2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by tenth-year head coach Russell Turner competing in the Bren Events Center. UC Irvine is a member of the Big West Conference. The team won their second straight Big West Regular Season title before the 2020 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and subsequently, the remainder of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season and postseason tournaments were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The team finished 21–11, and has won at least a share of 3 of the last 4 Big West Regular season titles. The program has won at least 20 games in 7 of the last 8 seasons. Turner became the winningest coach in program history on Jan 15 surpassing Pat Douglass total of 197 wins and won his 4th Big West Coach of the Year Award. Evan Leonard, Eyassu Worku, and Tommy Rutherford all recorded their 1000th point during the season, the first time the program has had 3 players score 1,000 career points in the same season. The team was 12th in the nation in FG % defense holding opponents to (38.8%) shooting, 11th in total rebounds (1,269), 3rd in rebounding margin (+9.4). Brad Greene pulled a Bren Events Center record 21 rebounds on Jan. 11 vs Hawai'i.[1]

2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
Big West regular season champions
ConferenceBig West Conference
2019–20 record21–11 (13–3 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBren Events Center
(Capacity: 5,000)
2019–20 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
UC Irvine13–3 .813  21–11  .656
Cal State Northridge10–6 .625  15–17  .469
UC Santa Barbara10–6 .625  21–10  .677
Hawaiʻi8–8 .500  17–13  .567
UC Davis8–8 .500  14–18  .438
UC Riverside7–9 .438  17–15  .531
Cal State Fullerton6–10 .375  11–20  .355
Long Beach State6–10 .375  11–21  .344
Cal Poly4–12 .250  7–23  .233
As of March 11, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll
NOTE: The 2020 Big West Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season
See also: 2018–19 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The Anteaters finished the season a program best 31–6 overall, and 15–1 in the conference and recorded their first ever NCAA Tournament win over Kansas State in the South Region 1st Round before falling to Oregon in the Second Round.[2] During the season, the Anteaters participated in the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase, which was held in Estero, Florida, where they were runner-ups defeating UTSA and Tulane before losing to Toledo. Prior to the season, the Anteaters competed in the 2018 Asia-Pacific University Basketball Challenge, hosted by the KBA and Yonsei University where they were also runner-ups.[3]

Offseason

Departures
Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Max Hazzard G 5'10" 170 RS Junior Los Angeles, California Graduated
Darrian Traylor G 6'4" 210 RS Junior Las Vegas, Nevada Graduated
Spencer Rivers G 6'2" 200 Senior Winter Park, Florida Walk–on; graduated
Elston Jones F 6'9" 275 RS Senior Goodyear, Arizona Graduated
Robert Cartwright G 6'2" 180 Graduate Pasadena, California Graduated
Jonathan Galloway C 6'10" 235 Graduate Brentwood, California Graduated; signed with Bakken Bears
Solomon Ruddell C 7'1" 235 Sophomore Los Osos, California Transferred to Biola[4]

Roster
2019–20 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 0 JC Butler (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoPrairie School Racine, Wisconsin
G 1 Devin Cole (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS FrBuena High School Ventura, California
G 2 Justin Hohn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrTea High Sioux Falls, South Dakota
G 4 Aiden Krause 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)198 lb (90 kg) RS FrAustralian Institute of Sport Mackay, QLD, Australia
G 5 Isaiah Lee 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrAustralian Institute of Sport Sydney, NSW, Australia
G 10 Ofure Ujadughele 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrChino Hills High School Chino Hills, California
F 11 John Edgar Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrAyala High School Chino Hills, California
G 13 Austin Johnson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)223 lb (101 kg) RS FrLink Year Prep/Wheeler High School Marietta, Georgia
G 14 Evan Leonard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrCerritos High School Cerritos, California
G 15 Jeron Artest 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)184 lb (83 kg) FrBella Vista Prep Scottsdale, Arizona
G 24 Eyassu Worku 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) SrLos Alamitos High School Artesia, California
F 25 Emmanuel Tshimanga 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)300 lb (136 kg) FrBella Vista Prep Scottsdale, Arizona
F 31 Dean Keeler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrMarina High School Westminster, California
F 40 Collin Welp 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SoSeattle Preparatory School Seattle, Washington
F 42 Tommy Rutherford 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) SrGrossmont High School El Cajon, California
C 55 Brad Greene 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)270 lb (122 kg) RS JrLone Pine High School Lone Pine, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 19 July 2018

