UC Irvine looks to extend streak vs UCSB

UC Irvine (15-9, 7-1) vs. UC Santa Barbara (15-8, 4-4)

Thunderdome, Santa Barbara, California; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine looks for its fifth straight conference win against UC Santa Barbara. UC Irvine’s last Big West loss came against the Long Beach State Beach 63-56 on Jan. 22. UC Santa Barbara is coming off a 76-66 win over Hawaii in its most recent game.

STEPPING UP: Collin Welp is averaging 13.8 points and 6.4 rebounds to lead the charge for the Anteaters. Eyassu Worku is also a key facilitator, maintaining an average of 11.9 points and four assists per game. The Gauchos have been led by Amadou Sow, who is averaging 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds.

TAKE IT UP A NOTCH: The Anteaters have scored 75.1 points per game and allowed 62.8 points per game against Big West opponents. Those are both solid improvements over the 69.7 points scored and 68.5 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.CLUTCH COLLIN: Welp has connected on 43.3 percent of the 67 3-pointers he’s attempted. He’s also converted 84.1 percent of his foul shots this season.

WINLESS WHEN: UC Irvine is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 67 points and 15-3 when scoring at least 67.

PERFECT WHEN: UC Santa Barbara is a perfect 9-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 42.3 percent or less. The Gauchos are 6-8 when they let opponents to shoot any better than that.

DID YOU KNOW: The stout UC Irvine defense has held opposing offenses to a field goal percentage of 37.6 percent, the 10th-best mark in the country. UC Santa Barbara has allowed opponents to shoot 45.1 percent from the field through 23 games (ranked 285th).