HONOLULU – UC San Diego wraps up the first half of Big West action when the Tritons (17-4 overall, 7-2 BW) visit Hawai'i on Thursday night.
Led by Lou Henson National Player of the Week
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, the Tritons won a pair of conference home games last week. The New Zealand native averaged 28.5 points over the two wins, connecting on 73% of his field goal attempts.
The Rainbow Warriors (12-8, 4-5) had won four of five before dropping road games last week at UC Davis and UC Irvine.
Thursday marks the first meeting of the season between UC San Diego and Hawai'i. The Rainbow Warriors have captured five of the six prior contests since the Tritons moved to Division I, and SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center is the only remaining Big West venue in which UC San Diego has yet to earn a win. Thursday game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. local tip-off (9 p.m. in San Diego), and the game will air live on Spectrum Sports Hawai'i and ESPN+ on the mainland, with live stats available on UCSDTritons.com.
DETAILS
Game 22
UC San Diego (17-4, 7-2 Big West) at Hawai'i (12-8, 4-5 Big West)
Thursday, Jan. 30 | 7 p.m. HT/9 p.m. PT
SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) | Honolulu
TV: Spectrum Sports Hawai'i
Stream:
ESPN+
Radio: [none]
Live Stats:
UCSDTritons.com
Series Record: Hawai'i leads, 7-1 (UH 5-1 in Division I)
Last Meeting: at Hawai'i 94, UC San Diego 86 (OT), Feb. 8, 2024
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 17-4
Big West: 7-2
Home: 8-2
Away: 6-2
Neutral: 3-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W2
TRITONS, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
| Stat |
UCSD |
Opp. |
| Points |
80.0 |
62.4 |
| Field Goal Pct. |
.459 |
.408 |
| 3-Point FG Pct. |
.345 |
.348 |
| Free Throw Pct. |
.754 |
.718 |
| Rebounds |
34.6 |
34.0 |
| Assists |
15.2 |
11.1 |
| Turnovers |
9.3 |
16.7 |
| Steals |
10.7 |
4.8 |
| Blocks |
2.0 |
2.9 |
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 12-8
Big West: 4-5
Home: 10-4
Away: 2-4
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Streak: L2
WHAT'S NEXT
UC San Diego will enjoy its final bye of the regular season on Saturday before the second half of The Big West slate begins Thursday at home vs. UC Riverside. The game tips at 7 and will air on ESPN+ and KSDT radio, with live stats on UCSDTritons.com. Tickets can be purchased through
Triton Box Office.
LAST TIME OUT: TRITONS 79, CSUN 54 | Box Score
U
C San Diego closed out its week with an impressive 79-54 victory over CSUN Saturday night at LionTree Arena. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones continued his hot streak, putting up 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
Tyler McGhie hit five threes in his 19-point campaign, while also racking up a career high six steals.
Chris Howell put on a defensive masterclass with three steals, two blocks and five rebounds.
CSUN was held to a season-low 54 points.
NATIONALLY RANKED
UC San Diego is ranked No. 11 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 53 as of Tuesday, Jan. 28, second in The Big West behind UC Irvine (50).
MARGIN OF VICTORY
UC San Diego leads Division I with a turnover margin of +7.4. The Tritons have won the turnover battle in 20 of their first 21 games.
MARGIN OF VICTORY II
The Tritons are tops in The Big West with a scoring margin of 17.6. Nationally, UC San Diego's margin of victory sits sixth.
STINGY ON D
UC San Diego leads The Big West in scoring defense, allowing just 62.4 points per game for the season and 63.4 points per game in Big West play. Nationally, the 62.4 points per game allowed is tenth best.
TIME TRAVELERS
UC San Diego plays games in four time zones this season. In addition to the Boardwalk Battle in Florida (Eastern Time) and home games in the Pacific Time Zone, the Tritons played at Utah State (Mountain Time) and will visit Hawai'i (Hawai'i-Aleutian Time) on Thursday. All told, UC San Diego will play games in at least six states this season. The Tritons are 5-0 in games played outside of the Golden State.
TAIT-JONES TAKES CONTROL
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was named Lou Henson National Player of the Week on Jan. 27. He leads the nation in free throws made (150) and free throw attempts (186). He ranks third in The Big West in scoring at 19.7 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. 25, 2025 |
vs. CSUN |
32 |
W, 79-54 |
| 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
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Lou Henson National Player of the Week, Jan. 27
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Big West Player of the Week, Jan. 27
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
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
TY'S THE GUY
Tyler McGhie has made 74 three-pointers this season, fourth in Division I. His 3.52 threes per game ranks sixth 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.
I'LL TAKE THAT!
Triton senior point guard
Hayden Gray leads the nation with 72 steals and 3.43 steals per game through the team's first 21 games. Gray came away with a career-high seven thefts in the Tritons' win at USD (Dec. 21).
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 227-118 (.658).
NO SURPRISES: STARTING OFF STRONG
UC San Diego has used the same starting lineup in each of its first 21 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 |
4-0 |
3-0 |
0-0 |
6-0 |
W7 |
| 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):
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.
