Baker’s Team Still Has Plenty of Incentive

UC Irvine is one victory from clinching a share of its first conference title, but it already has earned the right to watch instead of play on the first night of the Big West Conference tournament.

No matter what happens in its final two regular-season games, Irvine will begin tournament play March 9 in the semifinals, two victories from an NCAA berth.

Does that mean there’s a letdown in store for this weekend’s games at San Jose State and Pacific?

“Don’t get me wrong,” Coach Rod Baker said. “We have a bye and it’s better to have to play only two games instead of three. But that’s really only false glory. We now have the chance to do something special.

“I don’t know that it’s more special because it’s never been done before. I do know it’s a chance to earn something we can hold on to.”

And something they can hang. There’s plenty of room for a championship banner in the Bren Center.

“There’s no way we’re settling for second place,” sophomore forward Kevin Simmons said, “and we’ll be going into these games with that in mind. It’s all in our hands now.”

A victory over either the Spartans or Tigers would mean at least a tie for first place with Long Beach State, which would have to win its regular-season finale Saturday night at UC Santa Barbara to share the title if the Anteaters go 1-1 on the road. If Irvine loses both games and the 49ers lose to the Gauchos, the teams would also end tied for first, possibly with Pacific included, at 11-7.

Unless Irvine loses both games and the 49ers win, the Anteaters will be the top-seeded team in the tournament. Long Beach and Irvine split in head-to-head competition--and if the Anteaters lose to Pacific, all three would have split their season series--which is the first tiebreaker.

The next tiebreaker criteria is record against conference opponents, starting at the top of the standings and working down. Eventually, it will come down to the teams’ record against Nevada--which will finish somewhere between third and fifth. Irvine swept the Wolf Pack, Pacific was 1-1 and the 49ers were 0-2.

*

Irvine booster: Saturday night, Simmons broke out of his flu-induced funk and provided his teammates with a pick-me-up in his usual way--with baskets (17 points) and rebounds (10)--during the Anteaters’ 74-68 victory over Nevada.

Monday night, he again gave the team a lift, but this time in a different way--with defense and charisma--as the Anteaters beat Utah State, 81-76.

Simmons, who isn’t likely to make the Big West all-defensive team any time soon, got his hand on the ball during two of Utah State’s most important possessions.

With 1 minute 59 seconds left and Irvine ahead, 73-68, Aggie guard Justin Jones drove through the lane and put up a looping lay-up attempt. Simmons jumped and cleanly swatted the ball to a teammate. And with less than five seconds remaining and UCI leading, 77-74, he swooped out and deflected Duane Rogers’ attempt at a game-tying three-pointer.

“Coach told us to stay back and let them shoot, but I was too pumped up,” Simmons said. “I had to go out there and contest it.”

Earlier in the game, Simmons proved that while a good vertical leap is nice, a winning personality can help too.

Late in the first half, Simmons missed a close-in bank shot and then missed a tip-in attempt. As they jostled their way back down the court, Simmons had a few words for Utah State forward Jon Wickizer.

But when official Charlie Range turned and saw the confrontation, Wickizer was yelling menacingly in Simmons’ face. And Simmons was flashing a wide, infectious smile.

Range called a technical on Wickizer. Then he called a technical on Utah State Coach Larry Eustachy. Then official Mark Reischling called another technical on Eustachy and ejected him.

Raimonds Miglinieks made five of the six free throws awarded for the technicals. Then Michael Tate made one of two free throws on the ensuing possession and UCI had turned a 30-28 lead into a 36-28 advantage in less than a minute.

And Simmons giggled through the entire episode. After the game, however, he had a slightly different story about what had happened.

“He made that shot and then he was talking and kept talking and then he got all in my face and I guess the ref didn’t like it,” Simmons said. “It was funny, all those Ts. Dan [Augulis] said, ‘Now look what you’ve started.’ And we were all laughing.”

Note: Wickizer did not score in the first half.

*

Say what? There’s a good possibility that Range misunderstood Eustachy. Right before giving him the technical, Eustachy yelled, “Just let them play basketball.”

Maybe it was the way he said it.

Anteater Notes

The women’s team can take a big step toward making the six-team Big West tournament Thursday night when it hosts Nevada. The teams are tied for sixth with 5-11 records. If Irvine wins Thursday and Cal State Fullerton loses to Pacific, the Anteaters will be in the tournament, thanks to tiebreaker advantages. . . . Senior center Allah-mi Basheer grabbed her 700th rebound and became the second player in school history to score more than 1,300 points (she has 1,338) and get 700 rebounds. Katherine Hamilton (1979-83) had 1,768 points and 901 rebounds.