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Faulkner: UCI men’s basketball team embraces defense

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In his fifth season, UC Irvine men’s basketball coach Russell Turner is as loud and animated as ever on the sideline. Competitive to his core, Turner imposes his will on a game as few can.

In the first four years of his tenure, Turner worked to impose his competitive fervor in his players, especially on defense. He could often be heard exhorting his charges to “Get in a stance,” the act of crouching to prepare to defend.

These days, such prompting is no longer necessary as the Anteaters’ preparation to defend begins long before tipoff and extends well beyond the act of assuming a stance. The ‘Eaters have even taken to leaning forward in their stance to slap both palms forcefully and symbolically on the floor, a ritual made popular by Duke teams a few years ago.

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Turner’s defensive demands have now evolved from the position of readiness to stops, the result rendered by a team not only ready, but hungry to deny opponents the slightest comfort level once they cross midcourt.

That passion is as obvious as it is effective, as the Anteaters are, with each passing game, solidifying a reputation for defense that has become quantifiable.

Last season, UCI finished third among 349 NCAA Division I programs in field-goal percentage defense at .374. It was fourth in total blocked shots (a school-record 224) and fifth in blocks per game (6.4).

In games beyond January last season, UCI was tops in the nation, allowing foes to shoot a mere 33.9%. The second-most stingy team during that period, a little more than two months, allowed a 36.3% success rate.

This season, through Wednesday’s near-upset at No. 2-ranked Arizona (a 71-54 loss in which UCI led at halftime, and was up, 46-41, through nearly half of the second 20 minutes), opponents are shooting 32.4% against the ‘Eaters. Arizona shot 39.6%, and made 29 of 34 foul shots (to just nine for 13 for UCI) to prevail.

UCI (2-1) has blocked 17 shots and has 18 steals, while forcing 47 turnovers, nine more than it has committed. The ‘Eaters’ 79 field goals are 32 more than their opponents have through three games.

“The guys enjoy [defense] more because they know that’s what is going to get them on the court,” Turner said after his team limited Pacific to 34% from the field, including just 29.6% after halftime, in a 68-50 home win on Sunday. “They want to play and they want to win. Defense is not an easy thing to sell as a coach taking over a program; that we’re going to do it with defense and also try to implement a style that will allow us to be fun and effective and recruit-friendly. But I feel like we’ve managed to pull that off through good fortune and good planning. What I hope is that we can continue with that. We targeted shot blocking in recruiting and we are kind of building on that and rim protection, and I believe in that.”

Mamadou Ndiaye a 7-foot-6 sophomore, set a Big West Conference record with 106 blocks, on his way to earning Defensive Player of the Year in the conference.

In 2012-13, Will Davis, now a 6-8 senior, had 88 blocks, then a school record, and was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year. Davis entered this season with 174 blocks, tops in UCI history.

The Anteaters continue their preconference schedule on Sunday at Saint Mary’s at 6 p.m.

•The UCI men’s soccer team (15-5-3) will visit No. 6-seeded Stanford (13-2-3) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 5 p.m.

A win will put Coach Chris Volk’s squad into the Sweet 16 for the third time in their five NCAA Tournament appearances and tie the 2011 team’s school single-season victories record.

UCI won for the first time in the NCAA first round with a 3-0 thumping of visiting UNLV on Thursday to improve its NCAA Tournament record to 3-4. It’s first four NCAA Tournament appearances came with a first-round bye in the 48-team format.

In six of the last seven seasons, UCI has averaged 15 wins and has posted at least 14 victories. Quite an impressive feat.

But the ‘Eaters are intent on breaking new ground this season, and the comments from players and coaches belie any willingness to rest on their laurels.

In assessing the shutout Thursday, junior goalkeeper Michael Breslin finished with this:

“I think we all know that defense is going to get us to win that national championship.”

Alrighty then.

With a victory Sunday, UCI would advance to face either No. 11-seeded Providence (13-4-2) or Dartmouth (12-4-2) on Nov. 30. Dartmouth defeated Fordham, 2-0, on Thursday to earn the trip to Rhode Island.

Should Dartmouth and UCI win, the Nov. 30 game would be played at UCI.

•The Orange Coast College football team’s season-ending 42-41 win at Grossmont gave first-year coach Kevin Emerson a 3-7 record, the third straight 3-7 season for the Pirates.

But Pirates supporters should be extremely encouraged by the obvious improvement in preparation, execution, and even behavior, the team displayed under the direction of Emerson and his staff in 2014.

Since Emerson was hired last spring, well after most players had already committed to other schools, the OCC roster, with a handful of exceptions, was a hodgepodge of players not deemed worthy of attention from other programs.

For the first time in nearly a decade, expectations for recruiting better talent and a string of winning seasons ahead are justifiable for OCC football.

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