UC Irvine squares off against Jacksonville State in NIT matchup

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (23-12, 14-7 CUSA) at UC Irvine Anteaters (29-6, 18-4 Big West)

Irvine, California; Sunday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: UC Irvine and Jacksonville State play in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Anteaters are 18-4 against Big West opponents and 11-2 in non-conference play. UC Irvine is second in the Big West with 15.8 assists per game led by Justin Hohn averaging 3.7.

The Gamecocks are 14-7 in CUSA play. Jacksonville State ranks third in the CUSA with 25.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Michael Houge averaging 5.0.

UC Irvine makes 45.6% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.4 percentage points higher than Jacksonville State has allowed to its opponents (41.2%). Jacksonville State has shot at a 44.8% rate from the field this season, 5.2 percentage points greater than the 39.6% shooting opponents of UC Irvine have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Hohn is shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Anteaters, while averaging 12 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals. Bent Leuchten is averaging 15.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over the past 10 games.

Jaron Pierre Jr. is averaging 21.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Gamecocks. Jao Ituka is averaging 1.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Anteaters: 8-2, averaging 78.1 points, 31.8 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.0 points per game.

Gamecocks: 6-4, averaging 68.7 points, 32.6 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 41.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.3 points.

___

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