# UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball

The UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program that represents the University of California, San Diego. The Tritons compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Big West Conference (BWC). The team plays its home games at LionTree Arena. They will make their first ever appearance to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2025, on their first year after transitioning from NCAA Division II.

## History

At the end of the 2007–08 season, they won the CCAA tournament and advanced to the first round of the NCAA West Regionals. After a relatively dry spell, the team has seen most of its success in recent years under Eric Olen. In 2015–16, they were the NCAA West Region runners-up. The 2016–17 season was the first in which they won the CCAA regular-season title; they also won the CCAA Tournament and were again NCAA West Region runners-up. The team won the CCAA Tournament again in 2017–18, but dropped in the NCAA West Regional quarterfinals. The Tritons have the most CCAA Tournament titles of any current or former CCAA member school, with five.
Triton basketball transitioned to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference in 2020. They became eligible to participate in March Madness in 2025 following a four-year transition period. In that year, UC San Diego won the Big West Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

## Postseason results
### NCAA Division I tournament results

UC San Diego will appear in their first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2025 | #12 | First Round | #5 Michigan | |

### NCAA Division II tournament results

The Tritons appeared in the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament five times. They had a record of 5–5.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2008 | First Round | Alaska Anchorage | L 60–80 |
| 2016 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | Chico State Cal Baptist Western Oregon | W 76–64 W 71–69 L 55–60 |
| 2017 | First Round | Dixie State California Baptist Chico State | W 94–68 W 84–80 L 86–94 |
| 2018 | First Round | California Baptist | L 67–81 |
| 2019 | First Round Second Round | Cal Poly Pomona Point Loma Nazarene | W 61–50 L 50–73 |
| 2020 | First Round | Western Washington | Cancelled |

### NCAA Division III tournament results

UC San Diego appeared in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament four times. They had a record of 2–4.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1990 | Second Round | Nebraska Wesleyan | L 75–77 |
| 1991 | Second Round Sectional Semifinal | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Otterbein | W 76–72 L 95–108 |
| 1992 | Second Round | Cal Lutheran | L 70–88 |
| 1994 | First Round Second Round | Pomona-Pitzer Cal Lutheran | W 67–66 L 81–95 |

### CBI results

The Tritons have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once in 2024. Their combined record is 0–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2024 | First Round | Chicago State | L 75-77 |

