# 1971–72 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 1971–72 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1971–72 NCAA College Division men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by third year head coach Tim Tift and played their home games at Crawford Hall. They were invited to the 1972 NCAA College Division basketball tournament where they lost to Southern Colorado in the regional semifinals and UC Riverside in the regional 3rd-place game. The anteaters finished the season with an overall record of 16–12.

## Previous season

The 1970–71 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team finished the season with a record of 16–12 under second year head coach Tim Tift and were not invited to a post season tournament.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| December 1, 1971* | at Tennessee | L 53–89 | 0–1 | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN |
| December 4, 1971* | at West Virginia | L 66–70 | 0–2 | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV |
| December 7, 1971* | at Army | L 71–79 | 0–3 | Gillis Field House West Point, NY |
| December 8, 1971* | at Seton Hall | L 86–94 | 0–4 | Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, NJ |
| December 11, 1971* | Wheaton | W 120–101 | 1–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| December 21, 1971* | Humboldt State UCI Invitational | W 97–80 | 2–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| December 22, 1971* | San Diego State UCI Invitational | W 83–77 | 3–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| December 23, 1971* | Seattle Pacific | W 81–65 | 4–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| December 29, 1971* | Seton Hall | W 98–76 | 5–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| December 30, 1971* | Chicago State | W 103–61 | 6–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| January 4, 1972* | Bethany (Oklahoma) | W 83–65 | 7–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| January 10, 1972* | Olivet | W 99–81 | 8–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| January 14, 1972* | Chapman | W 105–91 | 9–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| January 15, 1972* | LSU New Orleans | W 92–78 | 10–4 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| January 21, 1972* | UC Davis All-UC Tournament | W 63–60 | 11–4 | UC Riverside Gymnasium Riverside, CA |
| January 22, 1972* | UC Riverside All-UC Tournament | L 91–93 | 11–5 | UC Riverside Gymnasium Riverside, CA |
| January 25, 1972* | Occidental | W 94–75 | 12–5 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| January 29, 1972* | at Cal Poly Pomona | L 62–83 | 12–6 | Kellogg Gym Pomona, CA |
| February 1, 1972* | Long Beach State | L 62–83 | 12–7 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| February 3, 1972* | Puget Sound | W 86–77 | 13–7 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| February 5, 1972* | Hawaii | L 79–88 | 13–8 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| February 11, 1972* | at Chapman | W 97–90 | 14–8 | Orange, CA |
| February 15, 1972* | at San Diego State | L 95–109 | 14–9 | Peterson Gym San Diego, CA |
| February 19, 1972* | UC Riverside | L 87–91 | 14–10 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| February 23, 1972* | at Stanislaus State | W 89–85 | 15–10 | Turlock, CA |
| February 26, 1972* | Cal State Bakersfield | W 81–76 | 16–10 | Crawford Hall Irvine, CA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 10, 1972* | at Southern Colorado Regional semifinal | L 58–77 | 16–11 | Massari Arena Pueblo, CO |
| March 11, 1972* | vs. UC Riverside Regional 3rd-place game | L 75–94 | 16–12 | Massari Arena Pueblo, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
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