UC Irvine and Northern Colorado square off in NIT matchup

Northern Colorado Bears (25-9, 17-4 Big Sky) at UC Irvine Anteaters (28-6, 18-4 Big West)

Irvine, California; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine takes on Northern Colorado in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Anteaters’ record in Big West games is 18-4, and their record is 10-2 against non-conference opponents. UC Irvine has a 1-0 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Bears’ record in Big Sky play is 17-4. Northern Colorado ranks eighth in the Big Sky with 6.9 offensive rebounds per game led by Brock Wisne averaging 1.8.

UC Irvine is shooting 45.5% from the field this season, 0.2 percentage points higher than the 45.3% Northern Colorado allows to opponents. Northern Colorado has shot at a 51.1% clip from the field this season, 11.5 percentage points greater than the 39.6% shooting opponents of UC Irvine have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Justin Hohn averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Anteaters, scoring 11.9 points while shooting 37.0% from beyond the arc. Bent Leuchten is averaging 15.4 points and nine rebounds over the last 10 games.

Jaron Rillie is averaging 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Bears. Isaiah Hawthorne is averaging 17.0 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Anteaters: 8-2, averaging 76.1 points, 32.0 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.8 points per game.

Bears: 8-2, averaging 79.0 points, 31.6 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 5.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 51.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

By The Associated Press