2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 14th-year head coach Russell Turner.

2023–24 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
Big West regular season champions 2023 William Jones Cup champions Ball Dawgs Classic champions
NIT, First Round
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	24–10 (17–3 Big West)
Head coach	Russell Turner (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Ryan Badrtalei (15th season) Michael Wilder (8th season) Alex Young (4th season)
Home arena	Bren Events Center (Capacity: 5,000)
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Big West men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UC Irvine	17	–	3		.850			24	–	10		.706
UC San Diego*	15	–	5		.750			21	–	12		.636
UC Davis	14	–	6		.700			20	–	13		.606
Hawai'i	11	–	9		.550			20	–	14		.588
Long Beach State †	10	–	10		.500			21	–	15		.583
UC Riverside	10	–	10		.500			16	–	18		.471
UC Santa Barbara	9	–	11		.450			16	–	15		.516
Cal State Northridge	9	–	11		.450			19	–	15		.559
Cal State Bakersfield	8	–	12		.400			13	–	19		.406
Cal State Fullerton	7	–	13		.350			14	–	18		.438
Cal Poly	0	–	20		.000			4	–	28		.125
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period
† 2024 Big West tournament winner

Previous season

See also: 2022–23 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

Despite being picked to finish fourth in the Big West Pre-Season Poll, The Anteaters finished the 2022–23 season 23–12, 15–5 to finish in a tie for 1st in Big West play, holding the tie-breaker over UC Santa Barbara. During the regular season, the Anteaters defeated then #21 Oregon 69–56 in Eugene on November 22, 2022, for the program's first victory over a ranked opponent during the regular season since 2005 when they defeated #15 Stanford. The Anteaters would lose to then-ranked #24 San Diego State 69–72 in San Diego holding the lead into the final minutes of the game. After defeating Cal State Bakersfield in the quarterfinals, they lost to Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals of the Big West tournament. The team also won the 2022 Las Vegas Holiday Classic Invite. The team won the Big West auto-bid for the 2023 NIT where the matched with Oregon again and were defeated 58–84. Russell Turner won his 250th game on December 31, 2022, vs Cal State Bakersfield. In that game, the Anteaters broke the school record for attempted free-throws making 30-51 attempts. The team recorded its 13th 20 win season, 8th under Turner.^[1]

Offseason

Departures

Irvine lost its top two scorers from the 2022–23 season, Dawson Baker (15.3 points per game) and DJ Davis (15.0 ppg), to the NCAA transfer portal in the spring of 2023. Baker transferred to BYU and Davis transferred to Butler.^[2][3] Junior forward Chazz Hutchison also entered the portal and senior forward JC Butler graduated. Emilus Buktus was with the team in the summer playing in the Jack Jones Cup, but left the team prior to the regular season.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
JC Butler	0	F	6'5"	195	Senior	Racine, WI	Graduated
Dawson Baker	1	G	6'4"	190	Junior	Coto de Caza, CA	Transferred to BYU^[4]
Chazz Hutchison	5	F	6'9"	215	Junior	Mission Viejo, CA	Transferred to Southern Utah^[5]
DJ Davis	22	G	6'1"	170	Junior	Moreno Valley, CA	Transferred to Butler^[6]

Incoming transfers

Dylan Thoerner, a graduate guard from Tufts and Irvine native, transferred to the program, ultimately bringing UC Irvine's transfer portal turnover to a net loss of two.^[7]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Dylan Thoerner	0	G	6'6"	200	Graduate	Irvine, CA	Tufts

