UCI to Interview Two for Men’s Basketball Job

Ben Howland, Northern Arizona basketball coach, and Joe Cravens, a UC Irvine assistant, will be interviewed for the Irvine men’s basketball head coaching position on Thursday, sources said.

Howland, 39, is 56-50 in four seasons at Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks were 21-7 and Big Sky Conference champions this season. They lost to Arkansas in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Howland was an assistant at UC Santa Barbara 10 seasons.

Cravens, 42, was an Anteater assistant last season. He spent the three previous seasons as the head coach at Idaho, where he had a 42-41 record. He also went 17-14 as Utah’s interim coach in 1990 after Ute Coach Rick Majerus underwent heart bypass surgery.

The six-member committee interviewed Riverside College Coach Bob Schermerhorn on Monday.