LA JOLLA, Calif. – Fresh off a Big West victory over first place Cal State Fullerton, UC San Diego concludes its second season in Division I with road games at CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly this week. On Thursday, the Tritons go for the season sweep over the 'Runners (7 p.m., ESPN+). On March 5, UC San Diego's season wraps up with a visit to Cal Poly (7 p.m., ESPN+).
 
DETAILS
Game 28
UC San Diego (12-15, 6-10 vs. Big West opponents) at CSU Bakersfield (7-16, 2-11 BW)
Thursday, March 3
7 p.m.
Icardo Center (3,497), Bakersfield
TV: ESPN+
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
Series Record: CSU Bakersfield leads, 17-2
Last Meeting: at UC San Diego 83, CSU Bakersfield 75 (Jan. 29)

Game 29
UC San Diego (12-15, 6-10 vs. Big West opponents) at Cal Poly (5-20, 1-12 BW)
Saturday, March 5
7 p.m.
Mott Athletics Center (3,032), San Luis Obispo
TV: ESPN+
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
Series Record: Cal Poly leads, 8-1
Last Meeting: Cal Poly 59, at UC San Diego 55 (Jan.27)

ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 12-15
Big West opponents: 6-10
Home: 9-4
Away: 3-10
Neutral: 0-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W1

TRITONS, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

Stat	UCSD	Opp.
Points	69.9	70.2
Field Goal Pct.	.443	.461
3-Point FG Pct.	.362	.318
Free Throw Pct.	.737	.708
Rebounds	30.8	35.1
Assists	13.6	12.9
Turnovers	12.9	12.4
Steals	5.9	6.3
Blocks	1.9	2.6

 
ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 7-16
Big West: 2-11
Home: 5-5
Away: 2-11
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Streak: L1

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 5-20
Big West: 1-12
Home: 2-7
Away: 2-12
Neutral: 1-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: L8

UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention.

For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's Return to Learn site.

GAME DAY HAS A NEW LOOK
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit UCSDTritons.com/MBBgameday from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to RIMAC Arena for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch on ESPN+.

ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its second year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego built a 25-point lead in the second half and hung on for the 81-76 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Senior Day at RIMAC Arena. Freshman Francis Nwaokorie scored a career-high 23 for the Tritons, and senior Toni Rocak added 20 for the home team in the win.
 
Playing in his final home game, Jake Killingsworth scored eight, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists. As a team, the Tritons shot 56% on the afternoon and 55% 3FG (12-for-22).
 
THANK YOU, SENIORS!
Last Saturday's Big West Game of the Week served as the home finale for the Tritons. Prior to the game, UC San Diego thanked Matt Gray, Jake Killingsworth, Justin Pratt, Kaden Rasheed, Toni Rocak, and Lunden Taylor.
 

Thank you Seniors! pic.twitter.com/z97wI0PT82

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) February 27, 2022

 
WHAT SENIOR SPOTLIGHT?
Although UC San Diego celebrated its seniors prior to the game against Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 26), it was freshman Francis Nwaokorie who stole the show last week against the conference's top two teams. He averaged 17 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Tritons last week, scoring a career-high 23 in the Tritons' senior day win over Cal State Fullerton. For the week, he connected on 12-of-19 shot attempts (63%) overall and four of his six three-point tries. The true freshman had six assists with just one turnover. In the win over Fullerton, he added a career-high four steals and a block.
 

Tritons letting the offense work for the ?? from Francis !
?? Spectrum SportsNet
?? https://t.co/f3IqdqmXJy#GoTritons pic.twitter.com/QpPlw7tSZH

— UC San Diego Men's Hoops (@UCSDmbb) February 26, 2022

SHARING THE ROCK
In their 23-point win over UC Riverside (Feb. 12), the Tritons had a season-high 26 assists on 30 field goals, committing just nine turnovers.
 
NWAOKORIE'S NWONDERFUL PERFORMANCE
UC San Diego freshman forward Francis Nwaokorie scored 18 points and pulled down 11 boards in the Tritons' 85-62 win over UC Riverside Feb. 12 in the Big West Game of the Week. The true freshman hit 7-of-10 field goal tries (4-7 3FG), dishing out five assists with no turnovers. His seven made shots, four three-pointers, five assists, and two steals were all career highs, and the double-double was his second of the season.
 
