# 2024–25 UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team

The 2024–25 UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team represents the University of California, San Diego during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tritons, led by 12th-year head coach Eric Olen, play their home games at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, California, as members of the Big West Conference.
This was the first year that the team was eligible for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, as UC San Diego has officially completed their transition to Division I sports. In their non-conference play, the Tritons won the Boardwalk Battle regular season competition. UC San Diego finished the regular season with a record of 28–4, and went 18–2 in conference play with losses to UC Irvine at home and UC Riverside on the road, giving them the Big West regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in their first Big West Conference tournament, they defeated UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals and UC Irvine in the finals, securing them a bid to the NCAA tournament in their first year of eligibility.
The Big West named Eric Olen as the conference’s coach of the year for the second time in a row. Senior Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was selected on the All-Big West First Team alongside senior Tyler McGhie. Tait-Jones was also named Big West Player of the Year. Senior Hayden Gray was named Best Defensive Player as well as part of the All-Big West Second Team. Junior Chris Howell was named Best Hustle Player and redshirt junior Justin Rochelin was named Best Sixth Player.

## Previous season

The Tritons finished the 2023–24 season 21–12, 15–5 in Big West play to finish in second place. Since they were in the final year of the a four-year mandatory transition period from Division II to Division I, they were ineligible to participate in the Big West tournament. They received an invitation to the CBI, receiving the #2 seed, where they would be upset by Chicago State in the first round.

## Regular season
### Early non-conference games
#### San Diego State

The Tritons started their season at a fully packed Viejas Arena against the San Diego State Aztecs. KSDT Sports, a UC San Diego student-run sports and radio organization, broadcast this event live. Both teams performed neck-to-neck, with six ties and eight changes in leading position, until San Diego State came back on top in the final ten minutes to secure a 63-58 win over UC San Diego. Senior Tyler McGhie led the Tritons with 21 points scored and five out of nine three pointers, while Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, another senior, was the only other Triton who scored double figures with 13 points. Junior Nordin Kapic led the Tritons with 8 assists and senior Hayden Gray led with 4 assists and 4 steals. Chris Howell, Milos Vicentic, Justin Rochelin and Maximo Milovich, as well as Kapic, all made their Triton debut, and all but Milovich scored in the game. Despite scoring 32.8% for field goals and 38.5% for three-pointers, the Tritons dropped to 0-1.

#### Pepperdine

The Tritons next played against the Pepperdine Waves at Liontree Arena. This game served as the home opener for UC San Diego. Five Tritons scored in double figures: Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones with 25 points, Tyler McGhie with 20 points, Hayden Gray with 14 points, Nordin Kapic with 13 points and Justin Rochelin with 11 points, a career high; all of which contributed to a 94-76 win over Pepperdine. Tait-Jones scored 9 for 11, while Hayden Gray made 5 steals and 7 assists. UC San Diego was able to open the gap in the first half by some scoring runs, large enough to not turn over the tables when Pepperdine started doing so in the second half, and the Tritons responded with another run to gain space and achieve the win. Freshman Ryder Elisaldez and redshirt freshman Jasen Brooks and Yaqub Mir all made their first Triton appearances on the court. UC San Diego scored 49.2% for field goals and 42.1% beyond the arc. The win moved the Tritons up to 1-1.

#### Sacramento State

The Tritons continued their play at La Jolla, next facing the Sacramento State Hornets. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led with 21 points and 8 rebounds, Tyler McGhie added with 17 points, and Chris Howell set a career high in assists at a number of 7. The game stayed in the favor of the Tritons, who kept a lead in the entire game except for an early 4-4 tie, but Sacramento State made sure the gap wasn’t too large. They did attempt to decrease the gap, but that wasn’t enough as the Tritons won 64-54. Although the Tritons didn’t shoot ideally, it was sufficient to move them on to 2-1.

#### Seattle

Next, the Tritons faced off the Seattle Redhawks at Liontree Arena. The match didn’t work in the Tritons’ favor, with the Redhawks producing layups, jumpers and three-pointers to lead 30-12 with 12 minutes into the game. After finishing 28-49 in the first half, the Tritons managed to reduce the gap, coming within single digits on some occasions, but that wasn’t enough to win over the Redhawks, and the Tritons suffered their second loss of the season, dropping to 2-2. Three Tritons scored in double figures: Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Nordin Kapic and Tyler McGhie, all scoring at least 6 field goals and 1 free throw. Kapic scored a season high of 19 points.

