SAN DIEGO — In the neighborhood of La Jolla right next to the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course sits the campus of UC San Diego, where there’s a palpable buzz going on inside LionTree Arena.
Perhaps the first thing you’ll notice is the unique nickname of Tritons. You may have not heard about the Tritons before – or even know what a Triton is – but don’t worry; you may learn soon enough. They are closing in their first NCAA men’s basketball tournament appearance in the school’s first season of eligibility and it might do some damage to brackets if it gets there.
Playing hoops since 1966, UC San Diego was in Division III before elevating to Division II in 2000. The program took off when Eric Olen became the head coach in 2013. The Tritons consistently won California Collegiate Athletic Association titles and a Division II tournament regular. In 2019-20, the Tritons were 30-1 before the tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
That season of success preceded the school’s move to Division I and the Big West in 2020. But as is often the case with schools making the jump, the introduction was bumpy. It didn’t help that NCAA transition rules meant UC San Diego was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in four years. The team had three straight losing seasons – the firsts under Olen.
Things changed last season. The Tritons won 21 games and found a core of players that meshed. That group returned with the motivation of being able to play in the Tournament. And UC San Diego has taken off. The Tritons are 28-4, went 18-2 in conference play and won the Big West regular-season title. The next – and most-difficult step – is winning the league tournament to guarantee their place in the NCAA field.
Years of building toward this moment, and success beyond imagination very possible.
“We always had this year circled,” Olen told USA TODAY Sports. “I wouldn’t say I saw this coming three years ago or anything like that. Some of these guys have just come out and really performed at a level beyond expectation.”
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How UC San Diego became a dominant team
A cardinal sin during practice is turning the ball over. UC San Diego is second in the country in taking care of the ball with only 8.8 turnovers a game. Give up the rock and expect to hear some words from Olen.
“He never relaxes,” said senior guard Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, the 2025 Big West Player of the Year and the team’s scoring, rebounding and assists leader. “He’s always on us, always wanting us to get better.”
In addition t they also force 16.2 turnovers a game – top 10 in the nation. The turnover margin of +7.5 is first in Division I.
So is it good or bad when a turnover happens? Yes and no, but it’s just part of why Triton players say their practices are critical. Perfection is the goal. As sharpshooting senior guard Tyler McGhie said, Monday through Wednesday gets you ready for Thursday and Saturday games.
The turnover stat is just one of the many things the Tritons excel in. They make 10.9 3-pointers a game – fifth-best in the country – and score 80.3 points per game. Defensively, they allow 62.0 points per game, eighth in the nation. The +18.3 average scoring margin is second-best in the country behind Duke.
It’s hard to win a lot of games, but it’s a greater challenge to consistently do it in dominating fashion. Olen credits his team for never getting phased when things are shaky or getting comfortable with everything clicking. He believes he has an incredibly smart roster that are very self aware of their strengths and how to play to them.
“When you kind of have that standard every day to come in and get better and never be satisfied, I mean, the results show on the court,” Tati-Jones said. “We just never relax, man.”
Senior guard Tyler McGhie sees the veteran, unique paths he and several of his teammates took before landing in San Diego as an advantage. Of the guys in the rotation, five played at Division II schools, including Tait-Jones and McGhie. They’ve also come from around the globe, like Tait-Jones from New Zealand, Nordin Kapic of Austria and Argentina native Maximo Milovich.
“We realize you got to bring it every day. It doesn’t matter who it is. Division II basketball isn’t easy,” McGhie said. “We all have a chip on our shoulder.”
Playing in March Madness
Growing up in New Zealand, Tait-Jones remembered watching March Madness from more than 6,000 miles away. Right now he’s trying not to look ahead too much, but he and UC San Diego are on the path toward his childhood dream.
Despite dominating the regular season, as one of the hundreds of mid-major teams, typically the only path to the tournament for UC San Diego is winning the conference tournament. Get eliminated and it can be like one of several squads over the years that had spectacular regular seasons but didn’t get in the field because it didn’t get the auto-bid.
The Tritons will be the favorites to win the Big West tournament, and have a good path with an automatic spot in the semifinals as the No. 1 seed. But even if UC San Diego doesn’t win the crown, does it still have a case to hear its name on Selection Sunday?
Some metrics support it. UC San Diego is No. 35 in the NET rankings, better than 11 of the at-large teams in the recent USA TODAY Sports Bracketology. It has a 2-1 Quad 1 record with defeats of Utah State and UC Irvine.
“There’s no question in my mind, we’re a tournament quality team,” Olen said.
But they’re fighting some obstacles. There are two bad losses to Seattle and UC Riverside. The NET ranking isn’t determinative. Indiana State missed the field last year with a 28-6 record and a No. 29 NET ranking, the highest for a team not selected since the formula was adopted in 2019. Should UC San Diego lose the Big West championship game and miss the tournament, its 29 wins would be the most for a team to not make the NCAA Tournament.
Of course, all of the arguments are moot if they win the conference tournament, which “makes everything a lot easier,” McGhie said. It could be viewed as a fair or an unfair, narrow way, but the Tritons aren’t viewing their outlook pessimistically.
“It’s good for us. We want to come in and we want to win everything,” Tait-Jones said. “The fact that we have to win our conference tournament to get an automatic bid, that just makes it even more incentive for us to come out and play hard every game.”
It “would be pretty cool,” Olen added, for his team to make the tournament in the first year eligible for it, but don’t think anyone in the locker room thinks it will be a one-and-done appearance. A projected No. 11 seed, UC San Diego is among the highest seeded mid-major teams coming from single bid conferences. At that spot, the Tritons could get a juicy matchup against a No. 6 seed and pull off the upset. Last season, three No. 11’s won and at least one has recorded a victory in every tournament since 2005.
UC San Diego community embracing the success
Even if he didn’t anticipate the great success happening, everything about this season validates the move to Division I for Olen. The university wanted to generate noise and showcase its gorgeous campus that is about half a mile hike away from the beach.
Seeing the student section at LionTree Arena constantly filled, Olen and players feel the community support is growing and pushing them toward success. It’s why after the team clinched the regular season conference title at home on Thursday, Olen invited the entire arena to come down to the court and join them in cutting down the nets.
There is no shortage of confidence in the Triton community, which ironically is what a Triton is all about. In Greek mythology, the Triton was a demigod of the sea as the child of Poseidon and Amphitrite. With the lower body of a fish, the university says it is known as “a mighty and fierce sea warrior.”
Pretty soon, all of the college basketball world could learn what a Triton is, with the mighty and fierce sea warriors of UC San Diego becoming the next Cinderella story in March.
“It’s fortunate the way it’s all kind of lined up for us, and we’re excited to be in the position that we’re in,” Olen said. “We’re excited to see what happens.”