UC San Diego is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, capping a historic season with a 75–61 victory over UC Irvine in the Big West Tournament championship on Saturday night.
The Tritons entered the championship game as the No. 1 seed after defeating UC Santa Barbara in the semifinal game.
In a back-and-forth game in the first half, San Diego trailed Irvine by two points, 33-31.
Head coach Eric Olen’s halftime adjustment helped the team to a strong second half, outscoring the Anteaters 44 -28.
Hayden Gray led UCSD with 22 points while shooting 6 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Guard Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones scored 14 points in the championship game. The Big West Player of the Year was close to a triple-double, having eight rebounds and assists.
UCSD had a 49% field goal percentage compared to UC Irvine’s 35%. The Tritons had four players with double-digit points.
The win for San Diego marks the school’s first Big West Conference Tournament title after a four-year transition period to a Division I institution.
The conference allowed UC San Diego to compete in the conference for the past four years but could not win any championships or compete in the conference tournament.
But with the transition period over, the school won the regular-season and championship titles in its first year.
Olen has had a significant impact on UCSD. The head coach was with the school during its Division II days and has played a key role in helping the Tritons transition smoothly to D-I, ultimately leading to them punching their ticket into March Madness.
With the loss, UC Irvine failed to reach its first NCAA Tournament since 2019. Guard Justin Hohn was the Anteaters’ leading scorer with 18 points.
