Anteaters play host to UC Riverside tonight

When: Tonight, 7

Where: Bren Events Center

Breakdown: The UC Irvine men’s basketball team will try to parlay what is expected to be a large crowd into a Big West Conference home victory for the second time in as many home games when it faces UC Riverside ... Homecoming festivities are planned and, as the final home game of the season, there will also be a salute to UCI seniors Kevin Bland and Brett Lauer ... A revved-up “Blackout Night” crowd of 3,450 helped the Anteaters (10-18, 6-8 in conference) thump conference-leading Cal State Northridge, 73-51, in the last home game Feb. 18 ... UCI almost upset conference co-leader Long Beach State Thursday, falling, 75-74, at The Walter Pyramid ... UCI earned a 71-66 road win over UC Riverside (16-10, 7-6) on Jan. 29 and has won eight straight games over the Highlanders at the Bren Center ... UCI is paced by 6-foot-5 freshman Eric Wise, who is averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game ... Bland is chipping in 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, while junior guard Michael Hunter is averaging 11.8 points and leads the conference with 2.1 steals per game ... Bland’s six double-doubles are tops in the conference and Lauer leads all Big West players in three-point accuracy (51.3%) ... UCI leads the conference and ranks No. 8 nationally in three-point accuracy (40.4%) and the ’Eaters are 28 of 52 from threedom (53.8%) in their last three games ... Riverside will be without leading rebounder Aaron Scott (9.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg), who is sidelined with a knee injury ... Highlanders junior forward Kyle Austin, a USC transfer, is averaging 16.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg ... Riverside defeated Cal State Fullerton, 63-60, Thursday.

— Barry Faulkner