By Chad Newswander
Anteaters in the wild lack teeth and feed off ants and termites. The University of California at Irvine Anteaters lived up to their mascot in the regular season by playing a weak schedule and consuming small town opponents, as shown by its RPI ranking of 92.
Thurs., March 14, in the Marriott Center at 7 p.m., the Anteaters will come to play in front of 22,000 fans as the BYU men''s basketball team begins its play in the National Invitational Tournament.
The alma mater of head coach Steve Cleveland will try to find a way to win on a court that appears impenetrable.
The Cougars have downed 35 straight opponents on their home court and have the longest home-winning streak in the nation. Cleveland has not coached a losing game at home in two years.
The pressure to keep the streak alive is growing.
'My mom said don''t you dare lose at home,' senior point guard Matt Montague said. 'So we can''t lose.'
However, the Anteaters have the potential to upset the Cougars. They snapped Utah State''s home winning streak of 31 games this year. BYU tried, but failed to accomplish that feat. They also beat Pepperdine. Again, the Cougars could not claim a victory over the Waves.
The Anteaters (21-10) are also the Big West regular season champions for the second straight season. They share that honor with Utah State.
They produced the player of the year in their conference, senior guard Jerry Greene. He averaged 20.6 points a game and shot 48 percent from the floor. But, he only shoots 37 percent from beyond the arc and turns the ball over 3.8 times a game.
'He is a big part of what they do,' Cleveland said. 'The ball will be in Jerry Greene''s hands a great deal of time.'
UC Irvine is also fortified down low with two forwards that average 12 points a game. Sophomore forward Adam Parada and junior forward Jordan Harris also pull down about seven boards a game.
Cleveland said Harris plays extremely well in the middle and he is very athletic, while Parada is very active.
The last time these two teams encountered each other was in 2000 when BYU defeated UC Irvine by 11 points. They have played each in the post-season previously. That game ended in another Cougar victory during the second round of the 1986 NIT.
BYU wants to repeat history and at the same time make a little of its own as the Cougars try to make it to the final four in New York City.
'I am going,' junior guard Travis Hansen said.
The goal and motive of each team in the tournament should be playing in Madison Square Garden Montague said.
If the Cougars win tonight, they face the winner of Memphis vs. UNC Greensboro next Monday or Tuesday.