First Look: UC San Diego Tritons

Michigan played its best basketball since January at the Big Ten Tournament over the weekend and was rewarded with a 5 seed and a matchup with a top-40 KenPom opponent. The Wolverines are headed to Denver to face the UC San Diego Tritons on a quick turnaround and at altitude.

The Tritons finished 30-4 (18-2 Big West) this season and won their conference tournament to punch their ticket to the Big Dance. Led by Eric Olen, one of the hottest young coaches in the sport, UC San Diego has made the jump up to Division I seamlessly, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in their first eligible season after the NCAA-mandated four-year transition period.

In their five years in Division I, the Tritons have climbed from the 200s in KenPom to 130th last year and now up to 36th this year. With that gaudy KenPom ranking, it should be no surprise that they are the highest-rated 12 seed and rated higher than 11 tournament teams with better seeds. The KenPom spread is set at an uncomfortable 3 points, and UCSD is unsurprisingly one of the most popular upset picks of the first round.

The most impressive part of UCSD’s success is that a group of Division II transfers has emerged as an NCAA Tournament team. Four starters are up transfers from Division II and the fifth is a transfer who played at Saint Mary’s (where Michigan assistant Justin Joyner was previously on staff).

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones is the name to know

New Zealand native Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones is the star of the show. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Kiwi transferred up from Hawaii-Hilo and has grown into UC San Diego’s go-to guy over the past two seasons, earning Big West Player of the Year honors this season.