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UC-Santa Barbara (4-1, 0-0) at UC-Irvine (3-4, 0-0) – 7:00 PM EST (ESPN3)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day heads to the OC in California where the hometown Anteaters of UC-Irvine host the UCSB Gauchos. Much is expected of the Gauchos this year – they are expected to contend for the Big West title this year. They opened the season with a pair of non-D1 wins at home before splitting a pair of games against Loyola Marymount. In their last outing, JaQuori McLaughlin led the Gauchos with 23 points in a 75-63 victory at Pepperdine.
UC-Irvine has been the most consistent team in the last decade in the Big West, but this year has been a tough slog so far with the Anteaters losing their first four games against D1 competition. They began with losses against Pepperdine and San Diego State in a multi-team event hosted by SDSU, but the Anteaters were much better in their last outing with an 85-53 victory at home against San Diego. Collin Welp averages 11.4 and 6.9 points a game for the Anteaters.