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2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

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2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
Big West regular season champions
2023 William Jones Cup champions
Ball Dawgs Classic champions
NIT, First Round
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record24–10 (17–3 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ryan Badrtalei (15th season)
  • Michael Wilder (8th season)
  • Alex Young (4th season)
Home arenaBren Events Center
(Capacity: 5,000)
Seasons
2023–24 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UC Irvine 17 – 3   .850 24 – 10   .706
UC San Diego* 15 – 5   .750 21 – 12   .636
UC Davis 14 – 6   .700 20 – 13   .606
Hawai'i 11 – 9   .550 20 – 14   .588
Long Beach State † 10 – 10   .500 21 – 15   .583
UC Riverside 10 – 10   .500 16 – 18   .471
UC Santa Barbara 9 – 11   .450 16 – 15   .516
Cal State Northridge 9 – 11   .450 19 – 15   .559
Cal State Bakersfield 8 – 12   .400 13 – 19   .406
Cal State Fullerton 7 – 13   .350 14 – 18   .438
Cal Poly 0 – 20   .000 4 – 28   .125
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period
† 2024 Big West tournament winner

The 2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 14th-year head coach Russell Turner.

Previous season

[edit]
See also: 2022–23 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

Despite being picked to finish fourth in the Big West Pre-Season Poll, the Anteaters finished the 2022–23 season 23–12, 15–5 to finish in a tie for 1st in Big West play, holding the tie-breaker over UC Santa Barbara. During the regular season, the Anteaters defeated then #21 Oregon 69–56 in Eugene on November 22, 2022, for the program's first victory over a ranked opponent during the regular season since 2005 when they defeated #15 Stanford. The Anteaters would lose to then-ranked #24 San Diego State 69–72 in San Diego holding the lead into the final minutes of the game. After defeating Cal State Bakersfield in the quarterfinals, they lost to Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals of the Big West tournament. The team also won the 2022 Las Vegas Holiday Classic Invite. The team won the Big West auto-bid for the 2023 NIT where the matched with Oregon again and were defeated 58–84. Russell Turner won his 250th game on December 31, 2022, vs Cal State Bakersfield. In that game, the Anteaters broke the school record for attempted free-throws making 30-51 attempts. The team recorded its 13th 20 win season, 8th under Turner.[1]

Offseason

[edit]

Departures

[edit]

Irvine lost its top two scorers from the 2022–23 season, Dawson Baker (15.3 points per game) and DJ Davis (15.0 ppg), to the NCAA transfer portal in the spring of 2023. Baker transferred to BYU and Davis transferred to Butler.[2][3] Junior forward Chazz Hutchison also entered the portal and senior forward JC Butler graduated. Emilus Buktus was with the team in the summer playing in the Jack Jones Cup, but left the team prior to the regular season.

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
JC Butler 0 F 6'5" 195 Senior Racine, WI Graduated
Dawson Baker 1 G 6'4" 190 Junior Coto de Caza, CA Transferred to BYU[4]
Chazz Hutchison 5 F 6'9" 215 Junior Mission Viejo, CA Transferred to Southern Utah[5]
DJ Davis 22 G 6'1" 170 Junior Moreno Valley, CA Transferred to Butler[6]

Incoming transfers

[edit]

Dylan Thoerner, a graduate guard from Tufts and Irvine native, transferred to the program, ultimately bringing UC Irvine's transfer portal turnover to a net loss of two.[7]

Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Dylan Thoerner 0 G 6'6" 200 Graduate Irvine, CA Tufts

Recruits

[edit]

Irvine's first commitment of the 2023 class came three years prior from 6-foot-10 forward Carter Welling, the brother of Anteaters forward Hayden Welling. He graduated high school in 2021 and went on a two-year LDS mission before beginning at UC Irvine.[8] On May 2, 2023, 6-foot-4 guard Ben Egbo committed to UCI as a walk-on.[9] On May 11, nationally-ranked guard prospect Jurian Dixon committed to the team.[10] UCI rounded out its recruiting class with a June 13 commitment from Derin Saran, a guard originally from Turkey.[11]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jurian Dixon
G 		San Diego, CA St. Augustine High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) May 11, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Ben Egbo
G 		Gilbert, AZ Perry High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) May 2, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Derin Saran
G 		Istanbul, Turkey Asheville School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jun 13, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Carter Welling
F 		Draper, UT Corner Canyon High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Nov 5, 2020 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