#### La Salle

The Tritons then headed over to Daytona Beach, Florida to participate in the Boardwalk Battle. They were no strangers to Florida, having been upset by Chicago State last season in the College Basketball Invitational just at the Ocean Center. The first opponent in the tournament that the Tritons were facing was the La Salle Explorers, who was unbeaten so far in the season. The game opened strong for UC San Diego, and within five minutes, they led La Salle 17-3. But as the game progressed, the Explorers made its way back into the contention, and both teams went neck to neck in the remainder of the match, with neither team able to have a dominating lead. In the end, Tyler McGhie made two free throws that secured a 72-67 Triton win. McGhie was also the top scorer on the Tritons side, scoring 27 points and succeeding in all free throws awarded. Hayden Gray also scored double digits, but Nordin Kapic was the first Triton of the season to have a double-double — 18 points and 10 rebounds. The win moved the Tritons on to 3-2 on the season.

#### James Madison

In the Boardwalk Battle semifinals, the Tritons went head-to-head with the James Madison Dukes. The Dukes started off with a 7-2 run, but a three pointer from Nordin Kapic and a layup by Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones started a long phase where both teams stuck close to each other, with 4 lead changes and 6 tie scores. In the final seven minutes of play, the Tritons broke off from a 57-57 tie and proceeded to the finals with a 73-67 win. This win moved the Tritons to 4-2. Tait-Jones led the Tritons with 21 points, while Hayden Gray led the entire NCAA Division I with 23 steals.

#### Toledo

On November 23rd , the Tritons faced the Toledo Rockets at the Boardwalk Battle finals. After a back-and-forth first half with four ties and seven lead changes, the Tritons led 34-25 at the end. After halftime, the Tritons came back on a roll, knocking off with an 11-0 run, and after a Toledo timeout, brought out a 13-0 run. At that time, the gap was too large for the Rockets to launch themselves close enough to the Tritons, who won the championships with a 80-45 win. The Tritons set two records in this match: 45 points as the fewest points allowed to a D1 opponent, and 35 points as the largest margin of victory against a D1 opponent. Tritons shot 56.1% of their attempted field goals. Hayden Gray maintained his position as NCAA D1’s top stealer with 27 total steals, Tyler McGhie scored 27 points, including 7 three pointers, and was named the tournament MVP. Justin Rochelin set his career high with 8 rebounds.

#### La Verne

Heading back to La Jolla, the Tritons faced the La Verne Leopards after a week’s break. This is the first time this season the Tritons are playing against a non Division 1 opponent. The Tritons started off strong with an 18-0 run, and the gap only went up until a 50-8 halftime score. In the second half, bench Triton players had more minutes to play, and the Tritons finished with a 109-33 win, the lowest amount of points that UC San Diego has given up since moving up to NCAA Division I. All 12 active Triton players participated in the game and scored at least 4 points along with 2 rebounds each. Half of them scored in double figures: Tyler McGhie, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Justin Rochelin, Aidan Burke, Ryder Elisaldez and Cade Pendleton. Justin Rochelin lead the team with 15 points, Hayden Gray added 4 more steals to his stats, while Aidan Burke scored four out of five beyond the arc.

### Early conference games
#### UC Santa Barbara

On December 5th, the Tritons began their Big West Conference play against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at the Thunderdome. The lead went back and forth in the first half, until a three pointer by Tyler McGhie and a few field goals in the paint helped the Tritons manage a 10-1 run and secure a 42-33 half time lead. The Gauchos did make several attempts to close the gap, but the Tritons maintained their leading position in the entirety of the second half and ended strong with a 84-76 win. Throughout the game, the Tritons forced 18 turnovers while only making 7 themselves, proving their third-place national rank in turnover margin. Although UC San Diego shot only 25.8% beyond the arc, not their best percentage, 40 out of their 84 points scored was in the paint. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones led with 22 points and 8 out of 9 free throws, Nordin Kapic followed with 19 points and scored in all of his free throw attempts. Hayden Gray added another 4 steals to his stats along with 13 points, and Justin Rochelin scored 11 points with 5 out of 6 free throws. Eight Triton players had time on the court, and each of them added at least three points to the scoreboard. The win moved the Tritons up to 7-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.

