UC Irvine Will Play at Pacific Tonight

UC Irvine’s basketball team, coming off its two biggest victories of the season, will get a chance to prove it can win on the road this week.

The Anteaters beat Utah State and San Jose State at home last week, but they are 2-5 away from the Bren Center.

Irvine (8-6 overall, 3-2 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.) figures to better those marks at 7:30 tonight when it meets University of the Pacific (5-10, 0-5) at Stockton. The Anteaters have never lost to the Tigers in 15 meetings. Pacific has lost eight in a row, and Coach Tom O’Neill, 51-108 in five-plus seasons at UOP, may be out of a job before the season ends.

Irvine, meanwhile, has been stressing basics. A semi-solid defense and getting the ball inside on offense were key factors in last week’s victories.