[5]

Schedule

[6]

Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2019*
7:00 pm		 UC San Diego W 80–64 
 15 – Leonard  9 – Welp  3 – Tied  Bren Events Center (3,413)
Irvine, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
7:00 pm, WCCN		 at San Diego W 76–73  1–0
  19 – Leonard  7 – Edgar Jr  3 – Worku  Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,517)
San Diego, CA
November 9, 2019*
5:00 pm, WCCN		 at Pepperdine L 73–77  1–1
  26 – Worku  9 – Welp  4 – Lee  Firestone Fieldhouse (1,475)
Malibu, CA
November 12, 2019*
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 Life Pacific W 98–52  2–1
  18 – Welp  10 – Greene  7 – Worku  Bren Events Center (1,392)
Irvine, CA
November 15, 2019*
6:00 pm, MWN		 at Boise State W 69–60  3–1
  15 – Worku  8 – Greene  5 – Welp  ExtraMile Arena 
Boise, ID
November 18, 2019*
6:00 pm, P12N		 at No. 23 Colorado
MGM Main Event campus site game		 L 53–69  3–2
  12 – Welp  9 – Johnson  3 – Tied  CU Events Center (5,904)
Boulder, CO
November 21, 2019*
4:00 pm, FSSW+FCSP		 at TCU
MGM Main Event campus site game		 L 58–59  3–3
  14 – Welp  12 – Greene  5 – Worku  Schollmaier Arena (5,892)
Fort Worth, TX
November 24, 2019*
12:00 pm, FloHoops		 vs. Detroit Mercy
MGM Main Event Middleweight Bracket		 L 74–86  3–4
  14 – Rutherford  18 – Welp  5 – Tied  Clark High School 
Las Vegas, NV
November 26, 2019*
1:00 pm, FloHoops		 vs. Louisiana
MGM Main Event Middleweight Bracket		 W 92–67  4–4
  20 – Rutherford  9 – Edgar Jr  5 – Tied  Clark High School 
Las Vegas, NN
November 30, 2019*
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 Eastern Michigan W 77–56  5–4
  31 – Welp  6 – Welp  5 – Lee  Bren Events Center (2,813)
Irvine, CA
December 7, 2019*
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 California Baptist L 60–68  5–5
  15 – Tied  10 – Greene  6 – Worku  Bren Events Center (1,938)
Irvine, CA
December 14, 2019*
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 Pacific Union W 120–63  6–5
  22 – Johnson  10 – Krause  9 – Lee  Bren Events Center (1,463)
Irvine, CA
December 16, 2019*
4:00 pm		 vs. Kent State
Sun Bowl Invitational semifinals		 W 74–68  7–5
  18 – Welp  7 – Welp  6 – Worku  Don Haskins Center (5,969)
El Paso, TX
December 17, 2019*
6:00 pm, CUSA TV		 at UTEP
Sun Bowl Invitational championship		 L 61–67  7–6
  19 – Worku  9 – Greene  4 – Lee  Don Haskins Center (6,934)
El Paso, TX
December 20, 2019*
5:00 pm, ESPN3		 at UIC L 67–76  7–7
  19 – Worku  7 – Tied  4 – Tied  Credit Union 1 Arena (1,567)
Chicago, IL
December 28, 2019*
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 Pacific W 69–56  8–7
  17 – Welp  9 – Greene  5 – Worku  Bren Events Center (1,855)
Irvine, CA
January 4, 2020*
11:00 am, ESPN+		 at Harvard L 73–77  8–8
  21 – Worku  10 – Welp  4 – Worku  Lavietes Pavilion (1,636)
Boston, MA
Big West regular season
January 11, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Hawaii W 74–60  9–8
(1-0)		  18 – Welp  21 – Greene  2 – Tied  Bren Events Center (2,938)
Irvine, CA
January 15, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Cal State Fullerton W 74–61  10–8
(2–0)		  20 – Tied  14 – Rutherford  4 – Krause  Titan Gym (689)
Fullerton, CA
January 18, 2020
7:30 pm, KDOC-TV		 UC Riverside W 69–53  11–8
