UC Irvine (12-7, 9-3) vs. Cal State Fullerton (5-7, 4-7)
Titan Gym, Fullerton, California; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over Cal State Fullerton. UC Irvine has won by an average of 18 points in its last six wins over the Titans. Cal State Fullerton’s last win in the series came on March 10, 2018, a 71-55 win.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Cal State Fullerton’s Tray Maddox Jr. has averaged 15.1 points while Josh Hall has put up 8.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. For the Anteaters, Collin Welp has averaged 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds while Brad Greene has put up 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds.
TAKE IT UP A NOTCH: The Anteaters have scored 69.2 points per game and allowed 61.8 points per game against Big West opponents. Those are both significant improvements over the 63.8 points scored and 71.6 points given up per game to non-conference foes.CLUTCH COLLIN: Welp has connected on 36.1 percent of the 36 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 4 for 11 over the last three games. He’s also made 78.7 percent of his free throws this season.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Titans have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Anteaters. Cal State Fullerton has 37 assists on 74 field goals (50 percent) over its past three matchups while UC Irvine has assists on 31 of 82 field goals (37.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: UC Irvine has posted an excellent offensive rebound percentage of 35.8 percent, ranking the Anteaters 14th nationally in that category. The offensive rebound percentage for Cal State Fullerton sits at just 22.5 percent (ranked 312th).
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