UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball

Last updated
UC Riverside Highlanders
Basketball current event.svg 2023–24 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team
UC Riverside Highlanders logo.svg
University University of California, Riverside
Head coach Mike Magpayo (4th season)
Conference Big West
Location Riverside, California
Arena Student Recreation Center Arena
(Capacity: 3,168)
Nickname Highlanders
ColorsBlue and gold [1]
   
Uniforms
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Home
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Away
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Alternate
NCAA tournament runner-up
*1995
NCAA tournament Final Four
*1970, *1989, *1995
NCAA tournament appearances
*1970, *1972, *1973, *1974, *1975, *1979, *1980, *1984, *1986, *1988, *1989, *1990, *1991, *1992, *1994, *1995, *1997
*at Division II level

The UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represents the University of California, Riverside in Riverside, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference and is led by coach Mike Magpayo. The Highlanders play their home games at the Student Recreation Center Arena. The program had its greatest success as a Division II program, making it to three Final Fours and the national title game in 1995.

Contents

In 2020, the future of the program was placed into doubt, as UC Riverside's leadership reportedly began considering cutting the university's entire athletics department in response to financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in May 2021, the university announced that they had decided against eliminating athletics and will continue competing at the NCAA Division I level in all sports, [2] [3] thus saving the men's basketball program from extinction.

Postseason

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Highlanders appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 17 times (named the College Division Tournament until 1973). Their combined record was 29–18.

YearRoundOpponentResult
1970 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd-place game
Boise State
Puget Sound
Saint Joseph's (IN)
Philadelphia Textile
Buffalo State
W 83–71
W 83–71
W 82–77
L 63–79
W 94–83
1972 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Seattle Pacific
UC Irvine
L 63–68
W 94–75
1973 Regional Quarterfinals
Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Somona State
Puget Sound
Cal State Bakersfield
Brockport State
W 70–68
W 71–51
W 61–54
L 70–79
1974 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Chico State
Somona State
New Orleans
W 62–51
W 71–56
L 78–83
1975 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
UC Davis
Puget Sound
New Orleans
W 78–77
W 59–58
L 59–73
1979 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
San Diego
Puget Sound
W 62–48
L 52–77
1980 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Puget Sound
Cal Poly SLO
North Alabama
W 65–61
W 62–53
L 69–76
1984 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
San Francisco State
Chapman
L 57–65
W 74–71
1986 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Alaska-Anchorage
Cal Poly SLO
L 83–86
W 55–53
1988 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
St. Cloud State
Ferris State
W 78–71
L 64–80
1989 RegioRegional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd-place game
Somona State
Cal State Bakersfield
Millersville
Southeast Missouri State
Jacksonville State
W 79–65
W 63–60
W 92–86
L 83–84 OT
W 90–81
1990 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Central Missouri State
Humboldt State
L 59–69
L 70–71
1991 Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Cal State Bakersfield
Chico State
L 52–75
W 90–82
1992 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Grand Canyon
Cal State Bakersfield
W 74–61
L 70–72 OT
1994 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
San Francisco State
Cal State Bakersfield
W 78–61
L 62–75
1995 Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship Game
UC Davis
Seattle Pacific
Morningside
Indiana (PA)
Southern Indiana
W 84–66
W 74–68
W 71–58
W 73–69
L 63–71
1997 Regional QuarterfinalsMontana State-BillingsL 86–97

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
John Masi (Big West Conference)(2001–2005)
2001–02John Masi 8–185–139th
2002–03John Masi 6–185–139th
2003–04John Masi 11-177–11T-5th
2004–05John Masi 9–194–149th
Masi:34–72 (.321)21–51 (.292)
David Spencer (Big West Conference)(2005–2006)
2005–06David Spencer 5–233–118th
Spencer:5–23 (.179)3–11 (.214)
Vonn Webb (Big West Conference)(2006–2007)
2006–07Vonn Webb 7–241–138th
Webb:7–24 (.226)1–13 (.071)
Jim Wooldridge (Big West Conference)(2007–2014)
2007–08Jim Wooldridge 9–214–127th
2008–09Jim Wooldridge 17–138–8T-4th
2009–10Jim Wooldridge 12–175–11T-9th
2010–11Jim Wooldridge 12–196–10T-7th
2011–12Jim Wooldridge 14–177–95th
2012–13Jim Wooldridge 6–253–1510th
Wooldridge:70–112 (.385)33–65 (.337)
Dennis Cutts (Big West Conference)(2013–2018)
2013–14Dennis Cutts 10–215–118th
2014–15Dennis Cutts 14–177–96th
2015–16Dennis Cutts 14–195–116th
2016–17Dennis Cutts 7–215–118th
2017–18Dennis Cutts 9–224–127th
Cutts:54–100 (.351)26–54 (.325)
David Patrick (Big West Conference)(2018–2020)
2018–19David Patrick 10–234–128th
2019–20David Patrick 17–157–96th
Patrick:27–38 (.415)11–21 (.344)
Mike Magpayo (Big West Conference)(2020–present)
2020–21Mike Magpayo 14–88-43rd
2021–22Mike Magpayo 16–129-66th
2022–23Mike Magpayo 21–1114-63rd
Magpayo:51–31 (.622)31-16 (.660)
Total:249-402 (.382)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team</span> American college basketball team season

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2022–23 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represents the University of California, Riverside in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by third-year head coach Mike Magpayo, play their home games at SRC Arena in Riverside, California as members of the Big West Conference.

References

  1. "UCR Colors | Brand Identity". June 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  2. Medcalf, Myron (6 May 2021). "UC Riverside won't cut sports, will remain at Division I level despite pandemic". ESPN.com . Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  3. Wolken, Dan (12 November 2021). "Opinion: From brink of program elimination, UC-Riverside authors one of college basketball's shining moments". USA Today . Retrieved 12 December 2021.