Jerry Green

This day has been in the back of their minds for months now, yet neither Jerry Green nor his UC Irvine teammates could have imagined the importance of their Big West Conference showdown with Utah State tonight at 7 in the Bren Center. "It will be a true test of just where we stand," said Green, the Anteaters' junior guard. Irvine and Utah State are atop the Big West standings, each with a perfect conference record.

Jerry Green isn't the first talented basketball player to say how much faith he has in himself and he won't be the last. But to the talented senior guard and bedrock of a revived UC Irvine program, having faith is a claim he doesn't take lightly. Faith is the belief that by the end of this weekend, some how, some way, he can lead the Anteaters to a Big West Conference tournament championship and their first NCAA berth.

Oregon basketball Coach Jerry Green underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair an inflamed joint lining in his right knee.

Jerry Green made his final home game a memorable one as UC Irvine squeaked by UC Santa Barbara, 71-67, before 4,664 Saturday at Bren Events Center. The Anteaters' all-time leading scorer tallied 29 points, giving him 1,916 in a four-year career that includes 112 consecutive starts. Already the school's leader in steals (159), free throws made (514) and field-goals attempted (1,371), Green's eight field goals Saturday moved him into the top spot in that category with 645.

* Thursday, at Oregon--The Bruins have had some of their most tortured moments of the past few years at McArthur Court, where UCLA has won only once in the last four tries, including last season's 87-85 overtime defeat. The Ducks, though, are in a transition period after losing their coach, Jerry Green, to Tennessee, and their mainstay point guard, Kenya Wilkins, to graduation.

Billy Keys scored 23 points, including 19 in the opening 11 minutes, as New Mexico State defeated Irvine (14-14) for the 21st time in 23 games. Irvine shot 32.1%, and leading scorer Jerry Green had only four points--12 below his average. Regular-season champion Utah State (26-5) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games with a 64-41 victory over Pacific (11-18) and will play Nevada (9-19)--an 85-78 winner over UC Santa Barbara (14-14)--in the other semifinal.

UC Irvine guard Jerry Green, the Big West Conference player of the year last season, intends to return for his senior year, the school announced Friday. Green had made himself available for Wednesday's NBA draft but was not selected. He plans to take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows undrafted players to return to their school, as long as they declare within 30 days after the draft and haven't hired a professional agent. He will have to repay expenses incurred during professional tryouts.

Pacific 61, UC Irvine 51--Guard Clay McKnight scored 15 points to help the Tigers to victory at Stockton. Pacific (14-10, 9-5) remained one game behind first-place UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference's Western Division. Irvine (5-19, 1-13) has lost 13 consecutive games. The Anteaters made one run at Pacific in the second half. Jerry Green scored 10 of his 12 points in the last 13 minutes. Green's basket made it 48-42 with 3:48 left.

UC Irvine Coach Pat Douglass said Friday that guard Jerry Green, the Big West Conference basketball player of the year, intends to see how much interest he attracts by adding his name to the list for the upcoming NBA draft. Green, a 6-foot-3 junior who led Irvine to its first regular-season conference title last season, has not hired an agent, meaning he can withdraw his name by June 20, a week before the draft, and maintain his college eligibility.

Jerry Green scored 24 points, including 10 during a second-half surge, helping UC Irvine defeat Oakland University of Michigan, 68-61, Saturday in the second round of the University Hoops Classic. Trailing, 38-27, at halftime, the Anteaters (3-1) went on a 20-1 run in the first nine minutes of the second half. The Golden Grizzlies (1-3) made five of 28 (18%) shots from the field. The Anteaters made 22 free throws in the second half. Green made 12 of 16 free throws.

The sellout crowd at the Bren Center anxiously awaited a Jerry Green moment and it finally came at the usual time. Green had the ball in his hands with the Anteaters down by one point, and Utah State had visions of Jan. 10 flashing in its minds. The scene was set for another buzzer-beating shot, perhaps one like the floating jumper that the senior guard made back in Logan to beat the Aggies.

It was a night to remember for Jerry Green, though not for all the right reasons. UC Irvine's standout senior guard was scoreless in the first half, finished with a season-low 10 points and committed two critical turnovers in the final minute. Yet, after the Anteaters pulled out a 62-58 Big West Conference victory Thursday over Pacific, many of the 3,104 at the Bren Center chanted, "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!"

UC Irvine 75, Long Beach State 69--When Jerry Green isn't scoring for the UC Irvine basketball team, it usually spells doom for the Anteaters, but Irvine found another go-to guy Saturday night and his name is Jordan. Forward Jordan Harris scored 30 points, including eight in the final four minutes, in a come-from-behind victory for Irvine in a Big West opener Saturday night at Irvine. Harris, who entered the game averaging 10.1 points, was 12 of 16 from the field and had nine rebounds.

The shot didn't fall. Jerry Green has moved on. That's a skill. Or perhaps a gift. "I can let it go. It wasn't meant to be," said Green, who scored 27 points for UC Irvine against UCLA on Saturday. Had he scored 29, he and the Anteaters would have gone home with an upset. But Green missed on one of his trademark floating jumpers in the final seconds when Dan Gadzuric got an arm in his face.

Jerry Green scored 24 points, including 10 during a second-half surge, helping UC Irvine defeat Oakland University of Michigan, 68-61, Saturday in the second round of the University Hoops Classic. Trailing, 38-27, at halftime, the Anteaters (3-1) went on a 20-1 run in the first nine minutes of the second half. The Golden Grizzlies (1-3) made five of 28 (18%) shots from the field. The Anteaters made 22 free throws in the second half. Green made 12 of 16 free throws.

Jerry Green scored a career-high 41 points, including the game-deciding three-point basket in double overtime, to lift UC Irvine over Pepperdine, 96-93, in a nonconference game Tuesday night at Irvine. Green's basket with 6.7 seconds left gave Irvine (2-0) a 95-93 lead en route to its 14th consecutive victory at home. Pepperdine dropped to 1-1. "He really showed what the fuss is all about," Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal said. "If he doesn't have an All-American-type game, we win.

Ben Jones scored 23 points and Jerry Green added 22 and seven assists to help UC Irvine defeat Simon Fraser, 93-76, in an exhibition men's basketball game Sunday in Burnaby, British Columbia. Green made nine of 13 from the field and had only one turnover in 31 minutes. Redshirt freshman Adam Parada had 15 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots for the Anteaters. Irvine is 2-0 on its Canadian tour and plays a Victoria all-star team Wednesday in Victoria.

The Big West Conference, no stranger to adding and subtracting members, has been reconfigured again. The league had a 12-team, two-division setup in 1999-2000 and a nine-team alignment with no divisions last season. With the exit of Boise State to the Western Athletic Conference and the addition of Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside, the Big West is now a 10-team league with a heavy California influence. Utah State and Idaho are the only outsiders.

UC Irvine guard Jerry Green, the Big West Conference player of the year last season, intends to return for his senior year, the school announced Friday. Green had made himself available for Wednesday's NBA draft but was not selected. He plans to take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows undrafted players to return to their school, as long as they declare within 30 days after the draft and haven't hired a professional agent. He will have to repay expenses incurred during professional tryouts.