Even dressed in blank jerseys, it would be easy to pick out UC Irvine from a basketball lineup.

The Anteaters are identifiable by their height, rebounding and defensive stubbornness.

“Irvine has always been one of the bigger teams in the country, and they’re always consistently one of the better teams in our league,” said Hawaii coach Eran Ganot, whose Rainbow Warriors play host to the Anteaters in tonight’s Big West game in the Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is at 7:05 p.m.

UCI’s top postmen are 6-foot-10 Jonathan Galloway, 6-8 Tommy Rutherford, 6-9 Elston Jones and 6-9 Christian Welp. Galloway was named the Big West’s top defensive player the past two seasons, making it five straight years an Anteater has won the award.

“He’s one of the best defenders this conference has ever had,” UCI coach Russell Turner said of Galloway, who is averaging 8.0 rebounds per game, or 13.7 boards per 40 minutes. “He’s really committed. He’s versatile, and tough, and smart.”

Galloway extends possessions, with 34.6 percent of his rebounds coming off the offensive glass. In four Big West games, the Anteaters are averaging 15.3 offensive rebounds per game. They suctioned 26 offensive boards in Saturday’s comeback victory over Cal State Northridge.

UH assistant coach John Montgomery said tall, physical teams have “always been (Turner’s) thing.” Turner coached under Montgomery’s father, Mike Montgomery, at Stanford and with the Golden State Warriors.

“He’s a tough, hard-nosed coach, and that’s how he coaches his guys,” the younger Montgomery said of Turner. “They’re really good defensively. He’s a smart coach. They do a really good job on scouting reports and taking away what teams do.”

In constructing the Anteaters’ roster —their methodology — Turner sought athletic, defense-minded players. It was an approach he used at Stanford, Wake Forest and Hampden-Sydney. Turner said he prefers to recruit “undervalued” players who are tough and willing to aggressively attack the perimeter and low post.

This season, the Anteaters have per-game averages of 29.8 points in the paint and 12.65 on second-chance plays.

UCI is an ensemble cast in which nine players average double-digit minutes per game. Eight players have started. The reserves average 30.8 points per game.

Guard Max Hazzard is the scoring leader at 11.8 points per game. Hazzard has connected on 38.9 percent of his 3s. Eyassu Worku and Robert Cartwright are the facilitators. Evan Leonard and John Edgar Jr. are quick and physical wings. Rutherford is an aggressive post. Welp can slide between the post and the perimeter.

Hazzard is the grandson of the late Walt Hazzard, who was UCLA’s head coach and star guard. Welp’s father, Christian Welp, is the University of Washington’s career scoring leader. Backup guard Spencer Rivers is the son of Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers. Forward JC Butler’s father is Caron Butler, who played 14 NBA seasons.

“I like that all those guys grew up close to the game,” Turner said. “When you have that type of exposure to the game, it often means that the game is really important to you. The more time they spend when they’re young around basketball, the more they absorb. We get a lot of benefit from what we have there.”

Last year, the Anteaters ruined two UH events. They beat the ’Bows on senior night, then eliminated them in the Big West tournament.

“It’s going to be a battle,” UH guard Drew Buggs said. “It’s what you live for. It’s going to be a big-time game. It’s going to be a very competitive game, a very physical game.”

UH guard Brocke Stepteau said: “We know what type of team they are. We know what type of team they’re capable of being. We’ve got to be ready to go.”