#### Cal State Bakersfield

The Tritons then returned home to LionTree on December 7 to play against the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners. The Roadrunners started off strong with a 6-2 run in the first five minutes, but then a layup from Maximo Milovich and a three pointer from Justin Rochelin helped the Tritons to get on track and deliver a 20-0 run. In the remainder of the game, despite some high-quality three pointers from the guest team, the Tritons made sure their lead never dropped to single digits, and for the final 13 minutes of the game, expanded it to be more than 20 points. UC San Diego scored 47.3% in field goals and 43% beyond the arc. At the same time, they led NCAA Division 1 in turnover margin of 8.6. Nordin Kapic led with a season high of 25 points, with 7 out of 8 three pointers scored, as well as three steals. Hayden Gray added 11 points and Chris Howell delivered 5 assists. The win moved the Tritons up to 8-2 in the season and 2-0 in conference play.

### Remaining non-conference games
#### Idaho

After a pause for final exams, the Tritons began their three-game road trip at Moscow, Idaho against the Idaho Vandals. Despite 3 score ties and 5 lead changes in the earlier stages of the game, the Tritons took the lead with three minutes left in the first half, and dominated the field to produce a 80-56 win. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Tyler McGhie scored 21 points each, with Tait-Jones scoring 8 out of 9 for field goals. Hayden Gray contributed 11 points and 5 steals, and Chris Howell scored in 8 out of 8 from the charity line. The Tritons overall shot 46.6% in field goals and 33.3% beyond the arc, and the win helped them move up to 9-2 in the season with a seven game winning streak, the longest so far since UC San Diego transitioned to NCAA Division 1.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2024* 7:00 pm, YurView | | at San Diego State | L 58–63 | 0−1 | 21 – McGhie | 8 – Kapic | 4 – Gray | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| November 9, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Pepperdine | W 94–76 | 1–1 | 25 – Tait-Jones | 5 – Tied | 7 – Gray | LionTree Arena (3,688) La Jolla, CA |
| November 12, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | W 64–54 | 2–1 | 21 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Tait-Jones | 6 – Howell | LionTree Arena (1,031) La Jolla, CA |
| November 16, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Seattle | L 71–84 | 2–2 | 20 – Tait-Jones | 4 – Tied | 4 – Gray | LionTree Arena (1,026) La Jolla, CA |
| November 21, 2024* 10:00 am, BallerTV | | vs. La Salle Boardwalk Battle Quarterfinal | W 72–67 | 3–2 | 27 – McGhie | 10 – Kapic | 2 – Tied | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 22, 2024* 12:30 pm, BallerTV | | vs. James Madison Boardwalk Battle Semifinal | W 73–67 | 4–2 | 21 – Tait-Jones | 6 – Tait-Jones | 4 – Tait-Jones | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 23, 2024* 2:30 pm, BallerTV | | vs. Toledo Boardwalk Battle Final | W 80–45 | 5–2 | 27 – McGhie | 8 – Rochelin | 4 – McGhie | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 30, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | La Verne | W 109–33 | 6–2 | 13 – McGhie | 7 – Tied | 6 – Brooks | LionTree Arena (792) La Jolla, CA |
| December 5, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 84–76 | 7–2 (1–0) | 22 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Gray | 3 – Tied | The Thunderdome (2,065) Santa Barbara, CA |
| December 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 81–60 | 8–2 (2–0) | 25 – Kapic | 7 – Tait-Jones | 5 – Howell | LionTree Arena (1,862) La Jolla, CA |
| December 15, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Idaho | W 80–56 | 9–2 | 21 – Tied | 10 – Kapic | 3 – Gray | ICCU Arena (1,410) Moscow, ID |
| December 17, 2024* 6:00 pm, MW Network | | at Utah State | W 75–73 | 10–2 | 26 – McGhie | 6 – Tied | 6 – Howell | Smith Spectrum (7,354) Logan, UT |
| December 21, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at San Diego | W 77–71 | 11–2 | 27 – McGhie | 7 – Kapic | 6 – Tait-Jones | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,350) San Diego, CA |
| December 28, 2024* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Occidental | W 109–51 | 12–2 | 24 – McGhie | 10 – Milovich | 6 – Milovich | LionTree Arena (1,172) La Jolla, CA |
