Saturday, February 28th, 10:35 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Bren Events Center (5,000) -- Irvine, California. Television: None. Home Record: UCR 11-2, UCI 5-7. Away Record: UCR 5-8, UCI 4-10. Neutral Record: UCR 0-0, UCI 1-1. Conference Record: UCR 7-6, UCI 6-8. Series Record: UC Irvine leads, 27-17.

GAME NOTES: The UC Riverside Highlanders will try to continue their strong play when they battle the UC Irvine Anteaters this evening at the Bren Events Center. The Highlanders are currently 7-6 in Big West action and sit in fourth place in the league's standings. The last time UC Riverside was in action the team grabbed a 63-60 victory over CS Fullerton. It was the second straight win for the Highlanders and the team's fifth victory in its last six contests. As for the Anteaters, they fell for the 18th time on the season when they were defeated by Long Beach State, 75-74, on Thursday. It was the forth setback in the last six matchups for UCI, which is now just 6-8 in conference action. As far as the all-time series is concerned, UCI holds a 27-17 advantage over the Highlanders after picking up a 71-66 win in the most recent meeting back in January.

The Highlanders' success this season can be attributed to the team's efforts defensively as UCR is holding opponents to just 59.5 ppg. Riverside's tenacious defensive play continued in its recent victory over Fullerton, as the Highlanders limited the Titans to just 60 points behind a 40.0 percent shooting effort. At the other end of the floor the team was led by Kyle Austin's double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Dowdy added 11 points in the win, while Christian Soto grabbed nine rebounds. Austin has been the only consistent scoring option on the year for Riverside, as the forward is averaging 16.8 ppg, while also grabbing 6.2 rpg. Unfortunately the rest of the team has not been as successful, which is why the Highlanders are producing just 60.0 ppg.

Consistency at the offensive end of the court has been tough to come by for the Anteaters, as the team is averaging just 64.9 ppg, behind a mediocre 42.1 percent shooting effort. Eric Wise is currently leading the team with 13.8 ppg, and is also grabbing 5.8 rpg. Michael Hunter is contributing 11.8 ppg, while Kevin Bland is netting 10.1 ppg, to go along with a team-high 6.9 rpg. Surprisingly however, the last time UCI was in action the team scored 74 points, but unfortunately still fell to Long Beach State. The Anteaters shot 55.8 percent from the field in the contest, and also connected on 10-of-18 attempts from long range. Wise led the way in the loss with 17 points, while Hunter registered 16 points. Bland tallied 11 points and grabbed eight boards, while Patrick Rembert also posted 11 points.

The Highlanders might be on the road, but the team is playing at a high level and should continue to soar against a weak UC Irvine squad.

Predicted Outcome

UC Riverside 71, UC Irvine 64