# 1981–82 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 1981–82 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by second year head coach Bill Mulligan and played their home games at the Crawford Hall. They were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 23–7 and 10–4 in PCAA play.

## Previous season

Under first year coach Bill Mulligan, the 1979–80 Anteaters archived their first winning season as a division 1 program with a record of 17–10 and was 3rd in conference play with a record of 9–5. The anteaters averaged 86.4 points per game and led the country in scoring.

## Off-season
### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Curtis Crossley | F | 6'7" | 220 | So. | N/A | Junior College transfer from Saddleback College |
| Don Kapener | N/A | N/A | N/A | Jr. | N/A | Transfer from San Diego |
| Bob Thornton | C | 6'8" | N/A | Jr. | N/A | Junior College transfer from Saddleback College |
Source:

### 1981 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 1981 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| John Barkey G | N/A | Troy High School (CA) | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Mark Spinn F | N/A | Corona del Mar High School (CA) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Rick Ciaccio F | N/A | Newport Harbor High School (CA) | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: |||||||
Source:

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference Season ||||||
| November 28, 1981* | | at Oregon | W 90–84 | 1–0 | McArthur Court (6,6652) Eugene, OR |
| November 30, 1981* | | at Chico State | W 118–79 | 2–0 | Art Acker Gymnasium (2,500) Chico, CA |
| December 3, 1981* | | Boise State | W 84–72 | 3–0 | Crawford Hall (1,403) Irvine, CA |
| December 6, 1981* | | at San Diego | W 78–66 | 4–0 | USD Sports Center (2,500) San Diego, CA |
| December 10, 1981* | | Hawaii-Hilo | W 116–70 | 5–0 | Crawford Hall (1,472) Irvine, CA |
| December 12, 1981* | | No. 15 UNLV | W 82–70 | 6–0 | Anaheim Convention Center (6,959) Anaheim, CA |
| December 15, 1981* | | Loyola Marymount | W 91–80 | 7–0 | Crawford Hall (1,549) Irvine, CA |
| December 18, 1981* | | vs. Eastern Michigan Champion Holiday Classic | W 76–59 | 8–0 | Dahlberg Arena (5,300) Missoula, MT |
| December 19, 1981* | | vs. Montana Champion Holiday Classic | W 46–44 | 9–0 | Dahlberg Arena (6,154) Missoula, MT |
| December 28, 1981* | | vs. Arizona State Milwaukee Classic | L 73–88 | 9–1 | Milwaukee Arena (10,214) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 29, 1981* | | vs. East Tennessee State Milwaukee Classic | W 77–75 | 10–1 | Milwaukee Arena (10,652) Milwaukee, WI |
| January 6, 1982* | | Drury | W 107–71 | 11–1 | Crawford Hall (1,494) Irvine, CA |
| Conference Season ||||||
| January 14, 1982 | | Cal State Fullerton | W 50–49 | 12–1 (1–0) | Crawford Hall (1,676) Irvine, CA |
| January 16, 1982 | | UC Santa Barbara | W 65–62 | 13–1 (2–0) | Crawford Hall (1,591) Irvine, CA |
| January 21, 1982 | | at Pacific | W 71–64 | 14–1 (3–0) | Alex G. Spanos Center (3,727) Stockton, CA |
| January 23, 1982 | | at Utah State | W 71–68 | 15–1 (4–0) | Smith Spectrum (6,674) Logan, UT |
| January 28, 1982 | | at Long Beach State | W 78–68 | 16–1 (5–0) | Long Beach Arena (5,396) Long Beach, CA |
| January 30, 1982 | | Long Beach State | W 78–68 | 17–1 (6–0) | Anaheim Convention Center (5,479) Anaheim, CA |
| February 4, 1982 | | San Jose State | L 57–58 | 17–2 (6–1) | Crawford Hall (1,578) Irvine, CA |
| February 7, 1982 | | Fresno State | L 49–55 $^{OT}$ | 17–3 (6–2) | Long Beach Arena (8,456) Long Beach, CA |
| February 11, 1982 | | at San Jose State | W 68–61 | 18–3 (7–2) | San Jose Civic Auditorium (2,900) San Jose, CA |
| February 13, 1982 | | at Fresno State | L 58–71 | 18–4 (7–3) | Selland Arena (6,530) Fresno, CA |
| February 18, 1982 | | Pacific | W 92–70 | 19–4 (8–3) | Crawford Hall (1,329) Irvine, CA |
| February 20, 1982 | | Utah State | W 104–72 | 20–4 (9–3) | Crawford Hall (1,594) Irvine, CA |
| February 25, 1982 | | at Cal State Fullerton | L 62–68 $^{3OT}$ | 20–5 (9–4) | Titan Gym (3,096) Fullerton, CA |
| February 27, 1982 | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 79–77 | 21–5 (10–4) | UC Santa Barbara Events Center (4,100) Santa Barbara, CA |
| PCAA tournament ||||||
| March 3, 1982 | (2) | vs. (7) Utah State Quarterfinals | W 90–64 | 22–5 | Anaheim Convention Center (5,400) Anaheim, CA |
| March 4, 1982 | (2) | vs. (3) Cal State Fullerton Semifinals | L 61–64 | 22–6 | Anaheim Convention Center (7,433) Anaheim, CA |
| NIT ||||||
| March 12, 1982* | | vs. San Diego State First Round | W 70–69 | 23–6 | San Diego Sports Arena (8,114) San Diego, CA |
| March 16, 1982* | | at Oklahoma Second Round | L 77–880 | 23–7 | Lloyd Noble Center (11,187) Norman, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Kevin Magee
** AP First Team All-American
** USBWA First Team All-American
** NABC Second Team All-American
** PCAA Player of the Year
** PCAA First Team All-Conference
* Ben McDonald
** PCAA Second Team All-Conference
Source:

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 39 | Kevin Magee | Phoenix Suns |
| 10 | 215 | Grant Taylor | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 10 | 219 | Randy Whieldon | Golden State Warriors |
Source