SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San José State men's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 MW) will face UC Irvine (1-0, 0-0 Big West) on Saturday, November 7, at 7 p.m. at the Bren Events Center. The game will be shown live on ESPN+.
GAME INFO
Matchup: San José State vs. UC Irvine
Date/Time: November 7 at 7 p.m.
Location: Bren Events Center
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: SJSU Spartans Sports Media Network
Live Stats: Here
SPARTAN NOTES
- The Spartans are looking to begin the season 2-0 for the first time since 2023-24
- The Spartans are coming off a 95-74 season opening win against UTSA at home
- The Spartans are 21-27 all-time against UC Irvine
- Last season, the Anteaters defeated the Spartans 72-63 at the Provident Credit Union Event Center. The game ended a five-game winning streak for SJSU over UC Irvine
- This game marks the first time the Spartans will play UC Irvine on the road since 2009. SJSU has not won at UC Irvine since 1994
- SJSU and UC Irvine were conference foes from 1977-96, competing in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association before changing its name to the Big West Conference in 1988. SJSU departed the Big West in 1996 for the WAC
- The Spartans are 5-4 all-time against UC Irvine in non-conference games
SPARTANS DEFEAT UTSA IN SEASON OPENER
- The Spartans’ 95-74 win over UTSA last Monday was the first season opening win for SJSU since the 2023-24 season
- The 95 points by the Spartans was the most they have scored in a season opener since recording 97 points against Antelope Valley on Nov. 10, 2017
- The Spartans’ 24 assists was the most recorded against a DI opponent since Dec. 29, 2011 when they had 24 assists against Coppin State
- Joey Chammaa tallied a career-high 27 points and Mekhi Mason added 26 points in the game
- This was the first time the Spartans had two players score 25 or more since Josh Uduje and Latrell Davis did it against Fresno State on Feb. 4, 2025
- Chammaa’s 27 points were the most recorded for the Spartans in a season opener since Richard Washington had 38 points against Fresno Pacific on Dec. 9, 2020
2026-27 TEAM CONSTRUCTION
- The Spartans return two players from last season, equating to 7.2 percent of their scoring (Pasha Goodarzi - 8.2 ppg & JaVaughn Hannah - 7.5 ppg), the least in the Mountain West
- SJSU added seven new players from the transfer portal. They include:
Mookie Cook - San Francisco
Luke Howard - Simon Fraser
Mekhi Mason - Wake Forest
KJ Martin Jr. - Tulsa
Joey Chammaa - Arkansas State
Robert Vaihola - Minnesota
Zine Eddine Bedri - Columbia
- Vaihola returns to the Spartans after playing at SJSU in 2022-23 and 2024-25
- The Spartans added five freshmen to the squad, including Cade Krueger, Rokiem Green, Brayden Barrett, Oliver Kullamäe & Moses Dau
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
- UC Irvine entered the 2026-27 season as the Big West preseason favorite after receiving seven first-place votes and 114 points in the conference's coaches' poll
- The Anteaters are coming off a 23-12 campaign in which they captured their tenth Big West regular-season championship, third in the last four years, with a 15-5 conference record and an NIT appearance
- The Anteaters have seven returners, led by Harrison Carrington who averaged 8.5 points last season
- UC Irvine also added 7-9 center and Florida transfer Olivier Rioux to their roster
- The Anteaters are coming off a 92-66 win over Chapman at home in their season opener
- Head Coach Russell Turner is in his 17th season at school
#AllSpartans