(3–0)		  13 – Leonard  6 – Lee  5 – Worku  Bren Events Center (2,106)
Irvine, CA
January 22, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Long Beach State
Black & Blue Rivalry		 L 56–63  11–9
(3–1)		  14 – Leonard  8 – Welp  5 – Welp  Walter Pyramid (2,262)
Long Beach, CA
January 25, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Cal Poly W 74–67  12–9
(4–1)		  18 – Tied  8 – Greene  10 – Worku  Bren Events Center (3,941)
Irvine, CA
January 30, 2020
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 at UC Davis W 80–65  13–9
(5–1)		  19 – Worku  10 – Welp  4 – Edgar Jr.  The Pavilion (1,002)
Davis, CA
February 1, 2020
7:30 pm, KDOC-TV		 Cal State Fullerton W 91–61  14–9
(6–1)		  18 – Tied  12 – Greene  6 – Worku  Bren Events Center (2,780)
Irvine, CA
February 6, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 UC Davis W 83–72  15–9
(7–1)		  17 – Greene  12 – Greene  6 – Leonard  Bren Events Center (1,756)
Irvine, CA
February 8, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPNU		 at UC Santa Barbara L 61–64  15–10
(7–2)		  16 – Greene  6 – Greene  3 – Worku  The Thunderdome (3,187)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 12, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at UC Riverside W 63–59  16–10
(8–2)		  18 – Worku  10 – Greene  2 – 3 tied  SRC Arena (733)
Riverside, CA
February 15, 2020
9:00 pm, ESPN2		 at Hawai'i W 70–63  17–10
(9–2)		  19 – Worku  8 – Greene  2 – Leonard  Stan Sheriff Center (7,591)
Honolulu, HI
February 19, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Long Beach State
Black & Blue Rivalry		 W 70–55  18–10
(10–2)		  16 – Ruthreford  11 – Greene  3 – 3 tied  Bren Events Center (2,312)
Irvine, CA
February 22, 2020
7:00 pm, Big West TV		 at Cal State Northridge W 87–64  19–10
(11–2)		  18 – Leonard  11 – Greene  9 – Worku  Matadome (1,544)
Northridge, CA
February 27, 2020
8:00 pm, ESPNU		 at Cal Poly W 82–76  20–10
(12–2)		  22 – Leonard  6 – Edgar Jr.  5 – Worku  Mott Athletics Center (2,703)
San Luis Obispo, CA
February 29, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 UC Santa Barbara W 69–58  21–10
(13–2)		  20 – Worku  15 – Greene  5 – Worku  Bren Events Center (5,000)
Irvine, CA
March 4, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Cal State Northridge L 70–72  21–11
(13–3)		  14 – Greene  11 – Greene  5 – Worku  Bren Events Center (2,954)
Irvine, CA
Big West Tournament
March 12, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN3		 (1) vs. (8) Long Beach State
Quarterfinals		 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Honda Center 
Anaheim, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References
  1. "2019-20 MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. "Historic Season Comes to an End in NCAA Round of 32". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  3. "UCI FALLS TO RUSSIA, 92-91, AT THE ASIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  4. "BU Adds Big Guy from UCI". Biola University Athletics. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. "2019–20 Men's Basketball Roster". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  6. "2019–20 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
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