Irvine, CA—With four games remaining in the 2016-17 Big West regular season schedule, the UC Riverside Men's Basketball Team still has plenty of opportunities to finish in the upper division of the conference. Standing in their way Saturday, February 18 are the first-place UC Irvine Anteaters. Tip at the Bren Center is slated for 9 pm PT, and the game is bring broadcast on ESPNU.
The Highlanders (5-7) have lost five of their last six games to drop into seventh place in the conference standings, but they are still just two games back of third place CSUN (7-5) and Long Beach State (7-5).
2016-17 Big West
Men's Basketball Standings |
|
Team |
W |
L |
| 1 |
UC Davis |
8 |
3 |
| 2 |
UC Irvine |
8 |
3 |
| 3 |
CSUN |
7 |
5 |
| 4 |
Long Beach State |
7 |
5 |
| 5 |
Cal State Fullerton |
6 |
5 |
| 6 |
Hawai'i |
6 |
6 |
| 7 |
UC Riverside |
5 |
7 |
| 8 |
Cal Poly |
3 |
8 |
| 9 |
UC Santa Barbara |
2 |
10 |
After Saturday's meeting with the Anteaters, UC Riverside travels to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, February 23, before closing out the regular season with home games against Cal Poly (Saturday, February 25) and UC Irvine (Wednesday, March 1).
Turnovers have been the Highlanders primary sticking point of late, as the have recorded 20 or more miscues in three of their last five games, including 21 in each of their last two games. In conference play, UC Riverside turns the ball over 14.9 times per game, which is the second highest average in the league.
Offensively, the Highlanders are connecting on 45.0 percent of their shots against Big West opponents—third highest in the conference. Their post combo of sophomore center Menno Dijkstra and junior center Alex Larsson are making 73.2 and 58.3 percent of their shots respectively against league competition.
The seven-foot Dijkstra has also been the team's most consistent outside threat since the calendar flipped to 2017. He is making 53.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, and is 6 for 10 over his last four games. As a tam, however, UCR is making just 31.7 percent of its three-pointers against Big West foes—the second lowest percentage in the conference.
In the Highlanders most recent game—a 56-55 home loss to Cal State Fullerton (
box score/
recap)—Dijkstra scored a career-high 17 points. No other member of the team reached double figures.
Defensively, UC Riverside has remained strong over its recent streak holding eight of their last 10 opponents under .41.0 percent shooting from the field, and in five of those instances, the Highlanders limited the opposition to under 37 percent shooting. Conference opponents are making a league-low 38.2 percent of their shots from the field against UC Riverside.
Secean Johnson continues to lead one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the league at 11.1 points per game Chance Murray is second on the team with 10.8 points, followed by freshman Dikymbe Martin at 9.7.
UC Irvine began its Big West season with wins in each of its first six games before dropping three straight. They have righted the ship of late with wins in each of their last two contests, pulling into a first place tie with UC Davis in the process.
The Anteaters boast one of the best players in the league in Luke Nelson, but he has been limited to just nine games this season due to injury. He has played in the team's last three contests, and scored a season-high 29 points in Irvine's most recent win at Hawai'i.
For the year, Nelson is averaging 15.2 points per game—one of three 'Eaters in double figures. Te other two are Jaron Martin (13.1) and Ioannis Dimakopoulos (11.5).
UC Irvine leads the Big West in league play, making 46.9 percent of their shots from the field. The Anteaters also rank third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.365).
Defensively, UCI ranks second in Big West games in field goal percentage allowed (.385) and first in three-point field goal percentage allowed (.262). The Anteaters also own a 10.0 rebound per game advantage against conference opponents. Their closest competition in that category is Cal State Fullerton at 3.5.
The Highlanders are 23-27 all-time against UC Irvine and have dropped three straight and eight of the last nine meetings between the clubs.
