Michigan survives scare vs. UC San Diego, advances in NCAA Tournament

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Mar 21, 2025

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DENVER —The Michigan Wolverines are second round-bound.

It didn’t come easy, and Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first-round matchup certainly had its tense moments.

But like No. 5 seed Michigan has done all season, it found a way to get the job done. After letting a 15-point second-half lead slip away, Tre Donaldson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final two minutes and Michigan hung on late for a 68-65 win over No. 12 seed UC San Diego at Ball Arena.

Vlad Goldin had 14 points and several key offensive rebounds in the final minute and Donaldson finished with 12 points for Michigan (26-9).

The Wolverines advance to face No. 4 seed Texas A&M (23-10), an 80-71 winner over No. 13 seed Yale, in the Round of 32 on Saturday. Game time is TBA.

After Michigan controlled the first half, led by 14 at the break and went up 42-27 early in the second half, UC San Diego shifted the momentum with a 17-4 flurry. A Michigan turnover preceded a three-point play. An offensive rebound led to two free throws. Another steal by the Tritons was followed by a 3-pointer by Tyler McGhie to cap a string of 12 straight points.

Donaldson provided a brief reprieve with a 3-pointer before a driving layup by Hayden Gray capped UC San Diego’s run and trimmed Michigan’s lead to 45-44 with 14:40 to play.

The Wolverines pushed back and countered with a run of their own. Danny Wolf made a layup to snap a four-minute field-goal drought. Rubin Jones canned a 3-pointer. UCSD went five minutes without a made field goal as the margin widened to 56-46 at the 11:10 mark.

Michigan was far from out of the woods. The Wolverines left points at the free-throw line and made one basket over a nearly seven-minute stretch. The Tritons made them pay. McGhie scored seven straight points to give UC San Diego its first lead, 65-63, with 2:29 to go.

Donaldson quickly answered with a 3-pointer to put Michigan back in front during a hectic finish. After getting a stop, Michigan grabbed two offensive rebounds and killed some clock but came up empty as Goldin missed a putback attempt.

The Wolverines got another stop on defense before Goldin came away with another offensive rebound, drew a foul and made two free throws to make it 68-65 with 19 seconds left. Michigan held on from there, as McGhie 3-pointer in the closing seconds was off the mark.

McGhie scored 25 on 27 shots and Nordin Kapic added 15 points for UC San Diego (30-5). Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, the Big West Player of the Year, finished with seven points and four rebounds before he fouled out with 6:57 left in the game.

The Tritons pride themselves of winning the possession battle and taking a bunch of 3-pointers. They won the turnover battle 14-8 and shot 23.3% from 3-point range (7-for-30).

The Wolverines scored the first 10 points of the game, including a pair of 3-pointers from Nimari Burnett and Wolf. The Tritons, a team that is among the best in the nation at taking care of the ball, turned it over on their first three possessions.

Michigan’s size was bothersome on both ends. Goldin got position inside in the post and scored easily at the rim. Wolf intercepted a pass to thwart a second-chance opportunity and swatted a reverse layup attempt out of bounds. The Wolverines contested every UCSD’s 3-point attempt.

The Tritons didn’t score their first basket until five minutes into the game before Michigan had a string of poor possessions and turnovers that led to points. A turnover by Roddy Gayle Jr. on the perimeter led to a fast-break basket the other way. UCSD turned a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass into a layup to make it 15-8.

Michigan pushed the margin back to double figures. Wolf blocked a layup attempt from behind to spark a fast-break opportunity that he finished with a driving layup. A string of seven straight points gave Michigan a 20-8 lead with 10:20 left in the first half.

The Tritons, a team that takes and makes a lot of 3-pointers, missed their first nine 3-point attempts before they got one to drop. They created steals as they do so well but struggled to finish around the rim against Michigan’s length. Despite turning the ball over nine times in the first half, the Wolverines maintained control with sound defense and by making half their shots.

UC San Diego had no answer for Goldin, who took over down the stretch. He put the ball on the deck and scored on a scooping, left-handed layup. He scored a couple easy baskets at the rim. He corralled an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play to give Michigan a 41-27 lead at the break.