UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball

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.

UC Riverside Highlanders
2022–23 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of California, Riverside
Head coachMike Magpayo (3nd season)
ConferenceBig West
LocationRiverside, California
ArenaStudent Recreation Center Arena
(Capacity: 3,168)
NicknameHighlanders
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
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

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 and College Division Tournament results

The Highlanders have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 17 times (known as the College Division until 1973 but considered the same tournament). Their combined record is 29–18.

Year Round Opponent Result
1970Regional 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
1972Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Seattle Pacific
UC Irvine
L 63–68
W 94–75
1973Regional 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
1974Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Chico State
Somona State
New Orleans
W 62–51
W 71–56
L 78–83
1975Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
UC Davis
Puget Sound
New Orleans
W 78–77
W 59–58
L 59–73
1979Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
San Diego
Puget Sound
W 62–48
L 52–77
1980Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Puget Sound
Cal Poly SLO
North Alabama
W 65–61
W 62–53
L 69–76
1984Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
San Francisco State
Chapman
L 57–65
W 74–71
1986Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Alaska-Anchorage
Cal Poly SLO
L 83–86
W 55–53
1988Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
St. Cloud State
Ferris State
W 78–71
L 64–80
1989RegioRegional 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
1990Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Central Missouri State
Humboldt State
L 59–69
L 70–71
1991Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Cal State Bakersfield
Chico State
L 52–75
W 90–82
1992Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Grand Canyon
Cal State Bakersfield
W 74–61
L 70–72 OT
1994Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
San Francisco State
Cal State Bakersfield
W 78–61
L 62–75
1995Regional 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
1997Regional QuarterfinalsMontana State-BillingsL 86–97

Season-by-season results

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

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.


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