ABOUT THE AGGIES
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 15-10
Big West: 9-5
Home: 8-2
Away: 7-8
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W3
 
WHAT'S NEXT
UC San Diego is back on the road Thursday night to visit Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ with live stats available on UCSDTritons.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT: TRITONS 73, CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 54 | Box Score
Aniwainwa Tait-Jones scored 20 – including his 2,000th career point and Cade Pendleton scored a personal best 12 off the bench in a 73-54 win at Cal State Bakersfield Thursday night. The victory was the Tritons' sixth straight, the longest active streak in The Big West. UC San Diego is now 12-2 away from LionTree Arena. UC San Diego hit 16 three-pointers for the second straight game and have made 15 or more six times this season. The Tritons led by 12 points at halftime and improved to 17-0 (7-0 on the road) when leading at the break.

BIG WEST POSTSEASON
Thursday's win clinched a spot in The Big West Championship next month in Henderson, Nev. Conference policy prohibited UC San Diego from taking part in this event in the past – despite the Tritons finishing second in the conference standings last season.

NATIONALLY RANKED
UC San Diego is ranked No. 4 in this week's Mid-Major Top 25® college basketball poll, the Tritons' highest-ever ranking in this survey. UC San Diego also received a first place vote. 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 a NET Ranking of 45 as of Friday and the Tritons are No. 45 in KenPom – both highest in The Big West.
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY
UC San Diego leads NCAA Division I with a turnover margin of +7.1. The Tritons have won the turnover battle in 24 of their first 25 games.
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY II
The Tritons are tops in The Big West with a scoring margin of 17.5. Nationally, UC San Diego's margin of victory sits third.
 
STINGY ON D
UC San Diego leads The Big West in scoring defense, allowing just 62.6 points per game for the season and 63.5 points per game in Big West play. Nationally, the 62.6 points per game allowed is 11th best.
 
TAIT-JONES TAKES CONTROL
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was named Big West Player of the Week twice in the last three weeks, and he earned Lou Henson National Player of the Week honors on Jan. 27. Tait-Jones leads the nation in free throws made (172) and free throw attempts (215). He ranks second in The Big West in scoring at 20.0 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, Feb. 10
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UCU Athlete of the Week, Dec. 16, Jan. 6, Jan. 20, Feb. 10
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
 
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	120	2,016
Tyler McGhie	118	1,655
Nordin Kapic	76	1,256
Milos Vicentic	74	1,229
Hayden Gray	119	1,153
Maximo Milovich	124	991

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UC San Diego Men's Basketball (@ucsdmbb)

TY'S THE GUY
Tyler McGhie has made 83 three-pointers this season, tenth in Division I. His 3.32 threes per game is tops in The Big West and ranks tenth 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 86 steals and 3.44 steals per game. Gray came away with a career-high seven thefts in the Tritons' win at USD (Dec. 21) and matched that total in a victory over UC Riverside (Feb. 6).
 
THIEVERY!
UC San Diego is one of three Division I programs to have two players averaging 2.0+ steals per game (Mississippi State and UTEP). Hayden Gray (3.4) and Chris Howell (2.1) lead the way for the Tritons.
 
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 231-118 (.662).
  
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.
 
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.