Originally Posted by
Maddhatter
Quick notes...
Second-year head coach Russell Turner's UCI squad, one of the youngest teams in the nation with eight freshmen, is in search of its first win of the season after dropping its first three games.
The Anteaters lost at then-No. 24 Cal, 77-56, at San Jose State, 51-50, and 80-72 to Weber State in the home opener last Saturday.
Southern Miss is 2-1 entering Thursday night's game following a 79-58 win at Colorado State last Saturday.
Junior guard LaShay Page leads the Golden Eagles in scoring at 16.3 points per game, followed by senior guards Maurice Bolden (12.3) and Angelo Johnson (10.3).
Southern Miss, 22-10 overall last season, is outrebounding its opponents, 36.7 to 22.0.
Eighth-year head coach Larry Eustachy is a familiar face to the Anteaters as he previously coached at Utah State in the Big West Conference.
As a team, UC-Irvine is connecting on just 36.0% from the field while holding the opposition to just 37.6%. From three-point distance, UCI is connecting on 30.6%, while keeping its opponents to just 32.2%. However, the Anteaters are being outrebounded by 8.0 boards per game, 44.0-to-36.0. Head coach Russell Turner is in his second season at the helm of the UC-Irvine men's basketball program. He has compiled a 13-22 (.371) record during his tenure as head coach.
Starring is leading the Anteaters with 9.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Chris McNealy and freshman forward Will Davis II are each scoring 8.3 points. Davis II is also leading the squad with 8.0 rebounds per game.
As a team, Southern Miss is hitting 44.0-percent of its shots and 39.3% of its three-pointers, while its opposition is hitting 42.5% from the field and 44.8-percent from behind the arc. The Golden Eagles hold a big advantage on the boards, as they are outrebounding their opponents 36.7-to-22.0, a difference of 14.7 per game. The Golden Eagles are also leading the league in free throw percentage (.756) despite attempting just 13.6 free throws a game.
Page leads the Black and Gold with 16.3 points. He leads Conference USA in three-pointers made (3.7) and is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.440). Bolden is averaging 12.3 points and leads the squad with 7.0 rebounds. Johnson is adding 10.3 points.