DENVER, COLORADO – MARCH 20: Tyler McGhie #13 of the UC San Diego Tritons drives against Vladislav Goldin #50 of the Michigan Wolverines during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Ball Arena on March 20, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Tyler McGhie led the Tritons to a near comeback win over Michigan, but a last second three-pointer drew iron and ended hopes of the program's first NCAA Tournament win.
The five-seed Wolverines held on for a 68-65 win. They will face four-seed Texas A&M in the second round.
McGhie finished with 25 points, including the last nine for the 12-seed Tritons. Down three on their final possession the senior guard got matched up with Michigan seven-footer Danny Wolf and misfired on a contested shot from long range.
The Tritons were not their usually efficient selves on offense, making just 24 of their 62 field goal attempts and seven of 30 shots from beyond the arc.
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UC San Diego got off to a sluggish start. Michigan scored the game's first 10 points, with UC San Diego committing three turnovers before attempting their first shot. They came up empty on their first six shots from the field.
Early in the second half Eric Olen's group showed flashes of the team that won 15 straight and had the second highest scoring margin in the nation. After Michigan stretched its lead to 15 the Tritons went on a 12-0 run. Tyler McGhie drilled a three-pointer to make it 42-39.
The Big Ten champions pushed their lead back to 10 after a Will Tschetter three. UC San Diego scored five unanswered keep it close. McGhie drove baseline and rolled in a reverse layup to get it back to four points, 62-58.
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McGhie then took over. The Tritons' senior guard scored seven straight points, including a step back three-pointer that gave UC San Diego a temporary 65-63 advantage. Tre Donaldson answered with a three-pointer that put Michigan ahead for good.
Vladislav Goldin led the way for Michigan with 14 points.
UC San Diego had to finish the game without Big West Player of the Year Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, who fouled out with 6:57 left in the game.
