And how motivated fans are to fill the house and cheer loudly for all those (potential) home games.
I’ve decided I’ll be there for all the games… first post session in a long time, even if it’s just the NIT.
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We are playing Irvine at home for our first game.
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Bring on the Anteaters!!!
(Those UC schools made a big mistake letting the nerds select the mascots. UC Santa Cruz… Banana Slugs? Come on!!)
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Unfortunately that would eliminate the entire student body in these institutions 
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Seriously though, I love the super quirky personalities of those West Coast schools like Irvine, Santa Cruz and Evergreen State. Normal nicknames would be such an odd mismatch for them.
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Well, if Utah wins, it will have gone undefeated against University of California schools this year in Men’s Basketball. Utah has already beaten UCLA twice, Cal, and UC Riverside. A win would also secure Utah’s first 20-win season since 2018: when they made the run to the NIT Championship Game.
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NET #77 UC-Irvine at #48 Utah (National Invitation Tournament)
TODAY 9p MT
ESPN2
This is a Quadrant 3 game for Utah.
Peter the Anteater
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from ucirvinesports.com article [results updated with utahutes.com recaps]
LONG TIME NO SEE
UC Irvine and Utah will meet for the first time in 16 [much closer to 15] years on Tuesday. The two teams last met in the 2008-09 season where the Anteaters hosted the Runnin’ Utes inside the Bren Events Center on December 27, 2008 (W, 60-52). UCI last played Utah in Salt Lake City just a year earlier, Dec. 2007 (W, 78-66). -
from utahutes.com article
KNOWING THY FOE
The two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions are led by 14th-year head coach Russell Turner, who has led the Anteaters to nine seasons with 20-plus wins. UCI enters Tuesday’s match-up 24-9 overall with a 17-3 mark in Big West action. As the top-seed in the conference tournament, UCI fell to a hot Long Beach State team that won three-straight games this past weekend to punch its ticket to the Big Dance. This will be UCI’s eighth NIT appearance all-time and the fourth under Turner.
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UC Irvine utilizes its full roster with 12 of the 13 players with statistics having played at least 27 games. Of the 13, only two have played less than 350 minutes on the year. The team’s top-four scorers are predominantly upper classmen with the exception of one.
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Redshirt senior Justin Hohn leads the way averaging 12.7 points with a team-best 60 made 3-pointers while his 31 steals is second-most on the team and his 51 assists is tied for third-most. Senior Andre Henry is second-leading scorer on the team and only other player averaging in double-digits scoring 10.6 points per game with a 3.7 rebounding average. Freshman Derin Saran, a 6-4 guard out of Istanbul, Turkey, is third on the team in scoring averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 rebounds with a .502 shooting clip. He’s also tied with Hohn for third on the team in assists with 51 dimes. Redshirt Junior Devin Tillis is just behind Saran, averaging 9.5 points with a team-best 6.1 rebounds to go with his 61 assists – which is good for second on the team.
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On the defensive side, the Anteaters have a trio of players with 30-plus blocks on the team, in Dean Keeler (33), Bent Leuchten (31) and Carter Welling (30).
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Never a bad time to remember this moment.
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Utes favored by 8.5
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Free parking so can’t use that as an excuse not to attend.
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My daughter is a Banana Slug !
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I went to the Redwoods State Park by Santa Cruz and saw actual banana slugs.
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Were they on the basketball team?
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Some of them might’ve been big enough…not really. They were banana slugs.
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This team is so frustrating to watch. Missed layups, missed wide-open threes, poor defensive rotations, silly turnovers. And it’s what, game 33 or something?
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It should not be this close.
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Erickson has been pretty good the past few games. He is not a pg and struggled when forced to play there. I’m not suggesting that he is a starter, but he has shown some toughness and good shooting.
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The centers for UCI are frustrating… lurch (15) sets moving screens over and over but no call. Our guys move a mm and it’s called. Also, letting their bigs be physical and lovering can’t breathe on a guy
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yikes!!!
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG!!!
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