[edit]
2022–23 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Dylan Thoerner 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Tufts University Irvine, California
G 1 Derin Saran 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Fr Asheville School Istanbul, Turkey
G 2 Justin Hohn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Tea High School Sioux Falls, South Dakota
G 3 Pierre Crockrell II 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Pacific Tacoma, Washington
G 4 Andre Henry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Saint Francis High School La Cañada Flintridge, California
F 5 Ben Egbo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Perry High School Chandler, Arizona
G 10 Ofure Ujadughele (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Chino Hills High School Chino Hills, California
F 11 Devin Tillis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr UNLV Los Angeles, California
F 13 Hayden Welling 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Corner Canyon High School Draper, Utah
C 15 Bent Leuchten 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 258 lb (117 kg) Jr Josef-Effner Gymnasium Karlsfeld, Bavaria, Germany
G 21 Langston Redfield (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Capistrano Valley High School Mission Viejo, California
F 22 Carter Welling 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Corner Canyon High School Draper, Utah
G/F 23 Emilis Butkus 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So International Basketball Academy Munich Vilnius, Lithuania
G 24 Jurian Dixon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr St. Augustine High School San Diego, California
F 31 Dean Keeler (W) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Marina High School Westminster, California
F/C 33 Eli Chol 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Forsyth Central High School Cumming, Georgia
F 43 Akiva McBirney-Griffin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So St John's College, Hamilton Hamilton, New Zealand
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Source[12]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
2023 William Jones Cup
August 12, 2023*
12:00 am, Twitch 		vs. Qatar W 105–38  1–0
  19 – Henry   6 – Tied   11 – Crockrell II  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 13, 2023*
12:00 am, Twitch 		vs. UAE W 109–49  2–0
  22 – Saran   9 – Chol   6 – Crockrell II  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 14, 2023*
12:00 am, Twitch 		vs. Japan U20 W 108–47  3–0
  16 – Saran   10 – Saran   6 – Redfield  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 14, 2023*
10:00 pm, Twitch 		vs. South Korea
(Anyang KGC) 		W 87–82  4–0
  14 – Crockrell II   13 – Keeler   10 – Crockrell II  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 16, 2023*
4:00 am, YouTube 		at Chinese Taipei (B/White) W 117–59  5–0
  18 – Hohn   12 – Leuchten   14 – Crockrell II  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 18, 2023*
2:00 am, YouTube 		vs. Iran B W 80–48  6–0
  16 – Henry   9 – Saran   4 – Ujadughele  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 19, 2023*
4:00 am, Twitch 		at Chinese Taipei (A/Blue) W 95–80  7–0
  19 – Thoerner   9 – Ujadughele   9 – Ujadughele  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
August 20, 2023*
12:00 am, Twitch 		vs. Philippines
(Rain or Shine Elasto Painters) 		W 115–61  8–0
  23 – Saran   19 – Saran   6 – Hohn  Taipei Heping Gymnasium 
Taipei, Taiwan
Exhibition
November 3, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cal State San Marcos W 75–57 
 11 – Tillis   9 – Tillis   5 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (1,680)
Irvine, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2023*
7:00 p.m., Mountain West Network 		at San Jose State L 64–72  0–1
  14 – Leuchten   6 – Tied   5 – Crockrell II  Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,821)
San Jose, CA
November 11, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		New Mexico State W 91–74  1–1
