UC Irvine Completes Nonconference Schedule Winless

So UC Irvine didn’t win a game during nonconference play. So the Anteaters were blown out again Saturday night. So they were left with an 0-9 record after losing to San Francisco, 77-44.

So what? Big West Conference play begins Thursday and hopelessness may spring eternal, but not in Coach Rod Baker’s eyes.

“There is no such thing as a nonconference championship,” Baker said. “Who in the country is leading the race for a nonconference championship?”

“If we win the conference, who is going to care if we’re 16-9? As long as you win the conference, who is going to care?”

What 3,212 in Memorial Gym saw Saturday was pretty much how it as been for the Anteaters since the season began, and there are few signs of progress.

The Anteaters shot poorly. They made too many mistakes. And they vanished, almost without a trace, in the second half.

This time the fold came against the Dons, who had lost five of their last six games. So the Anteaters came along at the right time. The Dons (5-7) were nursing a 39-29 lead in the second half when Irvine disappeared. John Duggan and M.J. Nodilo led a 25-5 run that gave the Dons a 64-34 lead with six minutes left.

Duggan and Nodilo each scored 18 points. The Dons made 25 of 47 shots.

“We played well for stretches and we didn’t play well for stretches,” Don Coach Phil Mathews said. “But after losing five of six, we needed a win.”

If the Dons needed a win, the Anteaters must be going through severe withdrawals. They have lost 12 consecutive games dating to last season.

“I just don’t think we’re getting better, not at the pace we should be,” guard Lamarr Parker said. “There’s improvement, but it’s not coming fast enough.”

It is a problem that Baker not only sees, but admits.

“There is nothing really to talk about,” Baker said. “Obviously, there are areas where we still need to get better.”

The short list:

* Shooting. The Anteaters made 17 of 49 shots and were one of 12 on three-pointers Saturday.

* Rebounding. San Francisco had a 38-17 edge. The Dons had 13 offensive rebounds--four by Hakeem Ward, who scored eight points off offensive rebounds.

* Turnovers. Irvine had 18 Saturday, which was actually four fewer than its average. The Anteaters had three turnovers in the first three minutes, which helped the Dons take a 10-2 lead.

* Consistency. The Anteaters went five minutes without a field goal at one point in the second half. They also went scoreless the last 2 minutes 32 seconds of the first half after pulling as close as six, 27-21.

“It’s almost impossible to have a positive outlook,” said Parker, who had a team-high 10 points. “I try hard every day, but it’s getting tougher and tougher.”

And it won’t get any easier.

Prairie View was the last NCAA Division I team to go winless--0-28 in 1992. But none of the Prairie View players were on scholarship.

“I have to believe if we keep working hard and do what the coaches tell us, eventually, things will work out,” center Andrew Carlson said.

As to when “eventually” would be, not even Baker could say for sure, even with his rose-colored outlook.

About that conference championship?

“It is attainable,” Baker said. “The games haven’t been played yet.”