| January 4, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Fullerton | W 90–51 | 13–2 (3–0) | 24 – Tait-Jones | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Titan Gym (521) Fullerton, CA |
| January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal Poly | W 95–68 | 14–2 (4–0) | 25 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Kapic | 4 – Tied | LionTree Arena (1,522) La Jolla, CA |
| January 11, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | UC Irvine | L 52–60 | 14–3 (4–1) | 17 – Tait-Jones | 9 – Kapic | 4 – Howell | LionTree Arena (4,000) La Jolla, CA |
| January 16, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Long Beach State | W 80–54 | 15–3 (5–1) | 26 – McGhie | 5 – McGhie | 2 – Tied | The Gold Mine (1,478) Long Beach, CA |
| January 18, 2025 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UC Riverside | L 81–85 | 15–4 (5–2) | 32 – Tait-Jones | 7 – Tait-Jones | 4 – Tait-Jones | SRC Arena (1,537) Riverside, CA |
| January 23, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Santa Barbara | W 77–63 | 16–4 (6–2) | 25 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Kapic | 4 – Howell | LionTree Arena (3,442) La Jolla, CA |
| January 25, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Northridge | W 79–54 | 17–4 (7–2) | 32 – Tait-Jones | 7 – McGhie | 8 – Howell | LionTree Arena (1,584) La Jolla, CA |
| January 30, 2025 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Hawai'i | W 74–63 | 18–4 (8–2) | 24 – McGhie | 9 – Tait-Jones | 3 – Howell | Stan Sheriff Center (4,218) Honolulu, HI |
| February 6, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Riverside | W 91–71 | 19–4 (9–2) | 28 – Tait-Jones | 7 – Tait-Jones | 5 – Gray | LionTree Arena (1,754) La Jolla, CA |
| February 8, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UC Irvine | W 85–67 | 20–4 (10–2) | 22 – Tait-Jones | 7 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Tied | Bren Events Center (5,000) Irvine, CA |
| February 13, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Bakersfield | W 73–54 | 21–4 (11–2) | 20 – Tait-Jones | 7 – Gray | 4 – Tied | Icardo Center (876) Bakersfield, CA |
| February 15, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UC Davis | W 85–60 | 22–4 (12–2) | 22 – McGhie | 6 – Tied | 6 – Tait-Jones | LionTree Arena (2,003) La Jolla, CA |
| February 20, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal Poly | W 81–67 | 23–4 (13–2) | 19 – Tait-Jones | 10 – Tait-Jones | 4 – Tied | Mott Athletics Center (1,568) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hawai'i | W 83–44 | 24–4 (14–2) | 19 – Tait-Jones | 6 – Milovich | 5 – Gray | LionTree Arena (3,084) La Jolla, CA |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cal State Northridge | W 77–71 | 25–4 (15–2) | 20 – Tait-Jones | 7 – Tait-Jones | 5 – Gray | Premier America Credit Union Arena (2,098) Northridge, CA |
| March 1, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cal State Fullerton | W 100–55 | 26–4 (16–2) | 21 – Tait-Jones | 6 – Kapic | 5 – Howell | LionTree Arena (2,019) La Jolla, CA |
| March 6, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Long Beach State | W 70–63 | 27–4 (17–2) | 20 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 6 – Howell | LionTree Arena (2,987) La Jolla, CA |
| March 8, 2025 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at UC Davis | W 68–57 | 28–4 (18–2) | 18 – McGhie | 8 – Tait-Jones | 6 – Gray | University Credit Union Center (4,281) Davis, CA |
| Big West tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+/ESPNU | (1) | vs. (5) UC Santa Barbara Semifinals | W 69–51 | 29–4 | 20 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Tait-Jones | 9 – Tait-Jones | Lee's Family Forum Henderson, NV |
| March 15, 2025 6:40 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (2) UC Irvine Championship | W 75–61 | 30–4 | 22 – Gray | 8 – Tait-Jones | 8 – Tait-Jones | Lee's Family Forum (2,632) Henderson, NV |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2025 7:00 pm, TBS | (12 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 14 Michigan First Round | | | | | | Ball Arena Denver, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Pacific. |||||||||
Sources:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |