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 made their first appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2025, their first eligible year after transitioning from NCAA Division II.
At the end of the 2007âÂÂ08 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 2015âÂÂ16, they were the NCAA West Region runners-up. The 2016âÂÂ17 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 2017âÂÂ18, 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.
The Tritons appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament one time. They have a record of 0âÂÂ1.
The Tritons appeared in the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament five times. They have a record of 5âÂÂ5.
UC San Diego appeared in the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament four times. They had a record of 2âÂÂ4.
The Tritons have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once in 2024. Their combined record is 0âÂÂ1.