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2025 NCAA tournament: UCSD crosses out M's on signs around campus ahead of Michigan game

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•03/19/25
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(Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

In a move that’s certain to make plenty of Ohio State fans out there happy, UC San Diego decided to do something special on their campus ahead of their highly anticipated first round showdown with the Michigan Wolverines on Thursday. The Tritons are preparing for their NCAA Tournament matchup with the Wolverines in Denver, and UCSD decided to cross out all of the M’s on the signs around campus ahead of the game.

More on the UCSD-Michigan matchup

The 12th-seeded Tritons have “upset” on their minds, and they’re loaded with plenty of weaponry coming into the game. The won a share of their first regular season Division I conference title in school history. They also happen to be one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball coming into this one.

UCSD lost their season opener to San Diego State, but they’ve rattled off 30 wins since, posting an impressive record of 30-4 overall. They also are the proud owners of a 15-game win streak. They’re excellent at converting turnovers into points and scoring in a variety of ways.

The Tritons don’t make many mistakes, ranking second in the nation in fewest turnovers and No. 1 in turnover margin. Michigan has been a turnover machine, ranking 334th in turnovers and turnover margin this year.

UCSD has made ten or more threes 20 times and is 19-1 in those games, with their only blemish coming against the San Diego State Aztecs. The straw that stirs the drink for the Tritons is Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, who leads their team in points, rebounds, and assists.

He’s averaging 3.7 assists per game and was excellent at finding his open teammates in the Big West Tournament. He finished with eight assists in their championship game, with nine coming in the semifinal.

Tait-Jones has dished out at least four assists in 10 of his last 12 outings and also didn’t record fewer than three assists in any of those games. UCSD also plays fantastic defense, allowing just 61.6 points per game, ranking them sixth in the country. The Tritons also force 15.9 turnovers per game–eighth in the country in that stat category.

The NCAA Selection Committee certainly didn’t do the Big Ten Tourney Champions any favors by giving them a No. 5 seed. The Maize and Blue had the fourth-most Quad 1 wins of any team this season, going 12-7 in those games. Even though Michigan beat Purdue and Wisconsin twice this year, the Badgers got a No. 3 seed, and the Boilermakers were tabbed a No. 4 seed.

It should be a battle on Thursday night. We’ll see who comes out on top on one of the best days for college basketball of the entire year.