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 31stoverall. 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)
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