The NCAA’s annual March Madness men’s and women’s championship basketball tournament was over before it even began for local college teams, all of which were eliminated in their opening contests.
The 12th-seeded UC San Diego men’s team, regular season and Big West Conference tournament champions, lost 68-65 in a first-round matchup against fifth-seeded Michigan in the South Regional to end its season with an overall 30-5 record.
The Tritons’ history-making showing as a first-time entrant in the high-profile tournament was the best among the four local teams. UC San Diego fell behind 10-0 in the early minutes and trailed 41-27 at halftime but reversed course with a frantic comeback that fell three points short in what turned into a riveting contest in front of a sellout crowd of 19,303 at Ball Arena.
Senior Tyler McGhie poured in 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his final NCAA appearance to highlight the Tritons’ upset bid while teammate Nordin Kapic tacked on 15 points and eight rebounds as the Wolverines snapped UC San Diego’s nation-best 15-game winning streak.
UC San Diego outscored Michigan 9-0 over a 1:45 span to narrow the deficit to six points. McGhie and Kapic floated in back-to-back three-point shots to further narrow the lead to three points at 45-42.
McGhie tied the game, 63-all, on another trey. His jump-shot with 2:29 to play put the Tritons ahead 65-63. However, Michigan’s Tre Donaldson countered with a three-pointer to put the Wolverines back in front, 66-65
UC San Diego made a last-second three-point shot that fell off the mark as Michigan held on for the win.
McGhie finished his career with 117 treys — a single-season school record.
No. 14-ranked Michigan (26-9) advanced to the second round where the Wolverines upset fourth-seeded (19th-ranked) Texas A&M by a 91-79 score.
The San Diego State University men, a quarterfinalist in this year’s Mountain West Conference tournament, vied with fellow No. 11 seed North Carolina in a First Four matchup. The Tar Heels won 95-68 to move on against No. 6 Ole Miss in the South Regional. Ole Miss eliminated North Carolina, 71-64, in a much closer game on the scoreboard to advance to the Sweet Sixteen against No. 2 Michigan State University.
On the women’s side, Mountain West Conference champion SDSU received the No. 14 seed in the Spokane One Regional and exited the tournament following a disappointing 103-48 loss to third-seeded LSU a first-round matchup while Big West Conference tournament champion UC San Diego (20-16) saw its championship hopes evaporate in a 68-56 setback to the Southern University Lady Jaguars (21-14) in a First Four pairing of No. 16 seeds.
No. 4 UC San Diego defeated No. 3 UC Davis, 75-66, to capture the Big West tournament and, in the process, make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Gracie Gallegos led the Lady Tritons with 24 points in the March 15 game in Henderson, Nev., while Sabrina Ma chipped in with 15 points. Sophomore Sumayah Sugapong (La Jolla Country Day) tacked on 11 points.
Gallegos and Sugapong keyed UC San Diego with seven rebounds apiece.
Senior forward Kayanna Spriggs, a Mater Dei Catholic High School alumna, collected three points in the championship contest while collecting five rebounds and making one steal.
Spriggs, who played three seasons at CSU-Northridge before transferring to UC San Diego, averaged 13.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game as a senior to help the Lady Crusaders claim the San Diego Section Division 2-AA regional championship (56-42 over Bishop Alemany) after averaging 15.1 ppg and 12.7 rpg as a junior.
A two-time team MVP, she recorded 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds at the Chula Vista school.
Sugapong, a Big West Freshman of the Year, helped the Lady Torres win a MaxPreps national championship in 2019. LJCD won section titles in both 2019 and 2021.
Red and Black
It was a statistical nightmare for the SDSU men in the lopsided loss to North Carolina. The Tar Heels shot 57.6 percent from the floor to the Aztecs’ 39.7 percent. North Carolina dropped in 14 treys to eight for SDSU and mastered the free throw line with 21 of 24 (87.5 percent) to 14 of 23 (60.9 percent) for the Montezuma Mesans.
Nicholas Boyd and Wayne McKinney III paced the Aztecs with 12 points apiece, followed by forward Magoon Gwath and guard B.J Davis with nine points each.
R.J. Davis led UNC with 26 points while Seth Trimble added 16 points.
The Lady Aztecs, who had their eight-game win streak snapped in the loss to the 10th-ranked Lady Tigers, finished with a final 25-10 record. LSU, which most recently won a NCAA title in 2023, jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the regional opener, led by 17 points at the end of the first quarter and 29 points at halftime.
SDSU was playing in its first NCAA tournament game since 2012. Senior Adryana Quezada keyed the Lady Aztecs from the long dry spell with eight points while senior Jazlen Green and frosh Nat Martinez each added seven points.
However, SDSU could not overcome Flau’Joe Johnson’s 22 points and four steals as well as Aneesa Morrow’s double-double (12 points and 12 rebounds).
The Lady Tigers improved to 29-5 while advancing to the next round against sixth-seeded Florida State.
Photo by Chadd Cady/SDSU Athletics
Freshman Kaelyn Hamilton helped lead the SDSU women’s basketball team to an appearance in this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL STANDINGS
BIG WEST CONFERENCE
MEN’S STANDINGS
Conference/Overall
UC San Diego 18-2, 30-5
UC Irvine 17-3, 30-6
UC Riverside 14-6, 21-13
CSU Northridge 14-6, 22-11
UC Santa Barbara 11-9, 21-13
UC Davis 9-11, 15-17
Cal Poly 8-12, 16-19
CSU Bakersfield 8-12, 14-19
Hawaii 7-13, 15-16
Long Beach State 3-17, 7-25
Cal State Fullerton 1-19, 6-26
BIG WEST CONFERENCE
WOMEN’S STANDINGS
Conference/Overall
Hawaii 16-4, 22-10
UC Irvine 15-5, 21-10
UC Davis 13-7, 21-12
UC San Diego 13-7, 20-16
UC Santa Barbara 12-8, 18-13
Long Beach State 12-8, 16-14
UC Riverside 12-8, 17-15|
Cal Poly 8-12, 14-18
CSU Fullerton 5-15, 7-23
CSU Northridge 2-18. 4-25|
CSU Bakersfield 2-18, 2-28
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
MEN’S STANDINGS
Conference/Overall
New Mexico 17-3, 27-8
|Colorado State 16-4, 26-10
Utah State 15-5, 26-8|
Boise State 14-6, 24-10
San Diego State 14-6, 21-10
UNLV 11-9, 18-15
Nevada 8-12, 17-16
San Jose State 7-13, 15-20
|Wyoming 5-15, 12-20
Fresno State 2-18, 6-26
|Air Force 1-19, 4-28
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
WOMEN’S STANDINGS
Conference/Overall|
UNLV 16-2, 26-8
|Wyoming 14-4, 22-12
|Colorado State 13-5, 22-10
San Diego State 11-7, 25-10
New Mexico 11-7, 25-10
Fresno State 8-10, 19-15
Boise State 7-11, 18-15
Air Force 7-11, 18-15
Nevada 6-12, 11-21
San Jose State 3-15. 10-22|Utah State 3-15, 4-27