  19 – Henry   10 – Tillis   8 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (2,731)
Irvine, CA
November 14, 2023*
8:00 p.m., P12N 		at No. 16 USC W 70–60  2–1
  25 – Hohn   10 – Tillis   6 – Crockrell II  Galen Center (4,730)
Los Angeles, CA
November 17, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Occidental W 111–51  3–1
  24 – Henry   8 – Ujadughele   6 – Tied  Bren Events Center (1,432)
Irvine, CA
November 21, 2023*
5:45 p.m., FloHoops 		vs. Pepperdine
Ball Dawgs Classic 		W 76–60  4–1
  16 – Saran   8 – Saran   5 – Tillis  Dollar Loan Center (1,007)
Henderson, NV
November 22, 2023*
8:45 p.m., FloHoops 		vs. Toledo
Ball Dawgs Classic 		W 77–71  5–1
  24 – Tillis   7 – Keeler   4 – Crockrell II  Dollar Loan Center (1,634)
Henderson, NV
November 24, 2023*
1:15 p.m., FloHoops 		vs. Rice
Ball Dawgs Classic 		W 83–68  6–1
  18 – Hohn   9 – Tied   4 – Ujadughele  Dollar Loan Center (1,584)
Henderson, NV
November 29, 2023*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Duquesne L 62–66  6–2
  13 – Tied   7 – Tillis   5 – Crockrell II  UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (2,193)
Pittsburgh, PA
December 2, 2023*
6:00 p.m., Mountain West Network 		at Utah State L 69–79  6–3
  21 – Hohn   7 – Saran   8 – Crockrell II  Smith Spectrum (7,880)
Logan, UT
December 9, 2023*
7:30 p.m., FS1 		at No. 25 San Diego State L 62–63  6–4
  16 – Hohn   7 – Henry   3 – Crockrell II  Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, CA
December 16, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		South Dakota W 121–78  7–4
  22 – Keeler   8 – Keeler   11 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (1,923)
Irvine, CA
December 20, 2023*
6:00 p.m., Mountain West Network 		at New Mexico L 65–78  7–5
  14 – Hohn   6 – Tied   6 – Crockrell II  The Pit (11,536)
Albuquerque, NM
Big West regular season
December 28, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UC Riverside W 73–66  8–5
(1–0) 		 23 – Henry   10 – Tillis   7 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (2,345)
Irvine, CA
December 30, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Cal State Bakersfield W 75–56  9–5
(2–0) 		 18 – Hohn   8 – Leuchten   16 – Crockrell II  Icardo Center (1,081)
Bakersfield, CA
January 4, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cal State Fullerton W 75–67  10–5
(3–0) 		 17 – Tied   5 – Tied   4 – Tillis  Bren Events Center (1,934)
Irvine, CA
January 6, 2024
1:00 p.m., SNLA ESPN+ 		UC Davis W 74–71 OT 11–5
(4–0) 		 14 – Tied   10 – Tillis   5 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (2,232)
Irvine, CA
January 11, 2024
9:00 p.m., Spectrum OC16, ESPN+ 		at Hawai'i W 60–50  12–5
(5–0) 		 16 – Crockrell II   8 – Henry   3 – Crockrell II  Stan Sheriff Center (4,453)
Honolulu, HI
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UC San Diego W 76–65  13–5
(6–0) 		 18 – Henry   9 – Tillis   5 – Hohn  Bren Events Center (3,108)
Irvine, CA
January 20, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UC Davis L 52–54  13–6
(6–1) 		 12 – Henry   8 – Keeler   7 – Crockrell II  University Credit Union Center (2,153)
Davis, CA
January 25, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Long Beach State
Black & Blue Rivalry 		W 72–61  14–6
(7–1) 		 13 – Thoerner   6 – Tied   11 – Crockrell II  Walter Pyramid (3,024)
Long Beach, CA
January 27, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		CSUN W 77–72  15–6
(8–1) 		 22 – Hohn   14 – Keeler   4 – Tillis  Bren Events Center (3,441)
Irvine, CA
February 1, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU Wildcard, ESPN+ 		at Cal Poly W 73–59  16–6
(9–1) 		 17 – Saran   9 – Tied   7 – Crockrell II  Mott Athletics Center (1,097)
San Luis Obispo, CA
February 3, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Hawai'i W 93–68  17–6
(10–1) 		 15 – Leuchten   7 – Welling   7 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (3,042)
Irvine, CA
February 8, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UC Santa Barbara W 76–61  18–6