TRITONS TOP THE LEADERBOARD
During UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Big West has elected not to include the Tritons in the conference statistics. That administrative decision hasn't stopped the Tritons from making their mark. In Big West games:
 

Category	Stat	Big West Rank
Team 3FG	145	1st
Team Assists	14.3/game	1st
Scoring	Rocak – 15.7 ppg.	5th
Three-pointers	Kosakowski – 41	1st
	Killingsworth – 33	2nd
Free throws	Rocak – 54	Tied, 1st
	Pope – 45	3rd

 
ROCAK RECOGNIZED AGAIN
After helping the Tritons to victories in their first two contests over Big West opponents, UC San Diego senior forward Toni Rocak was honored by the Big West as the conference's Player of the Week on January 3.

The Geneva, Switzerland resident scored a career-high 34 points on 12-16 shooting in the Tritons' overtime win over UC Santa Barbara and followed that up with 14 (6-12 FG) in the victory over CSUN. Rocak's 34-point effort was the most points in a game scored by a Big West player this season.
 
Rocak was also named Big West Player of the Week on Nov. 15 following the Tritons' season-opening wins over Cal and George Washington.
 
HOME COOKIN'
UC San Diego went 9-4 at home this season and is 16-7 as a member of Division I at RIMAC Arena. Since 2018-19, the Tritons are 45-9 when playing at home – a winning percentage of .833.
 
MAKING THE GRADE
The Tritons continue to be successful in the classroom, posting a 3.37 team grade point average during the 2021 fall quarter. In addition, Matt Gray, Jake Killingsworth, and Jake Kosakowski all posted a perfect 4.0 GPA last term.
 
KOS AND EFFECT
Sophomore forward Jake Kosakowski leads the Big West in three-pointers, with 65 makes from beyond the arc and a three-point FG percentage of .461. He knocked down a career-best eight at Long Beach State (Feb. 24).
 
MAKING THEIR MARK FROM DISTANCE
UC San Diego leads the Big West in three-point field goals (243) and three-point field goal percentage (.362). UC San Diego led the NCAA in three-point field goals per game last season (11.1), and the Tritons drained a Big West single-game record 22 in a win over Bethesda (Feb. 7, 2021).
 
TAYLOR NAMED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
UC San Diego junior guard Lunden Taylor was named UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week on Dec. 20 after he scored a career-high 11 points and dished out a personal-best three assists off the bench in the Tritons' 93-52 win over Caltech at RIMAC Arena (Dec. 18). In 12 minutes played, Taylor didn't miss a shot, going 2-2 FG (including 1-1 from beyond the three-point arc) and hitting all six of his free throw tries. 
 
STEPPING UP WITHOUT THE BIG GUY
After the team's leading scorer and rebounder, Toni Rocak, was injured earlier in the week at practice, all five starters carried the freight in the win over Eastern Michigan (Dec. 2). Bryce Pope scored a career high 24, Jake Killingsworth grabbed a season high seven rebounds, and Jake Kosakowski scored a personal best 16 points. Making his second career start, Francis Nwaokorie grabbed seven boards and dished out a career high three assists. Jace Roquemore matched a personal best with three steals in the win. Rocak missed two games before returning with limited minutes for the game at Denver (Dec. 15).
 
NWAOKORIE AND POPE EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
A pair of Tritons were named to the Zootown Classic All-Tournament Team. UC San Diego forward Francis Nwaokorie and guard Bryce Pope were recognized for their contributions during the three-day tournament, hosted by the University of Montana (Nov. 24-26).

In the Tritons' game against the Griz, Nwaokorie scored a career-high 22 points off the bench, matching his personal best with eight rebounds. The following night, Pope led all scorers with 15 points, knocking down six field goals against Southern Miss.
 
FINDING A WAY
UC San Diego was an uncharacteristic 2-11 from beyond the arc in the win at Sacramento State (Nov. 20) – the fewest three-pointers in a game for UC San Diego since Jan. 30, 2016. The Tritons picked up the road win thanks to 36 points in the paint in addition to converting 16-of-18 free throw attempts in the second half.
 
TIME TRAVELERS
When UC San Diego participated in the University of Montana's Zootown Classic Nov. 24-26, they were the Tritons' first games played in the Mountain Time Zone since playing a pair at Colorado School of Mines in 2014.
 
The Tritons played at conference foe Hawai'i in January, marking the third time zone for the team in 2021-22. The last time UC San Diego played games in three time zones was 2007-08, when the program played games in the Mountain Time Zone (Grand Canyon) as well as in the Alaska Time Zone (Alaska-Anchorage).
 
NWAOKORIE GETS REWARDED
UC San Diego freshman forward Francis Nwaokorie made quite an impact off the bench and was named the UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week (Nov. 22). The Minnesota native averaged 11.5 points on 64.3% shooting (9-14 FG overall, including 2-4 3FG) over 22 minutes per game, helping the Tritons to two victories. Nwaokorie averaged 4.5 rebounds per game in the wins with three steals and two blocked shots.
 
