The 2013–14 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

during the

2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November with the 2K Sports Classic and ended with the Final Four in Arlington, Texas April 5–7. It was tipped off by the 2013 Champions Classic on November 12, 2013. Season he ...

. The Highlanders are led by first year head coach Dennis Cutts and played their home games at the

Student Recreation Center Arena The UC Riverside Student Recreation Center is available to UCR students for physical fitness, sport activities and general recreational use. The Student Recreation Center Arena (SRC Arena) is located in the building. It is home to the UC Riversid ...

as members of the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

. They finished the season 10–21, 5–11 in Big West play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference tournament to UC Irvine.

Season

Preseason

Sam Finley was the only recruit that UC Riverside signed in their 2013-14 class, and the shooting guard from

Corona, California Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...

, signed his Letter of Intent on November 16, 2012. The 6'2", 180 pound guard was rated as a two-star prospect by ESPN.com. Finley averaged 19.4 points per game in his senior season for Centennial High School. On July 10, 2013,

Jim Wooldridge James Allen Wooldridge (born August 22, 1955) is an American former college basketball coach and athletics administrator. Wooldridge was head coach at Central Missouri State, Texas State, Louisiana Tech, Kansas State, and UC Riverside. After hi ...

, who had been the Highlanders' head coach for the past six seasons, was named UC Riverside's interim athletic director, replacing Brian Wickstrom, who left to take the AD job at the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

. Wooldridge had amassed 70 wins over six years as the Highlanders' head coach. Longtime assistant coach Dennis Cutts was named as Wooldridge's interim successor. Cutts announced the team's complete season schedule on July 23, 2013. The Highlanders' notable games featured road match-ups against

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Southern Utah Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

, and

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

. UC Riverside also announced that they would play host to teams such as

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

, and

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by th ...

. The Highlanders' 16-game conference slate included one home game and one away game against each of the other eight members of the Big West Conference. On August 14, 2013, Cutts announced the hiring of 23 year coaching veteran Steven Sauers to fill the open assistant coaching spot left vacant when Cutts took the head coaching job. Sauers had previously served as the director of basketball operations for the

Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily competi ...

, and also spent time as an assistant for Marist and

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

. The Highlanders played one preseason exhibition on November 1, against Pomona-Pitzer, winning by a score of 83–73. Chris Patton led the Highlanders with 27 points in the exhibition victory.

Roster

Schedule and results

Source

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference games , - !colspan=9 style=, Conference games , - !colspan=9 style=, 2014 Big West men's basketball tournament, Big West tournament

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2013-14 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball seasons

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...