UCI vs UCSB Game Preview, by gauchodan

Game 25 (BW Game 14)

UC Irvine at UCSB
Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 7:00 pm PST
Santa Barbara, Calif.
 
Quick Bite
The Gauchos (20-4, 11-2) are off to a good start in running "The Gauntlet".  UCSB executed in clutch time to win at Long Beach and then came home to out-class UC Davis.  The Davis victory was bittersweet, as Koat Keat Tong limped off the court never to return and Andre Kelly earned a one-game suspension for a garbage-time scrum with Ty Johnson.  Kelly's status for this game is certain, but KKT's is not.  Regardless, the Gauchos lost the best player from the first matchup between the two perennial contenders.  Kelly ran roughshod over Irvine's injury-depleted front court a month ago, and it's hard to imagine anyone else in that role with UCI looking a lot healthier with Bent Leuchten back on the floor.  Expect a radical game plan from Joe Pasternack.

The Anteaters (17-8, 10-3) have rediscovered their mo-jo.  UC Irvine is coming off an 83-64 stomping of UC Riverside that wasn't that close.  The 'Eaters have won 4 of their last 5 and largely resemble the November iteration that was receiving top 25 votes after a double-digit road win at Oregon and a heartbreaking loss at San Diego State.  Russell Turner will have his squad fired up, seeking revenge for last month's surprising loss to a flu-riddled Gaucho squad sans Josh Pierre-Louis.  Turner gets nearly all of his bench into every game, and lots of offensive weapons to draw from: Dawson Baker is a poor man's Elijah Pepper, DJ Davis can shoot from way beyond the perimeter, Devin Tillis is coming into his own, Akiva McBirney-Griffin is another developing big man and Pierre Crockrell II is dropping dimes on everyone.  This team is built to do damage in the NCAA Tournament, and we're standing in their way of a Big West regular-season title.

Last meeting
UC Santa Barbara 73, UC Irvine 65
IRVINE, Calif. -- Andre Kelly and Miles Norris recorded double doubles as the short-handed Gauchos rebounded from their first loss since November with their first win over the Anteaters in Irvine since 2016.  Kelly scored 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 boards, while Norris scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime and pulled down 12 rebounds.  UCSB was playing without Josh Pierre-Louis due to illness.  A crowd of 3,123 watched the lead change 11 times.  Dawson Baker tallied 17 points for Irvine.

Last UCSB game
Feb. 11: UC Santa Barbara 84, UC Davis 74
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Ajay Mitchell scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead the Gauchos over the Aggies.  Josh Pierre-Louis added 18 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists for Santa Barbara, which reached 20 wins for the 5th time in Joe Pasternack's six seasons at the school.  UCSB shot 61% from the field.  Elijah Pepper scored 30 points for UC Davis, the 5th straight game in which he has scored at least 28.

Last UC Irvine game
Feb. 11: UC Irvine 83, UC Riverside 64
IRVINE, Calif. -- Dawson Baker scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds and the Anteaters led by as many as 28 points in stomping the Highlanders.  Pierre Crockrell III dished out 11 assists as UC Irvine shot 57% from the field.  Lachlan Olbrich scored 22 for UC Riverside, which has lost 4 of its last 6.

The Arena
The Thunderdome
Capacity: 5,000
What do you want to bet some kind of "buyer, beware" statement will be read to Thunder Row?

UC Irvine Roster
Dawson Baker #1, JR G, 6-3 180, Coto de Caza, CA -- 15.1 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast
DJ Davis #22 JR G, 5-6, 170, Moreno Valley, CA -- 14.1 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 1.4 Ast
Justin Hohn #2 JR G, 6-1 180, Sioux Falls, SD -- 7.5 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Devin Tillis #11 JR F, 6-6 215, Los Angeles, CA -- 7.5 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Bent Leuchten #15 SO C, 7-0 258, Karlsfeld, Germany -- 10.3 Pts, 6.1 Reb, 0.9 Ast
Pierre Crockrell II #3 SR G, 6-0 175, Tacoma, WA -- 4.8 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 5.2 Ast
Dean Keeler #31 SR F, 6-9 210, Westminster, CA -- 4.5 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Andre Henry #4 JR G, 6-4 175, La Canada-Flintridge, CA -- 4.1 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast
JC Butler #00 SR F, 6-5 200, Racine, WI -- 3.8 Pts, 1.4 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Akiva McBirney-Griffin #43 SO F, 6-9 220, Hamilton, Canada -- 2.8 Pts, 1.9 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Chazz Hutchison #5 JR F, 6-9 215, Mission Viejo, CA -- 2.7 Pts, 2.9 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Ofure Ujadughele #10 JR G, 6-3 210, Long Beach, CA -- 2.0 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 0.9 Ast
Emilis Butkus #23 FR G, 6-5 215, Vilnius, Lithuania -- 1.9 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Hayden Welling #13 FR F, 6-8 210, Draper, UT -- 1.1 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Eli Chol #33 FR C, 6-11 175, Cumming, GA -- 0.6 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast

