UC Irvine (8-4, 5-0) vs. Hawaii (4-4, 2-4)
Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu; Friday, 12 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over Hawaii. UC Irvine has won by an average of 7 points in its last six wins over the Rainbow Warriors. Hawaii’s last win in the series came on Feb. 15, 2018, a 62-61 win.
LEADING THE WAY: Collin Welp is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds to lead the way for the Anteaters. Brad Greene is also a big contributor, maintaining an average of 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The Rainbow Warriors have been led by Casdon Jardine, who is averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds.
BIG WEST IMPROVEMENT: The Anteaters have scored 72.4 points per game and allowed 56.6 points per game in conference play thus far. Those are both solid improvements over the 63.8 points scored and 71.6 points allowed per game to non-conference foes.CLUTCH COLLIN: Welp has connected on 31.6 percent of the 19 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 2 of 7 over his last five games. He’s also made 78.1 percent of his free throws this season.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Rainbow Warriors have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Anteaters. Hawaii has 43 assists on 79 field goals (54.4 percent) across its previous three games while UC Irvine has assists on 31 of 70 field goals (44.3 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: UC Irvine is ranked second among Big West teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 36 percent. The Anteaters have averaged 12 offensive boards per game.
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