MBB: Week break ends at UC Irvine
12/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UT Arlington (4-4) at UC Irvine (4-3)
Saturday | 9 p.m. CT | Bren Events Center
KKGM 1630 AM(Online) | Live Stats | Live Streaming
By Art Garcia | UTAMavs.com
ARLINGTON, Texas - The road beckons for UT Arlington once again with Saturday's visit to UC Irvine. Unlike the breakneck pace that saw the Mavericks cram eight games into 22 days, the penultimate nonconference game is coming after a full week's rest.
UT Arlington (4-4) snapped its three-game losing streak with last Saturday's 63-56 win over Weber State at College Park Center. Junior guard Johnny Hill had a team high 12 points, six assists and three steals despite coming off the bench for the first time this season.
"Just to continue to play the way he did," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross said. "If we can get that from him every game we're going to have a great opportunity to win games. The main thing I think with him is to have the rest of the guys have their hands ready and be looking for it, because really wants to make guys better."
Cross used the same starting lineup in the first six games before changing it in each of the last two games. Sophomore forward Brandon Williams made his first start of the season and eighth of his career against WSU, while sophomore guard Drew Charles returned to the starting five.
UCI (4-3) is the sixth road game of the season. The Mavericks are 2-3 away, having lost their last three. UTA is 0-1 all-time against UC Irvine, losing 77-70 in Arlington during the 2012-13 season.
"We worked on a little bit on zone offense," Cross said. "Irvine will play a lot of zone. They've got some size, so we have to get ourselves familiar with that. We haven't played a lot of zone offense, so just get the guys to recognize the spots the ball needs to go."
