# UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball

The UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents the University of California, Irvine. The team currently competes in the Big West Conference, NCAA Division I.
UC Irvine basketball is in its thirteenth year under current head coach Russell Turner. The Anteaters' main rivals are the Beach of Long Beach State. Program alumni include Portland Trail Blazers associate head coach Scott Brooks and professional football tight end Darren Fells. UC Irvine has appeared two times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2019.

## Conference affiliations

* 1965–66 to 1976–77 – NCAA Division II Independent
* 1977–78 to present – Big West Conference

## Season-by-season records

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Danny Rogers (NCAA Division II Independent) (1965–1967) ||||||
| 1965–66 | Danny Rogers | 15–11 | — | — | — |
| 1966–67 | Danny Rogers | 15–11 | — | — | — |
| Danny Rogers: | Danny Rogers: | 30–22 (.577) | | | |
| Dick Davis (NCAA Division II Independent) (1967–1969) ||||||
| 1967–68 | Dick Davis | 20–8 | — | — | NCAA regional finals |
| 1968–69 | Dick Davis | 19–9 | — | — | NCAA Regional 3rd Place |
| Dick Davis: | Dick Davis: | 39–17 (.696) | | | |
| Tim Tift (NCAA Division II Independent) (1969–1977) ||||||
| 1969–70 | Tim Tift | 17–9 | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Tim Tift | 16–10 | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Tim Tift | 16–12 | — | — | NCAA Regional 3rd Place |
| 1972–73 | Tim Tift | 15–13 | — | — | — |
| 1973–74 | Tim Tift | 14–12 | — | — | — |
| 1974–75 | Tim Tift | 16–11 | — | — | NCAA Regional 3rd Place |
| 1975–76 | Tim Tift | 14–12 | — | — | — |
| 1976–77 | Tim Tift | 10–17 | — | — | — |
| Tim Tift (Division 2): | Tim Tift (Division 2): | 118–96 (.551) | | | |
| Tim Tift (Pacific Coast Athletic Association) (1977–1980) ||||||
| 1977–78 | Tim Tift | 8–17 | 2–12 | 8th | — |
| 1978–79 | Tim Tift | 9–17 | 3–11 | 8th | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1979–80 | Tim Tift | 9–18 | 1–13 | 8th | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals |
| Tim Tift (Division I): | Tim Tift (Division I): | 26–52 (.333) | 6–24 (.200) | | |
| Tim Tift: | Tim Tift: | 144–147 (.494) | 6–24 (.200) | | |
| Bill Mulligan (Pacific Coast Athletic Association) (1980–1991) ||||||
| 1980–81 | Bill Mulligan | 17–10 | 9–5 | 3rd | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1981–82 | Bill Mulligan | 23–7 | 10–4 | 2nd | PCAA Tournament Semifinals NIT 2nd Round |
| 1982–83 | Bill Mulligan | 16–12 | 8–8 | 5th | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1983–84 | Bill Mulligan | 19–10 | 14–4 | 2nd | PCAA Tournament Semifinals |
| 1984–85 | Bill Mulligan | 13–17 | 8–10 | 6th | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1985–86 | Bill Mulligan | 17–13 | 12–6 | 2nd | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals NIT 2nd Round |
| 1986–87 | Bill Mulligan | 14–14 | 9–9 | 4th (tie) | PCAA Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1987–88 | Bill Mulligan | 16–14 | 9–9 | 5th | PCAA Tournament Finals |
| 1988–89 | Bill Mulligan | 12–17 | 8–10 | 8th | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1989–90 | Bill Mulligan | 5–23 | 3–15 | 10th | Big West Tournament 1st Round |
| 1990–91 | Bill Mulligan | 11–19 | 6–12 | 9th | — |
| Bill Mulligan: | Bill Mulligan: | 163–156 (.511) | 96–92 (.511) | | |
| Rod Baker (Big West Conference) (1991–1997) ||||||
| 1991–92 | Rod Baker | 7–22 | 3–15 | 9th | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 1992–93 | Rod Baker | 6–21 | 4–14 | 8th | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1993–94 | Rod Baker | 10–20 | 4–14 | 10th | Big West Tournament Finals |
| 1994–95 | Rod Baker | 13–16 | 6–12 | 8th | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 1995–96 | Rod Baker | 15–12 | 11–7 | 2nd | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 1996–97 | Rod Baker | 1–25 | 1–15 | 9th | — |
| Rod Baker: | Rod Baker: | 52–116 (.310) | 29–77 (.274) | | |
| Pat Douglass (Big West Conference) (1997–2010) ||||||
| 1997–98 | Pat Douglass | 9–18 | 6–10 | 3rd (west) | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 1998–99 | Pat Douglass | 6–20 | 2–14 | 6th (west) | — |
| 1999–00 | Pat Douglass | 14–14 | 7–9 | 3rd (west) | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 2000–01 | Pat Douglass | 25–5 | 15–1 | 1st | Big West Tournament Semifinals NIT 1st Round |
| 2001–02 | Pat Douglass | 21–11 | 13–5 | 1st (tie) | Big West Tournament Semifinals NIT 1st Round |
| 2002–03 | Pat Douglass | 20–9 | 13–5 | 2nd (tie) | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 2003–04 | Pat Douglass | 11–17 | 6–12 | 8th (tie) | — |
| 2004–05 | Pat Douglass | 16–13 | 8–10 | 5th | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 2005–06 | Pat Douglass | 16–13 | 10–4 | 2nd | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 2006–07 | Pat Douglass | 15–18 | 6–8 | 5th | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 2007–08 | Pat Douglass | 18–16 | 9–7 | 5th | Big West Tournament Finals |
| 2008–09 | Pat Douglass | 12–19 | 8–8 | 4th (3-way tie) | Big West Tournament 1st Round |
| 2009–10 | Pat Douglass | 14–18 | 6–10 | 7th (tie) | Big West Tournament 1st Round |
| Pat Douglass: | Pat Douglass: | 197–191 (.508) | 109–103 (.514) | | |
| Russell Turner (Big West Conference) (2010–present) ||||||
| 2010–11 | Russell Turner | 13–19 | 6–10 | 7th (tie) | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 2011–12 | Russell Turner | 12–20 | 6–10 | 6th (tie) | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 2012–13 | Russell Turner | 21–16 | 11–7 | 4th | Big West Tournament Finals CIT 2nd Round |
| 2013–14 | Russell Turner | 23–12 | 13–3 | 1st | Big West Tournament Semifinals NIT 1st Round |
| 2014–15 | Russell Turner | 21–13 | 11–5 | 2nd (tie) | Big West Tournament Champions NCAA round of 64 |
| 2015–16 | Russell Turner | 28–10 | 13–3 | 1st (tie) | Big West Tournament Semifinals CIT Runners Up |
| 2016–17 | Russell Turner | 21–15 | 12–4 | 1st | Big West Tournament Finals NIT 1st Round |
| 2017–18 | Russell Turner | 18–17 | 11–5 | 2nd (tie) | Big West Tournament Finals |
| 2018–19 | Russell Turner | 31–6 | 15–1 | 1st | Big West Tournament Champions NCAA round of 32 |
| 2019–20 | Russell Turner | 21–11 | 13–3 | 1st | TOURNAMENT CANCELED (COVID-19) |
| 2020–21 | Russell Turner | 18–9 | 10–4 | 2nd | Big West Tournament Finals |
| 2021–22 | Russell Turner | 15–10 | 9–5 | 4th | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 2022–23 | Russell Turner | 23–12 | 15–5 | 1st (tie) | Big West Tournament Semifinals NIT First Round |
| 2023–24 | Russell Turner | 24–10 | 17-3 | 1st | Big West Tournament Semifinals NIT First Round |
| Russell Turner: | Russell Turner: | 289–180 (.616) | 162–68 (.704) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 878–815 (.519) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

