UCI fan Holly Ackman-Riggs was right! Anteaters pull off upset over No. 4 Kansas State 70-64

UCI players give the Zot Zot chant during Sunday’s viewing party on campus. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

(This story has been updated)

Well, long-time UC Irvine fan Holly Ackman-Riggs was right. She told OC Sports Zone in an interview earlier this week that the Anteaters would upset No. 4 Kansas State. (Please click here to see the story)

Undoubtedly, Ackman-Riggs and many other Anteater fans are very happy after watching the No. 13-seeded Anteaters defeat Kansas State 70-64 Friday in the first round of the NCAA South Regional in San Jose.

Max Hazzard made a big 3-pointer down the stretch and Evan Leonard made two free throws with seven seconds left to lift the Anteaters (31-5) to their first NCAA Tournament victory.

It was the 17th victory in a row for UCI, who moves on to face the winner of the Oregon-Wisconsin game.

(For more info and pictures on the game, please click here)

Please check out our OC Sports Zone stories below.

Here’s the preview going into today’s game:

NCAA South Regional first round: UC Irvine (30-5) vs. Kansas State (25-8). Wisconsin and Oregon play in the other first round game.

Day and location: Friday, 11 a.m., The SAP Center in San Jose

Television: TBS

Radio: KUCI and AM 830

Previous trips: UCI is in its second NCAA Tournament. In 2015, UCI was the No. 13 seed and lost to Louisville 57-55 at Key Arena in Seattle.

Winning streak: UCI, which won the Big West Conference Tournament title last weekend behind tourney MVP Max Hazzard, has a school record 16-game winning streak and a school record 30 wins.

Previous meetings: This will be the second time UCI and Kansas State have met. Kansas State defeated UCI 71-49 on Nov. 17, 2017.

About Kansas State: The squad was the Big-12 regular season co-champion (25-8, 14-4 Big-12) and will be appearing in its third consecutive NCAA appearance and 31^stoverall. Kentucky has recorded a 37-34 all-time record in NCAA Tournament action. The Wildcats have played in one National Championship game (1951) and have made four Final Four appearances.

Kansas State advanced to the Elite 8 last year before losing to Loyola of Chicago 78-62.

The leading scorers for the Wildcats are Barry Brown (14.9 points a game), Dean Wade (12.9), Kamau Stokes (10.8) and Xavier Sneed (10.6).

-UCI Athletic Communications

RELATED STORIES ON UCI’S TOURNAMENT RUN:

—Junior guard Max Hazzard looks forward to facing Kansas State

—Our experts predict whether the Anteaters can pull off an upset

—A UCI basketball fan makes a prediction on Friday’s game

—UCI finds out its tournament match-up in front of supporters

—UCI’s men’s basketball team wins Big West Conference tourney (photos)