## Yearly records

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Pre-Division II (1965–2000) ||||||
| 1965–66 | Jack Shawcroft | 1–1 (.500) | | | |
| 1966–67 | Neale Stoner | 9–10 | | | |
| 1967–68 | Neale Stoner | 10–14 | | | |
| 1968–69 | Neale Stoner | 19–8 | | | |
| Neale Stoner: | Neale Stoner: | 38–32 (.543) | | | |
| 1969–70 | Barry Cunningham | 13–14 | | | |
| 1970–71 | Barry Cunningham | 14–12 | | | |
| 1971–72 | Barry Cunningham | 13–13 | | | |
| Barry Cunningham (1969–72): | Barry Cunningham (1969–72): | 40–39 (.506) | | | |
| 1972–73 | Bill Reeves | 13–13 | | | |
| 1973–74 | Bill Reeves | 14–12 | | | |
| Bill Reeves: | Bill Reeves: | 27–25 (.519) | | | |
| 1974–75 | Barry Cunningham | 13–13 | | | |
| 1975–76 | Barry Cunningham | 11–15 | | | |
| Barry Cunningham (1974–76): | Barry Cunningham (1974–76): | 24–28 (.462) | | | |
| 1976–77 | Dick Satterlee | 4–24 (.143) | | | |
| 1977–78 | Barry Cunningham | 8–19 | | | |
| 1978–79 | Barry Cunningham | 9–21 | | | |
| Barry Cunningham (1977–79): | Barry Cunningham (1977–79): | 17–40 (.298) | | | |
| Barry Cunningham (overall): | Barry Cunningham (overall): | 81–107 (.431) | | | |
| 1979–80 | Ron Carter | 17–13 (.567) | | | |
| 1980–81 | John Block | 9–17 | | | |
| 1981–82 | John Block | 10–16 | | | |
| 1982–83 | John Block | 13–13 | | | |
| John Block: | John Block: | 32–46 (.410) | | | |
| 1983–84 | Tom Marshall | 11–17 | | | |
| 1984–85 | Tom Marshall | 13–13 | | | |
| 1985–86 | Tom Marshall | 14–12 | | | |
| 1986–87 | Tom Marshall | 18–8 | | | |
| 1987–88 | Tom Marshall | 17–9 | | | |
| 1988–89 | Tom Marshall | 9–17 | | | |
| 1989–90 | Tom Marshall | 20–7 | | | NCAA DIII West Region 2nd round |
| 1990–91 | Tom Marshall | 23–4 | | | NCAA DIII Sectional Semifinal |
| 1991–92 | Tom Marshall | 22–5 | | | NCAA DIII West Region 2nd round |
| 1992–93 | Tom Marshall | 17–8 | | | |
| 1993–94 | Tom Marshall | 21–5 | | | NCAA DIII West Region 2nd round |
| Tom Marshall: | Tom Marshall: | 185–105 (.638) | | | |
| 1994–95 | Greg Lanthier | 12–13 | | | |
| 1995–96 | Greg Lanthier | 11–14 | | | |
| 1996–97 | Greg Lanthier | 17–8 | | | |
| 1997–98 | Greg Lanthier | 18–7 | | | |
| 1998–99 | Greg Lanthier | 20–5 | | | |
| 1999–2000 | Greg Lanthier | 5–20 | | | |
| Greg Lanthier (Div. III): | Greg Lanthier (Div. III): | 83–67 (.553) | | | |
| Pre-Division II Era: | Pre-Division II Era: | 185–105 (.638) | | | |
| Division II Era (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (2000–2020) ||||||
| 2000–01 | Greg Lanthier | 4–23 | 3–19 | 12th | |
| 2001–02 | Greg Lanthier | 8–21 | 5–17 | 11th | |
| 2002–03 | Greg Lanthier | 7–21 | 6–16 | 10th | |
| 2003–04 | Greg Lanthier | 9–18 | 9–13 | 7th | |
| Greg Lanthier (Div. II): | Greg Lanthier (Div. II): | 28–83 (.252) | 23–65 (.261) | | |
| Greg Lanthier: | Greg Lanthier: | 111–149 (.427) | 23–65 (.261) | | |
| 2004–05 | Bill Carr | 11–16 | 7–13 | 8th | |
| 2005–06 | Bill Carr | 15–14 | 12–8 | T-4th | |
| 2006–07 | Bill Carr | 11–16 | 7–13 | 8th | |
| Bill Carr: | Bill Carr: | 38–45 (.458) | 29–33 (.468) | | |
| 2007–08 | Chris Carlson | 18–12 | 11–9 | T-3rd | NCAA DII West Region Quarterfinals |
| 2008–09 | Chris Carlson | 17–11 | 13–7 | T-5th | CCAA tournament semifinals |
| 2009–10 | Chris Carlson | 8–17 | 7–15 | 9th | |
| 2010–11 | Chris Carlson | 11–17 | 6–16 | 11th | |
| 2011–12 | Chris Carlson | 10–17 | 6–16 | 11th | |
| 2012–13 | Chris Carlson | 11–15 | 10–12 | 7th | CCAA Tournament quarterfinals |
| Chris Carlson: | Chris Carlson: | 75–89 (.457) | 53–75 (.414) | | |
| 2013–14 | Eric Olen | 15–11 | 11–11 | 7th | |
| 2014–15 | Eric Olen | 16–11 | 14–8 | T-4th | CCAA Tournament quarterfinals |
| 2015–16 | Eric Olen | 24–8 | 15–5 | 2nd | NCAA DII West Region Final |
| 2016–17 | Eric Olen | 27–6 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA DII West Region Final |
| 2017–18 | Eric Olen | 21–11 | 15–7 | T-3rd | NCAA DII West Region quarterfinal |
| 2018–19 | Eric Olen | 26–8 | 17–5 | T-1st | NCAA DII West Region semifinal |
| 2019–20 | Eric Olen | 30–1 | 21–1 | 1st | NCAA DII West Region Tournament (Cancelled due to COVID-19) |
| Division II Era: | Division II Era: | 300–273 (.524) | 215–213 (.502) | | |
| Division I Era (Big West Conference) (2020–Present) ||||||
| 2020–21 | Eric Olen | 7–10 | -– | No Placement | |
| 2021–22 | Eric Olen | 13–16 | -– | 11th* | |
| 2022–23 | Eric Olen | 10–20 | 5–13 | 9th | |
| 2023–24 | Eric Olen | 21–12 | 15–5 | 2nd | CBI First Round |
| Eric Olen: | Eric Olen: | 210–114 (.648) | 130–58 (.691) | | |
| Total: | Total: | 849–751 (.531) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||
* Games against Big West opponents during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season are considered non-conference games by the Big West Conference due to DI Reclassification.
* UC San Diego was not eligible for conference or NCAA postseason events until the 2024-25 season due to DI reclassification restrictions.