The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 156 is UC Irvine basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of UC Irvine basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 2
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 16.0
- Bids per season: 0.04
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 1
- NBA players drafted & played: 4
- Conference Players of the Year: 6
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 10
- Conference tournament titles: 2
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on UC Irvine basketball
Despite just two trips to the NCAA Tournament in program history, UC Irvine basketball is easily one of the most accomplished mid-major programs.
After going DI in 1977, the Anteaters soon had one of its best players in program history. Consensus All-American Kevin Magee averaged 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game as a senior in 1981-82. The team went 23-7 and, despite missing out on March Madness, won a game in the NIT.
UC Irvine would go through some very rough seasons, including going 1-25 in 1996-97. But upon the turn of the century, the program leveled up and has dominated the Big West since. Literally, in 2000-01, head coach Pat Douglass led them to a 25-5 record and a Big West regular season title. Unfortunately, it also led to just an NIT appearance. But it would be the start of three straight 20-win seasons.
Douglass would sort of be up-and-down from there, coaching them for 13 seasons at a 197-91 record. But since Russ Turner got the job in 2010, UC Irvine has arguably been a top 10 mid-major program. They have had 14 straight winning seasons, with all but three of those being 20-win campaigns. That included the shortened COVID year, where UC Irvine went 15-10.
Turner has seriously been dominant with UC Irvine, going 344-199 and counting. He is a four-time Big West Coach of the Year and led them to two NCAA Tournaments. In 2015, they went 21-13, falling by just two points to 4-seed Louisville. In 2019, the Anteaters went 31-6, taking down 4-seed Kansas State, but falling to Oregon. UC Irvine also had a 32-7 record in 2024-25, losing to Chattanooga in the NIT Championship game.
It doesn’t appear as if Turner will leave this position, because he’s certainly had opportunties yet has stayed put. And I’m sure Anteasters fans and players don’t mind, because they are seriously the gold standard for a true mid-major program.