Recruits

Irvine's first commitment of the 2023 class came three years prior from 6-foot-10 forward Carter Welling, the brother of Anteaters forward Hayden Welling. He graduated high school in 2021 and went on a two-year LDS mission before beginning at UC Irvine.^[8] On May 2, 2023, 6-foot-4 guard Ben Egbo committed to UCI as a walk-on.^[9] On May 11, nationally-ranked guard prospect Jurian Dixon committed to the team.^[10] UCI rounded out its recruiting class with a June 13 commitment from Derin Saran, a guard originally from Turkey.^[11]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jurian Dixon G	San Diego, CA	St. Augustine High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	May 11, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Ben Egbo G	Gilbert, AZ	Perry High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 2, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Derin Saran G	Istanbul, Turkey	Asheville School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jun 13, 2023
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Carter Welling F	Draper, UT	Corner Canyon High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Nov 5, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   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:

Roster

2022–23 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Dylan Thoerner 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Tufts University Irvine, California G 1 Derin Saran 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Fr Asheville School Istanbul, Turkey G 2 Justin Hohn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Tea High School Sioux Falls, South Dakota G 3 Pierre Crockrell II 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Pacific Tacoma, Washington G 4 Andre Henry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Saint Francis High School La Cañada Flintridge, California F 5 Ben Egbo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Perry High School Chandler, Arizona G 10 Ofure Ujadughele (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Chino Hills High School Chino Hills, California F 11 Devin Tillis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr UNLV Los Angeles, California F 13 Hayden Welling 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Corner Canyon High School Draper, Utah C 15 Bent Leuchten 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 258 lb (117 kg) Jr Josef-Effner Gymnasium Karlsfeld, Bavaria, Germany G 21 Langston Redfield (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Capistrano Valley High School Mission Viejo, California F 22 Carter Welling 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Corner Canyon High School Draper, Utah G/F 23 Emilis Butkus 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So International Basketball Academy Munich Vilnius, Lithuania G 24 Jurian Dixon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr St. Augustine High School San Diego, California F 31 Dean Keeler (W) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Marina High School Westminster, California F/C 33 Eli Chol 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Forsyth Central High School Cumming, Georgia F 43 Akiva McBirney-Griffin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So St John's College, Hamilton Hamilton, New Zealand	Head coach Russell Turner (Hampden–Sydney) Assistant coach(es) Ryan Badrtalei (UCLA) Michael Wilder (UC Irvine) Alex Young (UC Irvine) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Source^[12]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
2023 William Jones Cup
August 12, 2023* 12:00 am, Twitch		vs. Qatar	W 105–38	1–0	19 – Henry	6 – Tied	11 – Crockrell II	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 13, 2023* 12:00 am, Twitch		vs. UAE	W 109–49	2–0	22 – Saran	9 – Chol	6 – Crockrell II	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 14, 2023* 12:00 am, Twitch		vs. Japan U20	W 108–47	3–0	16 – Saran	10 – Saran	6 – Redfield	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 14, 2023* 10:00 pm, Twitch		vs. South Korea (Anyang KGC)	W 87–82	4–0	14 – Crockrell II	13 – Keeler	10 – Crockrell II	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 16, 2023* 4:00 am, YouTube		at Chinese Taipei (B/White)	W 117–59	5–0	18 – Hohn	12 – Leuchten	14 – Crockrell II	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 18, 2023* 2:00 am, YouTube		vs. Iran B	W 80–48	6–0	16 – Henry	9 – Saran	4 – Ujadughele	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 19, 2023* 4:00 am, Twitch		at Chinese Taipei (A/Blue)	W 95–80	7–0	19 – Thoerner	9 – Ujadughele	9 – Ujadughele	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
August 20, 2023* 12:00 am, Twitch		vs. Philippines (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters)	W 115–61	8–0	23 – Saran	19 – Saran	6 – Hohn	Taipei Heping Gymnasium  Taipei, Taiwan
Exhibition
November 3, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State San Marcos	W 75–57		11 – Tillis	9 – Tillis	5 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (1,680) Irvine, CA
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., Mountain West Network		at San Jose State	L 64–72	0–1	14 – Leuchten	6 – Tied	5 – Crockrell II	Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,821) San Jose, CA
November 11, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		New Mexico State	W 91–74	1–1	19 – Henry	10 – Tillis	8 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (2,731) Irvine, CA
November 14, 2023* 8:00 p.m., P12N		at No. 16 USC	W 70–60	2–1	25 – Hohn	10 – Tillis	6 – Crockrell II	Galen Center (4,730) Los Angeles, CA