SENSATIONAL SECOND STANZA
In UC San Diego's 80-67 win at Cal (Nov. 9), the Tritons shot 12-for-18 in the second half – including 7-of-10 from three-point range. UC San Diego also converted 16-of-20 second half free throw tries in Berkeley.
 
WELCOME BACK TO RIMAC!
When the Tritons beat George Washington on Nov. 13, it marked UC San Diego's first home game with fans in attendance since the Tritons won the CCAA (Division II) conference championship on March 7, 2020 – some 617 days prior.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
UC San Diego concludes its second Division I season with the two games this weekend.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Returners
Matt Gray, Jr., F
Jake Killingsworth, Gr., G
Jake Kosakowski, So., F
Bryce Pope, So., G
Justin Pratt, Jr., G
Kaden Rasheed, Sr., G
Toni Rocak, Sr., F
Jace Roquemore, So., G
Lunden Taylor, Jr., G
 
Newcomers
J'Raan Brooks, Jr., F (Washington)
Fallou Cisse, Fr., F
Justin DeGraaf, Fr., F
Francis Nwaokorie, Fr., F
Michael Pearson Jr., Fr., G
Vuk Vulikic, So., G (UTEP)
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
This year's Tritons squad boasts scholar-athletes from four countries:
 
Fallou Cisse, Senegal
Matt Gray, Australia
Toni Rocak, Croatia
Vuk Vulikic, Serbia
 
ROCAK PLAYS FOR SWISS NATIONAL TEAM
A native of Croatia who was raised in Switzerland, Toni Rocak competed for the Swiss National Team over the summer in World Cup qualifiers. He was the Tritons' leading scorer and rebounder last season.
 
DIVISION I FIRSTS

First Season	2020-21
First Game	Dec. 22, 2020 vs. Saint Katherine
First Win over Division I Opponent	Jan. 22, 2021 vs. UC Davis
First Basket vs. D1 Opponent	Jace Roquemore (1/8/21) vs. UC Irvine
First Division I Road Win	Nov. 9, 2021 at Cal
First Big West Road Win	Feb. 3, 2022 at CSUN

 
TRITONS INK TWO FOR CLASS OF '26
The UC San Diego men's basketball program has announced two high school standout scholar-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to join the team as freshmen for the 2022-23 academic year. Roddie Anderson III and Quin Patterson have committed to join the Tritons to make up the Class of 2026.
 
REPLACING THE DISTRIBUTION
UC San Diego graduated its all-time assist leader following last season. Mikey Howell averaged six assists per game last year (tops in the Big West) and finished his career with 502 assists – more than any Triton in program history.
 
HADLEY SUITS UP IN AUSTRALIA
UC San Diego guard Gabe Hadley '21 signed a professional contract with the Geelong Supercats in Australia's NBL1 last spring. As part of the NBL1 South Conference, the Supercats are one of the 18 highly-competitive teams throughout the Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, and South Australia areas.
 
Hadley is one of three former Tritons to ink pro deals in the last two years. Following the memorable 2019-20 season, both Chris Hansen (Solvakia) and Christian Oshita (Germany) signed pro contracts.

ABOUT THOSE STANDINGS…
In their second year of its NCAA-mandated four-year reclassification to Division I, the Tritons are not eligible to compete in NCAA postseason events. As such, the Big West has elected not include UC San Diego in its men's basketball standings and the Tritons did not appear in the preseason poll. However, UC San Diego will play a full slate of Big West games and be eligible for individual Big West honors (e.g., All-Conference Team, Player of the Year, etc.).
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
ROQUEMORE FEATURED IN UC SAN DIEGO CA NOTIFY VIDEO
UC San Diego redshirt sophomore Jace Roquemore stars in a video promoting the use of the CA Notify app on campus. CA Notify uses the Exposure Notifications System from Google and Apple to alert users when they have been exposed to COVID-19. It will quickly notify the user if they have likely been exposed, allowing them to seek medical attention and reduce risk for their loved ones. First launched on the UC San Diego campus, the CA Notify app is available to all California residents.
 
TRITONS PREP FOR SHOWTIME
Three UC San Diego contests aired live on the television home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Spectrum SportsNet, in February as part of the Big West Game of the Week package. The Tritons' game at UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 5) along with home games vs. UC Riverside (Feb. 12) and Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 26) were all featured on the network.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, men's and women's volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego basketball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO HOOPS
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmbb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.