UC Irvine meets Jacksonville State in NIT
Associated Press
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 meet in the National Invitation Tournament.
The Anteaters' record in Big West games is 18-4, and their record is 11-2 in non-conference games. UC Irvine is fourth in the Big West scoring 76.1 points while shooting 45.6% from the field.
The Gamecocks' record in CUSA action is 14-7. Jacksonville State is ninth in the CUSA with 11.7 assists per game led by Jaron Pierre Jr. averaging 3.8.
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 averages 7.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 fewer makes per game than UC Irvine gives up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bent Leuchten is averaging 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Anteaters. Devin Tillis is averaging 12.9 points over the last 10 games.
Pierre is scoring 21.8 points per game with 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Gamecocks. Quel'Ron House is averaging 9.1 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 40.0% over the past 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.
recommended
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
Exclusive: New WWE Next In Line program class includes sons of Mark Henry, Scott Steiner
Exclusive: New WWE Next In Line program class includes sons of Mark Henry, Scott Steiner Show Caption Hide Caption John Cena warns media, he will ruin wrestling, he is the last real champion in WWE After making history at WrestleMania 41, John Cena warns the media that he will ruin wrestling and he is the last real champion in WWE Some wrestling royalty will be part of the next group of potential WWE stars. WWE has revealed the fifth class of its Next In Line (NIL) program, USA TODAY Sports confirmed, with 12 former college athletes making the jump to the ring with the hope of one day being on the company's roster. The class was finalized the same night as Money in the Bank 2025 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The 12 athletes come from across the country and played various sports, from football to hockey to lacrosse. The names that will stand out in the class are Oklahoma football player and wrestler Jacob Henry, the son of former World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry. Also on the list is former Jacksonville State receiver Brock Rechsteiner, the son of former world champion Scott Steiner. His uncle is Rick Steiner and his cousin is current WWE star Bron Breakker. WWE new NIL class Brock Rechsteiner (Jacksonville State, football) Jacob Henry (Oklahoma, football and wrestling) Meghan Walker (Nebraska, track and field) TJ Bullard (Central Florida, football) Madison Kaiser (Minnesota, hockey) Garrett Beck (Grand Canyon, lacrosse) Kerrigan Huynh (University of Central Oklahoma, track and field) Fatima Katembo (LSU Shreveport, basketball) Bianca Pizano (Michigan State, field hockey) Gina Adams (Lynn University, basketball) Hidetora Hanada (Colorado State, football) Zuriel Jimenez (Columbia University, track and field) What is the WWE NIL program? Established in 2021, WWE introduced the NIL program as a way to identify future stars and prepare them for a career in wrestling. WWE sought college athletes through NIL deals. Former Miami basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder were part of the program. While not every person that entered the program has turned out to be a WWE star, some have not only made rosters, but have turned out to be successful in the ring. That includes NXT Champion Oba Femi and NXT Tag Team Champion Tank Ledger.
USA Today
4 days ago
- USA Today
2025 Jacksonville State Gamecocks win total predictions, futures, over/under and odds
2025 Jacksonville State Gamecocks win total predictions, futures, over/under and odds The Jacksonville State Gamecocks have +128 odds to win more than 6.5 games this season, which is the highest set win total in the CUSA in 2025. Jacksonville State futures: win total over/under, odds College football odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 3:26 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Over/Under: 6.5 6.5 Over Payout: +128 +128 Under Payout: -158 Jacksonville State splits - last season Last year Jacksonville State lost to Ohio 30-27 in the Cure Bowl after finishing 9-5 in the regular season. As underdogs the Gamecocks had only one win (1-3). As favorites they went 8-2. Jacksonville State had two victories in one-possession games (2-3), and one in games decided by a field goal or less (1-3). The Gamecocks were perfect (5-0) when favored by 7.5 points or more last season, and 3-2 when favored by seven or fewer points. Jacksonville State total wins prediction Watch College Football on Fubo!