(11–1) 		 14 – Crockrell II   8 – Welling   7 – Crockrell II  The Thunderdome (1,992)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 10, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UC Riverside L 78–88  18–7
(11–2) 		 14 – Tied   6 – Tied   5 – Crockrell II  SRC Arena (607)
Riverside, CA
February 17, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cal State Bakersfield W 77–71  19–7
(12–2) 		 14 – Leuchten   9 – Tillis   7 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (2,129)
Irvine, CA
February 22, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU Wildcard, ESPN+ 		UC Santa Barbara W 81–69  20–7
(13–2) 		 19 – Hohn   8 – Tillis   5 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (3,272)
Irivne, CA
February 24, 2024
1:00 p.m., SNLA ESPN+ 		at UC San Diego L 88–92 OT 20–8
(13–3) 		 18 – Henry   8 – Tillis   4 – Tillis  LionTree Arena (1,864)
La Jolla, CA
February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at CSUN W 89–64  21–8
(14–3) 		 16 – Leuchten   8 – Keeler   11 – Crockrell II  Premier America Credit Union Arena (542)
Northridge, CA
March 2, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 Wildcard, ESPN+ 		Long Beach State
Black & Blue Rivalry 		W 82–61  22–8
(15–3) 		 13 – Hohn   8 – Saran   11 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (4,799)
Irvine, CA
March 7, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cal Poly W 82–68  23–8
(16–3) 		 16 – Henry   5 – Leuchten   11 – Crockrell II  Bren Events Center (2,785)
Irvine, CA
March 9, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Cal State Fullerton W 81–71  24–8
(17–3) 		 17 – Leuchten   10 – Tillis   3 – Crockrell II  Titan Gym (1,076)
Fullerton, CA
Big West tournament
March 15, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (4) Long Beach State
Semifinals 		L 79–83  24–9
  19 – Hohn   9 – Leuchten   9 – Crockrell II  Dollar Loan Center 
Henderson, NV
National Invitation Tournament
March 19, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at (2) Utah
First Round - Villanova Bracket 		L 75–84  24–10
  16 – Saran   7 – Tillis   5 – Crockrell II  Jon M. Huntsman Center (3,137)
Salt Lake City, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "MEN'S BASKETBALL 2023 SEASON REVIEW". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  2. ^ Arritt, Dan (May 16, 2023). "Big West basketball coaches feeling transfer portal frustrations". Orange County Register. Southern California News Group. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics". UCI Athletics. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Lundquist, Casey (May 1, 2023). "BYU Basketball Adds Scoring in UC-Irvine Transfer Dawson Baker". FanNation. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Haynie, Parker (July 12, 2023). "Men's Basketball Inks Three More Recruits". Southern Utah University. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Glaspie, Akeem (April 25, 2023). "Butler gets much-needed 3-point shooting with UC-Irvine transfer D.J. Davis pickup". IndyStar. Gannett. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "Men's Basketball Adds Dylan Thoerner To 2023-24 Squad". UCI Athletics. University of California, Irvine. August 3, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  8. ^ "Carter Welling - Men's Basketball". UCI Athletics. University of California, Irvine. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Ray, Anthony (May 2, 2023). "Ben Egbo Gives BIG Commitment To UC-Irvine". Arizona Preps. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  10. ^ De Silva, Bodie (May 11, 2023). "St. Augustine's Jurian Dixon, two-time San Diego Section Player of the Year, commits to UC Irvine". FanNation. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  11. ^ Huber, Zachary (June 13, 2023). "Asheville School boys basketball star Derin Saran commits to UC Irvine". Asheville Citizen-Times. Gannett. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  12. ^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Roster". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  13. ^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
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