UCSB Roster
Ajay Mitchell #13 SO G, 6-4 180, Sainte Marie Namur (Belgium) -- 15.9 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 4.8 Ast
Miles Norris #5 SR F, 6-10 220, San Diego, CA -- 13.8 Pts, 6.3 Reb, 1.4 Ast
Andre Kelly #2 SR F, 6-8 255, Stockton, CA -- 9.2 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Josh Pierre-Louis #1 SR G, 6-4 185, Plainfield, NJ -- 9.8 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 2.3 Ast
Cole Anderson #4 SO G, 6-4 185, Fresno, CA -- 6.8 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Ajare Sanni #3 SR G, 6-3 170, Houston, TX -- 6.6 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Calvin Wishart #10 SR G, 6-1 180, Delano, MN -- 6.3 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 2.6 Ast
Koat Keat Tong #00 FR F, 6-9 215, Bentiu, South Sudan -- 1.9 Pts, 3.9 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Jakov Kukic #14 JR F, 6-10 230, Split, Croatia -- 1.5 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Evans Kipruto #12 JR F, 6-8 250, Nairobi, Kenya -- 0.8 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Matija Belic #32 FR G, 6-7 205, Belgrade, Serbia -- 0.5 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast
David Pickles #40 SO F, 6-10 235, Seattle, WA -- 1.5 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Gage Gomez #50 JR G, 6-3 190, Arroyo Grande, CA -- 0.3 Pts, 0.3 Reb, 0.3 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

• Assist/Turnover ratio: 71 (1.23)
• Assists per game: 65 (15.0)
• Bench points per game: 28 (26.28)
• Effective FG percentage: 59 (.536)
• Fastbreak Points: 53 (12.36)
• Field Goal percentage: 38 (.476)
• Field Goal percentage Defense: 16 (.397)
• Fouls per game: 326 (19.3)
• Rebound Margin: 71 (+3.7)
• Rebounds (Defensive) per game: 32 (27.28)
• Rebounds per game: 70 (37.04)
• Scoring Margin: 33 (+10.0)
• Scoring Offense: 66 (76.5)
• Three Point Attempts per game: 291 (18.8)
• Three-Point percentage: 14 (.385)
• Three-Point percentage Defense: 58 (.315)
• Winning percentage: 73 (.680)

Players

• Pierre Crockrell II -- Assist/Turnover ratio: 30 (2.69), Assists: 36 (129), Assists per game: 36 (5.2)
• Dean Keeler -- Blocks: 321 (20), Blocks per game: 336 (0.80)
• Devin Tillis -- Double Doubles: 324 (2), Rebounds: 332 (149), Rebounds (Defensive) per game: 342 (4.28), Rebounds per game: 326 (6.0)
• Dawson Baker -- Field Goal Attempts: 303 (280), Field Goal percentage: 136 (.482), Field Goals: 217 (135), Free Throw percentage: 168 (.806), Free Throws: 282 (75), Points: 246 (378), Points per game: 236 (15.1)
• DJ Davis -- Field Goal Attempts: 313 (278), Free Throw percentage: 33 (.873), Points: 329 (353), Points per game: 330 (14.1), Three Point attempts: 180 (150), Three Pointers per game: 131 (2.40), Three Pointers: 124 (60)

UCSB National Ranking Outliers
Team

• Effective FG percentage: 37 (.544)
• Field Goal percentage: 8 (.493)
• Rebound Margin: 52 (+4.3)
• Scoring Defense: 29 (63.3)
• Scoring Margin: 66 (+7.9)
• Three Point Attempts per game: 343 (16.0)
• Three Pointers per game: 332 (5.4)
• Winning percentage: 10 (.833)

Players

• Ajay Mitchell -- Assist/Turnover ratio: 91 (2.05), Assists: 69 (115), Assists per game: 60 (4.8), Double Doubles: 324 (2), Field Goal percentage: 94 (.510), Field Goals: 235 (133), Free Throw Attempts: 102 (128), Free Throw percentage: 195 (.797), Free Throws: 76 (102), Minutes per game: 267 (32:42), Points: 228 (382), Points per game: 171 (15.9), Steals: 213 (36), Steals per game: 190 (1.50)
• Miles Norris -- Blocks: 215 (24), Blocks per game: 205 (1.00), Double Doubles: 222 (3), Field Goal percentage: 109 (.498), Minutes per game: 261 (32:46), Rebounds: 309 (152), Rebounds (Offensive) per game: 260 (2.08), Rebounds per game: 253 (6.3)
• Andre Kelly -- Blocks: 295 (21), Blocks per game: 286 (0.88), Double Doubles: 119 (5), Rebounds: 277 (155), Rebounds (Defensive) per game: 150 (5.08), Rebounds per game: 235 (6.5)
• Josh Pierre-Louis -- Steals: 236 (35), Steals per game: 156 (1.59)

Prediction
You never know how losing a key player will affect a team.  Recall UC Riverside punking us without Zyon Pullin.  Or us beating UCI without the dynamic JPL.  How many of you watched Patrick Mahomes hop off the field near the end of the 1st half and jumped off the Kansas City bandwagon?  Championship teams find a way.  If the Gauchos are going to win a Big West championship, they very well may need this game in the win column.  This team has risen to the occasion more than once.  I'm likely in the minority, but what do any of us have to lose?  UCSB 68, UC Irvine 64.

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