Sat November 22, 2008
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UC Irvine Releases 2008-09 ScheduleJune 27, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine's 2008-09 men's basketball schedule features six opponents that competed in postseason tournaments this past March. Coach Pat Douglass' Anteaters open the regular season facing 2008 NCAA participant USC Nov. 15 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. UCI hosts Oregon, another NCAA tournament competitor, Nov. 21 at the Bren Center where the `Eaters have won 77 percent (80-24) of their games over the past eight seasons. Utah, which competed in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2008, visits the Bren Center Dec. 27. The Utes lost in the quarterfinals of the CBI to eventual champion Tulsa. The Anteaters have a home-and-home agreement with Eastern Washington, hosting the Eagles Nov. 19 and meeting in Cheney, Wash., Nov. 30. UCI's non-conference home schedule also includes Seattle University, which is making the transition to Division I, Dec. 16 and Cal State Bakersfield Jan. 21. The `Eaters have a BracketBuster return game at Idaho Nov. 28 and also travel to 2008 NIT participant Utah State Dec. 2. UCI meets Pepperdine Dec. 6 in Malibu and competes in the Missouri State Tournament Dec. 20-22 in Springfield, Mo. Norfolk State and Middle Tennessee State fill out the field in that event. The Anteaters open Big West Conference play hosting Cal State Fullerton Jan. 3. The Titans defeated UCI in the championship game of last season's Big West tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament. UCI's second league game is Jan. 8 at UC Santa Barbara, which competed in the NIT last March. The `Eaters have a road game in the BracketBuster series Feb. 21. UCI's Homecoming game is Feb. 28 against UC Riverside in a doubleheader with the women's team. Junior guard Michael Hunter is the leading returning scorer for the Anteaters after averaging 8.8 points last season when he hit a team-high 56 threes. Hunter, who started 31 games in 2007-08, has recorded 149 assists, 89 three-point field goals and 73 steals in his first two seasons with the program. Senior post Kevin Bland ranked fifth in the Big West in steals (1.53) and 10th in rebounding (5.4) last season. He started 20 games and averaged 5.8 points. Senior guard Brett Lauer made 13 starts last season and averaged 7.3 points, hitting 50 threes. Junior wing Chad DeCasas averaged 4.9 points while sophomore guard Patrick Rembert saw his playing time increase dramatically late in the season. He averaged 31.3 minutes in the four Big West tournament games and scored a career-high 12 points in the semifinal win over UC Santa Barbara. Guard Derrick Strings also returns for UCI after sitting out as a redshirt in his first season with the Anteater program. The incoming UCI recruiting class includes guards Darren Moore (Citrus College) and Aaron England (College of Eastern Utah), forwards Eric Wise (Riverside King High School) and Adam Folker (Markham, Ontario, District High School), and post players Zack Atkinson (Feather River College) and Ryan Staker (Central Arizona College). 2008-09 UC IRVINE MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE 8 -- SATURDAY --- CAL POLY POMONA (exhibition) DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH # Missouri State Tournament (UCI, Missouri State, Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee State) * Big West Conference Games |