Forbes
6 days ago
- Forbes
Delaware, Missouri State Add To Conference USA's Growing Inventory Of New FBS Teams
Delaware and Missouri State officially join Conference USA on July 1 and will increase league membership to 12 and FBS membership to 136. The Blue Hens and Bears will make it five schools in three seasons to have elevated from the FCS to the FBS and join CUSA. Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State made the move in 2023 and Kennesaw State in 2024. The five former FCS schools came from as many different conferences and are the most recent to elevate to the higher subdivision. UD was in the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly Colonial Athletic Association), MSU came from the Missouri Valley Conference, Kennesaw State was in the Big South, Jacksonville State had two years in the Atlantic Sun following an 18-year stint in the Ohio Valley Conference, and Sam Houston State had two seasons in the WAC after a 33-year run in the Southland Conference. Delaware and Missouri State will also make it seven schools to join CUSA in the aforementioned timeframe as previously independent Liberty and New Mexico State came on board in 2023, and at a time when independents have virtually disappeared. (Only Notre Dame and UConn will be on their own in 2025, though in entirely different spheres.) The Flames left the Big South to join the FBS in 2018 and were independent for five seasons before joining CUSA. The Aggies have had a nomadic time of it this century having been a member of four conferences, including two stints in the Sun Belt, and have twice been independent. Taking on five schools from the FCS and two from the independent ranks was necessary for Conference USA given the wheels that were set in motion in autumn 2021 when Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA announced they were departing for the American Athletic Conference effective 2023. That was the year Marshall, Old Dominion and Southern Miss decided to leave for the Sun Belt. Hence, CUSA had to quickly re-make itself, which it did by filling the gaps around holdovers FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky. In the not-so-distant past, teams that moved up from the FCS usually took their lumps while finding their footing in college football's highest level. Because of how Conference USA has restructured and with Western Kentucky the only holdover having achieved notable success (10 bowl appearances in 11 years, one top 25 finish) as a league member, opportunities have been abundant for the FBS newbies and the former independents to achieve immediate success. Below are examples. The Gamecocks won the conference championship last season as a second-year FBS and CUSA member. Their lone conference loss was at Western Kentucky in the regular-season finale before blasting (52-12) the Hilltoppers a week later for the title. Rich Rodriguez led the program's transition to the FBS and went 27-10 in three seasons (13-3 in two years of CUSA play) before returning to West Virginia. Charles Kelly, an assistant at JSU in the 1990s, takes over. If not for a mid-season loss to Western Kentucky, the Bearkats would have played JSU for the conference title. As it turned out, Sam Houston State was the only CUSA team to win double-digit games (10-3) last season. Coach K.C. Keeler, who succeeded College Football Hall of Famer Tubby Raymond at Delaware – Keeler was a Blue Hens linebacker under Raymond -- in 2002 and ran the program for 11 years before taking over at Sam Houston State, returned to the I-95 corridor in December to coach Temple. Phil Longo returned to Huntsville to run the program. He was the Bearkats' OC for three seasons (2014-16) under Keeler before serving in the same role with Ole Miss, North Carolina and Wisconsin. The Aggies' inaugural CUSA campaign of 2023 resulted in a championship game appearance, a slugfest (49-35) of a defeat to Liberty, which was in its first season with the conference. Jerry Kill's team went 10-2 in the regular season – their loss to the Flames was followed by bowl loss to Fresno State – for the program's first double-digit win season since 1960 when the school was a member of the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association with, among others, Arizona and Arizona State. Tony Sanchez took over Kill and enters his second season as coach. The 2023 conference championship win over New Mexico State noted above sealed a New Year's Six Bowl for the Flames, who improved to 13-0 and ascended to No. 18 in the AP poll. Jamey Chadwell's first year at the helm in Lynchburg concluded with a Fiesta Bowl blowout loss (45-6) to Oregon, and a No. 25 ranking. True, Kennesaw State went 2-10 last year in its inaugural FBS season. Both wins, however, were in conference play, including against Liberty, and a pair of losses were in overtime. Not too bad for a school that did not field a football program until 2015 and was led by Brian Bohannon from day one before his awkward departure late last season. Former North Carolina Central head coach and NFL assistant, Jerry Mack, takes over. In the larger picture as far as Conference USA is concerned, Delaware and Missouri State coming on board should only aid the long-term health of the league, if indeed there is such a thing as 'long-term' in college football. CUSA, though, has done a nice job of continuing to build itself in a rather unique manner and with 11 states represented in what will be a 12-team league for the fast-arriving 2025 college football season.
