Wolverine Digest

Predicting final score of Michigan basketball vs. UC San Diego in NCAA Tournament

The Michigan Wolverines take on UC San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

Trent Knoop, Chris Breiler, Jerred Johnson

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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The first round of the NCAA Tournament is set to tip on Thursday afternoon. Michigan men's basketball fans will have to wait quite a while to watch their Wolverines. Michigan won't play until 10 pm ET in Denver, and it won't be an easy task. The fifth-seeded Wolverines will take on No. 12 seed UC San Diego which went 30-4 this season.

Here's a look at the Michigan On SI staff predictions:

Michigan Basketball
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Trent's Prediction:

The Tritons are rolling on a 15-game win streak and UC San Diego plays some great defense. UC San Diego gives up the sixth-fewest points per game and its also eighth in the country forcing 15.9 turnovers per game. The Wolverines are 336th in the country turning it over 14.3 times per game.
UC San Diego has four players who average over 10 points games and it also has four players who average nearly 30 minutes per game. Depth could become an issue for the Tritons playing in The Mile High.

Michigan turned a corner in the Big Ten Tournament with improved guard play and 3-point shooting. With the Wolverines' size advantage and elite bigs with Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, Michigan could cruise to a first-round win if it takes care of the basketball. Don't play into the Tritons' hands with bad passes, Tre Donaldson continues his hot play, and the Wolverines should see Roud 2.

Michigan 74, UC San Diego 61

Chris' