ABOUT THE MATADORS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 13-6
Big West: 5-3
Home: 5-2
Away: 6-4
Neutral: 2-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W2
 
WHAT'S NEXT
UC San Diego travels west to O'ahu next week to face Hawai'i on Thursday night. The Big West contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. HT tip-off (9 p.m. in San Diego) from SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The game can be seen on Spectrum Sports Hawai'i and ESPN+, with live stats on UCSDTritons.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT: TRITONS 77, UC SANTA BARBARA 63 | Box Score
UC San Diego (16-4, 6-2 Big West) claimed a convincing 77-63 Spirit Night victory over UC Santa Barbara (12-7, 4-4 Big West) on Thursday in front of a lively LionTree Arena crowd of 3,442. The Tritons remain second in The Big West with the win. 
 
Coming off a massive 32-point effort against UC Riverside, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led the team once again, going 9-for-12 and finishing with 25 points. Nordin Kapic contributed a team-leading eight rebounds, recording an additional 12 points.  
 
Eight Tritons snagged a steal on Thursday, led by Tait-Jones and Chris Howell's two each.  
 
NATIONALLY RANKED
UC San Diego is ranked No. 13 in this week's Mid-Major Top 25® college basketball poll. Now in its 26th season, the Mid-Major Top 25® is voted on by 31 Division I coaches. The poll is announced every Monday.
 
NOTHIN' BUT NET
UC San Diego has an NCAA NET Ranking of 61 as of Friday, Jan. 24, second in The Big West behind UC Irvine (50).
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY
UC San Diego leads Division I with a turnover margin of 7.6. The Tritons have won the turnover battle in 19 of their first 20 games.
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY II
The Tritons are tops in The Big West with a scoring margin of 17.3. Nationally, UC San Diego's margin of victory sits ninth.
 
STINGY ON D
UC San Diego leads The Big West in scoring defense, allowing just 62.9 points per game for the season and 64.6 points per game in Big West play. Nationally, the 62.9 points per game allowed is 14th best.
 
I'LL TAKE THAT!
Triton senior point guard Hayden Gray leads the nation with 71 steals and 3.55 steals per game through the team's first 20 games. Gray came away with a career-high seven thefts in the Tritons' win at USD (Dec. 21).
 
TY'S THE GUY
Tyler McGhie has made 69 three-pointers this season, fifth in Division I. His 3.45 threes per game ranks ninth nationally. McGhie captured conference Player of the Week honors on Dec. 23 and Nov. 25. Last year, McGhie was named the conference's Best Sixth Player and captured Honorable Mention All-Big West recognition.
 
NIWA'S NOT A NEWCOMER ANYMORE!
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones leads the nation in free throws made (138) and free throw attempts (173). He ranks third in The Big West in scoring at 19.1 points per game. The New Zealand native was named to the Big West Preseason Coaches' Team. Last year, Tait-Jones captured Big West Newcomer of the Year honors – the first Triton to win this award – and he was also named Honorable Mention All-Big West.
 
UC SAN DIEGO 30-POINT GAMES, DIVISION I

Name	Date	Opponent	Points	Game Score
Toni Rocak	Dec. 30, 2021	vs. UC Santa Barbara	34	W, 85-83 (OT)
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Jan. 18, 2025	at UC Riverside	32	L, 85-81
Bryce Pope	Feb. 24, 2024	vs. UC Irvine	32	W, 92-88 (OT)
Bryce Pope	Nov. 22, 2022	at George Washington	31	W, 75-70

 
WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Tyler McGhie, Big West Player of the Week, Nov. 25, Dec. 23
Tyler McGhie, UCU Athlete of the Week, Nov. 11, Nov. 25, Dec. 23
Justin Rochelin, UCU Athlete of the Week, Dec. 2
Nordin Kapic, UCU Athlete of the Week, Dec. 9, Dec. 30
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UCU Athlete of the Week, Dec. 16, Jan. 6, Jan. 20
Tyler McGhie, Lou Henson National Player of the Week, Dec. 23
 
HEAD COACH ERIC OLEN
After leading the Tritons to a second place finish in The Big West and more than doubling the team's win total from the prior season, Eric Olen captured Big West Coach of the Year honors and was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award. Now in his 12th season as head coach, Olen has transformed the program. He is the program's all-time leader in victories.

In Division II, Olen led the Tritons to three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season titles, four consecutive CCAA tournament crowns over seven seasons. In Division II, he posted a .740 winning percentage, and he was named NABC West Region Coach of the Year for the first time in 2019-20 after leading the Tritons to a 30-1 record and the top seed in the NCAA West Region.
 
Olen's career coaching record stands at 226-118 (.657).
 
NO SURPRISES: STARTING OFF STRONG
UC San Diego has used the same starting lineup in each of its first 20 games this season. Last year, UC San Diego used the same starting lineup in all 33 games. The Tritons were the only Division I team to use the same starting five every time out in 2023-24. Two of last year's starters return: Hayden Gray and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones.
 
TRITONS VS. THE BIG WEST
Here's a look at how UC San Diego has stacked up against conference competition since joining The Big West prior to the 2020-21 season:
 

Opponent	Home	Road	Neutral	Total	Streak
Cal Poly	2-1	2-1	0-0	4-2	W4
Cal State Bakersfield	3-1	1-4	0-0	4-5	W1
Cal State Fullerton	4-1	2-1	0-0	6-2	W3
CSUN	3-0	3-0	0-0	6-0	W6
Hawai'i	1-2	0-3	0-0	1-5	L1
Long Beach State	1-2	2-2	0-0	3-4	W1
UC Davis	1-3	1-2	0-0	2-5	L1
UC Irvine	1-4	1-3	0-0	2-7	L1
UC Riverside	3-2	1-4	0-0	4-6	W3
UC Santa Barbara	3-1	2-4	0-0	5-5	W4

 
WHOLE LOTTA POINTS
UC San Diego is one of 11 Division I institutions with five or more active 1,000-point scorers on its roster. Here are the team's current leading scorers (includes games played at other institutions):
 

Name	Games Played	Points
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	115	1,898
Tyler McGhie	113	1,578
Milos Vicentic	74	1,229
Nordin Kapic	72	1,216
Hayden Gray	114	1,095
Maximo Milovich	119	979

 
GAME DAY GOES DIGITAL
Triton fans can access game day information from their smart phones by visiting UCSDTritons.com/MBBgameday or scanning the QR code at the entrance to LionTree 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+.

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, men's and women's water polo games, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego basketball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
HOOPS TALK ON UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS' 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. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on X @Tritoncast.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL ON TRITONCAST

Episode	Published	Guest(s)	Listen Link
08	8/19/20	Adam Klie '17, program's D2 leading scorer	Listen
13	9/23/20	John Saintignon, impact of John Wooden	Listen
23	12/02/20	Jordan Lawley '10, NBA training center	Listen
30	1/20/21	Gabe Hadley '21, pro in Australia	Listen
67	11/02/22	Head Coach Eric Olen, season preview	Listen
74	2/22/23	Emmanuel Tshimanga, Canada hoops	Listen
84	8/30/23	J'Raan Brooks, Tritons in Italy	Listen
88	11/01/23	Head Coach Eric Olen, season preview	Listen
89	1/24/24	Bryce Pope, team's leading scorer	Listen
108	10/30/24	Head Coach Eric Olen, season preview	Listen

 
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 began a new era in 2020 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned 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 Divisions I and II.