## Postseason results
### NCAA Division I tournament results

The Anteaters have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament two times. Their combined record is 1–2.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2015 | #13 | First round | #4 Louisville | L 55–57 |
| 2019 | #13 | First round Second Round | #4 Kansas State #12 Oregon | W 70–64 L 54–73 |

### NCAA Division II tournament results

The Anteaters have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament four times. Their combined record is 2–6.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1968 | Regional semifinals Regional Finals | San Diego State UNLV | W 78–69 L 74–79 |
| 1969 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | San Francisco State UC Davis | L 55–81 W 82–70 |
| 1972 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Southern Colorado UC Riverside | L 58–77 L 75–94 |
| 1975 | Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game | Puget Sound UC Davis | L 74–76 $^{OT}$ L 70–84 |

### NIT results

The Anteaters have appeared in eight National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 2–8.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1982 | First Round Second Round | San Diego State Oklahoma | W 70–69 L 77–80 |
| 1986 | First Round Second Round | UCLA BYU | W 80–74 L 80–93 |
| 2001 | First Round | Tulsa | L 71–75 |
| 2002 | First Round | BYU | L 55–78 |
| 2014 | First Round | SMU | L 54–68 |
| 2017 | First Round | Illinois State | L 71–85 |
| 2023 | First Round | Oregon | L 58–84 |
| 2024 | First Round | Utah | L 75–84 |

### CIT results

The Anteaters have appeared in two CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments (CIT). Their combined record is 4–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2013 | First Round Second Round | High Point Oral Roberts | W 80–71 L 62–76 |
| 2016 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game | North Dakota Louisiana–Lafayette Coastal Carolina Columbia | W 89–86$^{OT}$ W 67–66 W 66–47 L 67–73 |

## Honors and awards
### Retired numbers

The Anteaters retired their first number in program history in 1995, honoring number 44 for All-American Kevin Magee. He was joined by Scott Brooks when his number 12 was retired on November 30, 2019.
UC Irvine Anteaters retired numbers :
| No. | Player | Pos. | Career | No. ret. | Ref. |
| 12 | Scott Brooks | PG | 1985–1987 | 2019 | |
| 44 | Kevin Magee | PF / C | 1980–1982 | 1995 | |

## Anteaters in the NBA

* Scott Brooks, 1988–1999, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers
* Wayne Engelstad, 1988–1989, Denver Nuggets
* Ronnie Grandison, 1988–1996, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, New York Knicks
* Ben McDonald, 1985–1989, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors
* Tod Murphy, 1987–1994, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves
* Johnny Rogers, 1986–1988, Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings
* Bob Thornton, 1986–1996, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
* Tom Tolbert, 1988–1995, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic