UC Irvine vs. Oregon: How the teams match up in the NCAA tournament South Regional

Max Hazzard (2) of the UC Irvine Anteaters reacts after scoring a three-pointer against the Kansas State Wildcats late in the second half.

By Jeff Miller

Staff Writer

March 23, 2019 4:55 PM PT

WHO: No. 13 UC Irvine (31-5) vs. No. 12 Oregon (24-12).

WHAT: NCAA South Regional second-round game, Sunday, 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: SAP Center, San Jose. TV: TBS.

UPDATE: Irvine starting point guard Eyassu Worku returned Friday against Kansas State, his first action since suffering a leg injury March 2. The junior came off the bench and struggled, committing three fouls and two turnovers in nine minutes. Worku missed his only field goal attempt and both his free throws. With their victory Friday, the Anteaters picked up the program’s first win over a ranked opponent since Irvine defeated No. 20 Stanford in 2003. The Wildcats were No. 18 in the latest Associated Press poll. Irvine guard Evan Leonard has made 42 consecutive free throws, a school record. Against Kansas State, he was nine for nine, four of those coming in the final 16 seconds as the Anteaters secured the school’s first NCAA tournament win. This is Irvine’s second appearance in this event, the 2015 team losing in the first round to Louisville. In Oregon, the Anteaters will face an opponent that typically starts four players who stand 6 feet 9. “They’ve got unusual length,” coach Russell Turner said. “They’ve got size and length more like an NBA team than a typical college team.” Kenny Wooten, who is 6-9 and 235 pounds, is already third on the Oregon’s all-time blocks list even though he’s only a sophomore. When the Ducks lost at UCLA on Feb. 23, they had dropped three in a row and were 6-8 in the Pac 12 and 15-12 overall. They haven’t lost since, winning nine in a row, including the conference tournament. In their first-round victory over Wisconsin on Friday, the Ducks blew open a game that was tied at halftime to win 72-54. They shot 70.8% (17 of 24) in the second half, while limiting the Badgers to 30.6% (11 of 36).

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UC Irvine

Starters

Max Hazzard 5-10 170 12.7 ppg G

Robert Cartwright 6-2 180 6.9 ppg G

Evan Leonard 6-1 185 11.3 ppg G

Tommy Rutherford 6-8 240 6.6 ppg F

Jonathan Galloway 6-10 235 6.9 ppg F

Reserves

Eyassu Worku 6-2 175 7.2 ppg G

Collin Welp 6-9 235 8.8 ppg F

Elston Jones 6-9 260 5.7 ppg F