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Men's Basketball:
UC Irvine Releases 2009-10 Schedule
Aug. 24, 2009 IRVINE, Calif. --- The UC Irvine men's basketball team has 16 home dates on its 2009-10 schedule, the most in the last nine years. Following a Nov. 9 exhibition game against local NAIA power Concordia, the non-conference home dates include La Verne Nov. 13, Hawaii Dec. 1, Vanguard University Dec. 12, San Jose State Dec. 18, Pepperdine Dec. 21 and Cal State Bakersfield Feb. 6. The road portion of the non-conference schedule includes a Nov. 15 game at Texas, which reached the NCAA 2nd Round last March, losing to Duke, 74-69. The contest is the first part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic and will be televised on ESPNU. UT senior swingman Damion James is one of 50 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden All-American team after he averaged 15.2 points and 9.2 rebounds last year. The `Eaters also have non-conference road contests against Loyola Marymount Nov. 18, Seattle University Dec. 15, San Jose State Dec. 28 and Cal State Bakersfield in a Feb. 3 game three days before the Roadrunners visit the Bren Center. UCI competes in the second portion of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic at Richmond, Ky., Nov. 23-25, facing in order, UTSA, Eastern Kentucky and Fairleigh Dickinson. UCI opens Big West Conference play hosting UC Santa Barbara Jan. 2 and Cal Poly Jan. 4. The Homecoming game is Feb. 27 versus Cal State Northridge, the 2009 Big West Conference regular season and postseason tournament champion. The `Eaters will host a non-conference game Feb. 20 in the ESPNU BracketBuster series with the opponent unknown until about three weeks prior to the contest. "As always, a challenging schedule against teams from different regions of the country," head coach Pat Douglass said. "Traveling to Texas and facing one of the teams receiving some additional preseason national attention will really indoctrinate our new players in a tough environment against a talented team that is well-coached.
"I'm looking forward to the start of practice so we can prepare for the non-conference schedule, which leads into the competitive Big West that has had four different champions in the past four seasons," Douglass added. Two former UCI assistants are now head coaches at a pair of this season's opponents: Cameron Dollar at Seattle University and Greg Vetrone at Fairleigh Dickinson. Dollar served on Douglass' first UCI staff in 1997-98 and Vetrone assisted Rod Baker from 1991-95. Coach Douglass' 2009-10 roster includes the return of last season's top two scorers, sophomore post Eric Wise (14.0 ppg) and senior guard Michael Hunter (11.9). Wise, who was named to the All-Big West second and freshman teams last season, ranked in the league's top 10 in scoring and rebounding, and his 14.0 scoring average was the highest for a UCI freshman in 14 years. Hunter, an All-Big West honorable mention selection, led the `Eaters with 67 threes and he ranks fifth all-time at UCI with 156 treys. He ranked second in the Big West last season with an average of 1.50 steals per game and he was third in three-point field goals made per game at 2.23. Junior point guard Patrick Rembert led the team with 85 assists last season and he ranked fourth in the Big West with a 3.50 average in league games. UCI ranked seventh nationally last season in three-point field goal percentage (.403), 10th in free-throw percentage (.758) and 19th in fewest turnovers per game (11.5). UC IRVINE MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION UC Irvine is making some big changes to improve the Anteater Basketball experience. We've lowered our prices, moved the student section to cover the entire sideline and will have 16 home games, the most in the last nine years! Our vision is to make the Bren Events Center one of the toughest venues in the Big West Conference. You may have noticed a renewed energy last season among the UC Irvine students in support of `Eaters Basketball. During the 08-09 season, the student spirit group, Eater Nation, grew from 4,000 to 9,000 members and broke the UCI single-game student attendance record (2,500+ vs. CSUN). To create an intimidating home court advantage, the `Eater Nation student section has shifted to the lower seating areas along the entire sideline from sections 101-105. Season ticket prices have been lowered $30 to $189-$169 this year. There is also a new "Pick-6" mini-plan for just $60 that lets fans purchase a reserved seat for ANY six home games ($24 savings)! Families with children 13 and under should also consider joining the Jr. Anteater Club. All Jr. Anteaters receive a membership t-shirt and free admission to any regular season home UCI event for just $25. Tickets: Adult Reserved: $14.00 For season tickets, mini plans or group tickets, call 877-4ZOT-ZOT (877-4968-968). Single-game tickets go on sale beginning November 1. |
