Ofure Ujadughele #10 JR G, 6-3 210, Long Beach, CA -- 2.1 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.9 Ast
Akiva McBirney-Griffin #43 SO F, 6-9 220, Hamilton, Canada -- 1.3 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Emilis Butkus #23 FR G, 6-5 215, Vilnius, Lithuania -- 1.8 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Hayden Welling #13 FR F, 6-8 210, Draper, UT -- 0.9 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Eli Chol #33 FR C, 6-11 175, Cumming, GA -- 0.8 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast

UCSB Roster
Ajay Mitchell #13 SO G, 6-4 180, Sainte Marie Namur (Belgium) -- 15.9 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 4.5 Ast
Miles Norris #5 SR F, 6-10 220, San Diego, CA -- 12.9 Pts, 6.1 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Josh Pierre-Louis #1 SR G, 6-4 185, Plainfield, NJ -- 10.1 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 2.2 Ast
Andre Kelly #2 SR F, 6-8 255, Stockton, CA -- 8.9 Pts, 6.4 Reb, 0.9 Ast
Calvin Wishart #10 SR G, 6-1 180, Delano, MN -- 6.7 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 2.6 Ast
Ajare Sanni #3 SR G, 6-3 170, Houston, TX -- 7.0 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Cole Anderson #4 SO G, 6-4 185, Fresno, CA -- 6.3 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.9 Ast
Koat Keat Tong #00 FR F, 6-9 215, Bentiu, South Sudan -- 1.5 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Jakov Kukic #14 JR F, 6-10 230, Split, Croatia -- 1.8 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Matija Belic #32 FR G, 6-7 205, Belgrade, Serbia -- 0.4 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Evans Kipruto #12 JR F, 6-8 250, Nairobi, Kenya -- 0.8 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Gage Gomez #50 JR G, 6-3 190, Arroyo Grande, CA -- 0.7 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.7 Ast
David Pickles #40 SO F, 6-10 235, Seattle, WA -- 1.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Ariel Bland #23 SO F, 6-7 215, Eden Prairie, MN -- 0.0 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Henry Hartwell #51 FR G, 6-5 180, Oceanside, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Max Sheldon #53 SO G, 5-11 180, Santa Barbara, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
 
UC Irvine National Ranking Outliers
Team

• Assists per game: 60 (15.3)
• Bench points per game: 20 (28.94)
• Effective FG percentage: 46 (.544)
• Fastbreak Points: 39 (13.53)
• Field Goal percentage: 34 (.481)
• Field Goal percentage Defense: 48 (.403)
• Fouls per game: 321 (19.3)
• Rebound Margin: 30 (+6.0)
• Rebounds (Defensive) per game: 52 (27.35)
• Rebounds per game: 66 (38.12)
• Scoring Margin: 33 (11.4)
• Scoring Offense: 50 (78.1)
• Three-Point percentage: 4 (.405)
• Winning percentage: 64 (.706)

Players

• Pierre Crockrell II -- Assist/Turnover ratio: 68 (2.21), Assists: 55 (84), Assists per game: 41 (4.9)
• Dean Keeler -- Blocks: 268 (15), Blocks per game: 281 (0.88)
• Bent Leuchten -- Blocks per game: 346 (0.80), Rebounds (Offensive) per game: 337 (1.93), Rebounds per game: 300 (6.1)
• Devin Tillis -- Double Doubles: 228 (2), Rebounds: 331 (104), Rebounds (Defensive) per game: 304 (4.41), Rebounds per game: 303 (6.1)
• Dawson Baker -- Field Goal percentage: 159 (.471), Field Goals: 302 (89), Points per game: 323 (14.1)
• DJ Davis -- Free Throw percentage: 67 (.855), Points per game: 345 (13.9), Three Point attempts: 253 (97), Three Pointers per game: 131 (2.41), Three Pointers: 147 (41)

UCSB National Ranking Outliers
Team

• Bench Points per game: 289 (15.69)
• Field Goal percentage: 24 (.484)
• Rebound Margin: 56 (+4.9)
• Scoring Defense: 29 (62.5)
• Three Point Attempts per game: 345 (15.5)
• Three Pointers per game: 336 (5.2)
• Winning percentage: 21 (.812)

Players

• Ajay Mitchell -- Assist/Turnover ratio: 143 (1.85), Assists: 131 (72), Assists per game: 85 (4.5), Field Goal percentage: 102 (.506), Field Goals: 345 (86), Free Throw attempts: 146 (83), Free Throw percentage: 90 (.843), Free Throws: 89 (70), Minutes per game: 274 (32:15), Points: 286 (254), Points per game: 164 (15.9), Steals: 160 (28), Steals per game: 109 (1.75)
• Andre Kelly -- Blocks: 268 (15), Blocks per game: 256 (0.94), Double Doubles: 228 (2), Rebounds: 343 (103), Rebounds (Defensive) per game: 176 (5.00), Rebounds per game: 247 (6.4)
• Miles Norris -- Blocks: 268 (15), Blocks per game: 256 (0.94), Double Doubles: 228 (2), Minutes per game: 275 (32:14), Rebounds (Offensive) per game: 240 (2.12), Rebounds per game: 315 (6.1)
• Josh Pierre-Louis -- Steals: 259 (25), Steals per game: 139 (1.67)

Prediction
UCSB has lost 6 straight games at the Bren, with its last win coming in Bob Williams' penultimate season.  Many of those losses have been convincing, but the Gauchos are at full strength and may have gotten a wakeup call with Saturday night's loss.  However, even without Leuchten the Anteaters are a load to handle.  Also, this Irvine team plays at a fast pace and can bring waves of players into the game.  It would be a moral victory to keep the game close and low-scoring.  UC Irvine 66, UCSB 63.

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