November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Occidental	W 111–51	3–1	24 – Henry	8 – Ujadughele	6 – Tied	Bren Events Center (1,432) Irvine, CA
November 21, 2023* 5:45 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Pepperdine Ball Dawgs Classic	W 76–60	4–1	16 – Saran	8 – Saran	5 – Tillis	Dollar Loan Center (1,007) Henderson, NV
November 22, 2023* 8:45 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Toledo Ball Dawgs Classic	W 77–71	5–1	24 – Tillis	7 – Keeler	4 – Crockrell II	Dollar Loan Center (1,634) Henderson, NV
November 24, 2023* 1:15 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Rice Ball Dawgs Classic	W 83–68	6–1	18 – Hohn	9 – Tied	4 – Ujadughele	Dollar Loan Center (1,584) Henderson, NV
November 29, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Duquesne	L 62–66	6–2	13 – Tied	7 – Tillis	5 – Crockrell II	UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (2,193) Pittsburgh, PA
December 2, 2023* 6:00 p.m., Mountain West Network		at Utah State	L 69–79	6–3	21 – Hohn	7 – Saran	8 – Crockrell II	Smith Spectrum (7,880) Logan, UT
December 9, 2023* 7:30 p.m., FS1		at No. 25 San Diego State	L 62–63	6–4	16 – Hohn	7 – Henry	3 – Crockrell II	Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA
December 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		South Dakota	W 121–78	7–4	22 – Keeler	8 – Keeler	11 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (1,923) Irvine, CA
December 20, 2023* 6:00 p.m., Mountain West Network		at New Mexico	L 65–78	7–5	14 – Hohn	6 – Tied	6 – Crockrell II	The Pit (11,536) Albuquerque, NM
Big West regular season
December 28, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC Riverside	W 73–66	8–5 (1–0)	23 – Henry	10 – Tillis	7 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (2,345) Irvine, CA
December 30, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	W 75–56	9–5 (2–0)	18 – Hohn	8 – Leuchten	16 – Crockrell II	Icardo Center (1,081) Bakersfield, CA
January 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	W 75–67	10–5 (3–0)	17 – Tied	5 – Tied	4 – Tillis	Bren Events Center (1,934) Irvine, CA
January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., SNLA ESPN+		UC Davis	W 74–71 ^OT	11–5 (4–0)	14 – Tied	10 – Tillis	5 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (2,232) Irvine, CA
January 11, 2024 9:00 p.m., Spectrum OC16, ESPN+		at Hawai'i	W 60–50	12–5 (5–0)	16 – Crockrell II	8 – Henry	3 – Crockrell II	Stan Sheriff Center (4,453) Honolulu, HI
January 18, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UC San Diego	W 76–65	13–5 (6–0)	18 – Henry	9 – Tillis	5 – Hohn	Bren Events Center (3,108) Irvine, CA
January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Davis	L 52–54	13–6 (6–1)	12 – Henry	8 – Keeler	7 – Crockrell II	University Credit Union Center (2,153) Davis, CA
January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Long Beach State Black & Blue Rivalry	W 72–61	14–6 (7–1)	13 – Thoerner	6 – Tied	11 – Crockrell II	Walter Pyramid (3,024) Long Beach, CA
January 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		CSUN	W 77–72	15–6 (8–1)	22 – Hohn	14 – Keeler	4 – Tillis	Bren Events Center (3,441) Irvine, CA
February 1, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU Wildcard, ESPN+		at Cal Poly	W 73–59	16–6 (9–1)	17 – Saran	9 – Tied	7 – Crockrell II	Mott Athletics Center (1,097) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Hawai'i	W 93–68	17–6 (10–1)	15 – Leuchten	7 – Welling	7 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (3,042) Irvine, CA
February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Santa Barbara	W 76–61	18–6 (11–1)	14 – Crockrell II	8 – Welling	7 – Crockrell II	The Thunderdome (1,992) Santa Barbara, CA
February 10, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UC Riverside	L 78–88	18–7 (11–2)	14 – Tied	6 – Tied	5 – Crockrell II	SRC Arena (607) Riverside, CA
February 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	W 77–71	19–7 (12–2)	14 – Leuchten	9 – Tillis	7 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (2,129) Irvine, CA
February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU Wildcard, ESPN+		UC Santa Barbara	W 81–69	20–7 (13–2)	19 – Hohn	8 – Tillis	5 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (3,272) Irivne, CA
February 24, 2024 1:00 p.m., SNLA ESPN+		at UC San Diego	L 88–92 ^OT	20–8 (13–3)	18 – Henry	8 – Tillis	4 – Tillis	LionTree Arena (1,864) La Jolla, CA
February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at CSUN	W 89–64	21–8 (14–3)	16 – Leuchten	8 – Keeler	11 – Crockrell II	Premier America Credit Union Arena (542) Northridge, CA
March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 Wildcard, ESPN+		Long Beach State Black & Blue Rivalry	W 82–61	22–8 (15–3)	13 – Hohn	8 – Saran	11 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (4,799) Irvine, CA
March 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cal Poly	W 82–68	23–8 (16–3)	16 – Henry	5 – Leuchten	11 – Crockrell II	Bren Events Center (2,785) Irvine, CA
March 9, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cal State Fullerton	W 81–71	24–8 (17–3)	17 – Leuchten	10 – Tillis	3 – Crockrell II	Titan Gym (1,076) Fullerton, CA
Big West tournament
March 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (4) Long Beach State Semifinals	L 79–83	24–9	19 – Hohn	9 – Leuchten	9 – Crockrell II	Dollar Loan Center  Henderson, NV
National Invitation Tournament
March 19, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at (2) Utah First Round - Villanova Bracket	L 75–84	24–10	16 – Saran	7 – Tillis	5 – Crockrell II	Jon M. Huntsman Center (3,137) Salt Lake City, UT
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source^[13]

