Fifth Time Could Be Charm for UCI

If you’ve never seen an Anteater cry, you’ve never seen UC Irvine play Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Conference basketball tournament.

In 1982, Irvine had Kevin Magee and 23 victories, but couldn’t beat Fullerton in the tournament.

In 1985, Irvine had Tod Murphy and Johnny Rogers, but couldn’t beat Fullerton in the tournament.

In 1986, Irvine had two victories over Nevada Las Vegas in 13 days, and would later defeat UCLA in the National Invitation Tournament, but couldn’t beat Fullerton in the tournament.

In 1987, Irvine had Scott Brooks and Wayne Englestad, but couldn’t beat Fullerton in the tournament.

Nice rivalry.

If this was Orange County’s own little Civil War, the only thing it had in common with the big one was that the South kept on losing.

And if Bill Mulligan’s best teams couldn’t solve the riddle of the Titans, what chance does his 5-22 crew stand under the Long Beach Arena lights tonight?

Memo to Jerry Tarkanian: Man-to-man will probably work best on Friday, now that the Rigdon kid is starting at guard.

It’s a perverse notion, but it’s been a perverse season at Irvine.

The Anteaters’ odds of advancing against Fullerton have never been better.

This ballot box is stuffed with reasons why Irvine ought to be voted Most Likely To Play Pigeon To Las Vegas In The Quarters. Good ones, too.

Current Events: Fullerton’s losing streak--seven in a row--isn’t half as long as the 15-game skidmark Irvine left on the months of December, January and February. But the key here is timing.

The Anteaters’ worst days are behind them. The Titans’ are still with them. Irvine is 3-2 in its past five games. Fullerton is 0-7 in its past seven.

The Titans haven’t won in more than a month, not since Feb. 3 against Utah State, and have lost both of their last two games by 18 points. One of those defeats came against Irvine, which brings us to Reason No. 2 . . .

Last Time Around: Both Fullerton-Irvine games this season have been blowouts. On Jan. 25 at Titan Gym, Fullerton won by 27 points. On Feb. 24 at the Bren Center, Irvine won by 18.

That’s a 45-point turnaround, which speaks volumes about what’s happened to these teams in the past month.

The Anteaters have pulled their act together since pulling three starters after the Titan Gym thrashing and replacing them with The Three Freshmen. Dylan Rigdon moved in at off-guard, Jeff Von Lutzow at forward and Craig Marshall at small forward. Very small forward. Marshall stands all of 6 feet, 2 inches.

In the nine games following Mulligan’s lineup switch, Rigdon is averaging 17.1 points. He had 26 in the victory over Fullerton, a phenomenal nine-for-nine shooting performance that included seven strikes from three-point range.

The contributions of Marshall and Von Lutzow have been less statistically tangible, but their quickness and leaping ability has made a noticeable difference on the Anteater front line. So has their enthusiasm, a foreign word around Fullerton in recent weeks.

Inside: The Titans lost their center in mid-February. The Anteaters reclaimed theirs about the same time.

Fullerton didn’t have much of an inside game to start with. Then, Coach John Sneed kicked John Sykes off the team and David Moody was left to fend for himself.

More often than not, it hasn’t been a fair fight.

At the same time, Ricky Butler stirred on the Irvine bench and, at last, re-established himself as the player Mulligan thought he had been all along: A leader in the middle.

In the Anteaters’ past five games, Butler is shooting 71.2% from the field and averaging 19 points. More than that, he finally has vacated Mulligan’s doghouse.

Tough to hit the jumper from there.

Outside: The Titans lived on the perimeter for a season and a half. Now, they’re dying on it.

Since its last victory, Fullerton is shooting 40.5% from the field. Cedric Ceballos has held up his end--he’s shooting 49% and averaging 23.2 points a game--but guards Mark Hill and Wayne Williams, alleged long-range specialists, are shooting 37% and 34% from the field, respectively.

Anteater outside shooting was a sad joke during the dregs of winter, but Rigdon’s recent success from beyond 15 feet has been an almost nostalgic experience at Irvine.

And the re-emergence of Jeff Herdman, now in the role of sixth-man, has helped offset the loss of Rod Palmer’s jump shot (34.4%).

The Time Is Right: Irvine is 0-4 against Fullerton in tournament games, but overall, the Anteaters have won six of the past nine meetings. And, for the first time in tournament play against the Titans, Irvine enters tonight’s game with nothing to lose.

Past defeats here have either been upsets or emotional crushers, depriving the Anteaters of NCAA berths and ruining otherwise fine seasons.

This Irvine season was ruined long ago. What would one more loss mean?

At the same time, a victory would mean a quarterfinal sacrifice to Las Vegas, which means different things to Irvine and Fullerton. It all depends on the vantage point. A second-round loss to Las Vegas would be an accomplishment for the Anteaters, yet a disappointment for the Titans, considering the high hopes of November.

If momentum and motivation are worth anything, this round in the War of the Oranges will go to Irvine.