UC Irvine Makes the NCAA Tournament

The UC Irvine Anteaters will be going dancin’ after making the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Students stormed the court after the victory at nearby Honda Center in Anaheim. After winning the regular season title and losing in the conference tournament last year, this is a sweet bounce back for Russell Turner’s program. Senior Will Davis II finally captured that elusive NCAA tournament appearance, putting up a huge 17 points and being a post threat. Mamadou Ndiaye got the crowd on its feet with a couple monster blocks, and affected Hawaii’s shots all night. Luke Nelson was huge down the stretch, and Aaron Wright bounced back nicely to hit his free throws when they mattered. Even when UCI was down early, the team battled back and closed the gap to four at the half. Then the second half was a back and worth going into the last eight minutes. UCI finally pulled ahead, shutting Hawaii down defensively to ride out the victory. Congrats to the team and Eater Nation!