References

1. "MEN'S BASKETBALL 2023 SEASON REVIEW". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
2. Arritt, Dan (May 16, 2023). "Big West basketball coaches feeling transfer portal frustrations". Orange County Register. Southern California News Group. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
3. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics". UCI Athletics. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
4. Lundquist, Casey (May 1, 2023). "BYU Basketball Adds Scoring in UC-Irvine Transfer Dawson Baker". FanNation. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
5. Haynie, Parker (July 12, 2023). "Men's Basketball Inks Three More Recruits". Southern Utah University. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
6. Glaspie, Akeem (April 25, 2023). "Butler gets much-needed 3-point shooting with UC-Irvine transfer D.J. Davis pickup". IndyStar. Gannett. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
7. "Men's Basketball Adds Dylan Thoerner To 2023-24 Squad". UCI Athletics. University of California, Irvine. August 3, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
8. "Carter Welling - Men's Basketball". UCI Athletics. University of California, Irvine. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
9. Ray, Anthony (May 2, 2023). "Ben Egbo Gives BIG Commitment To UC-Irvine". Arizona Preps. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
10. De Silva, Bodie (May 11, 2023). "St. Augustine's Jurian Dixon, two-time San Diego Section Player of the Year, commits to UC Irvine". FanNation. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
11. Huber, Zachary (June 13, 2023). "Asheville School boys basketball star Derin Saran commits to UC Irvine". Asheville Citizen-Times. Gannett. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
12. "2023–24 Men's Basketball Roster". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
13. "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of California, Irvine. Retrieved August 3, 2023.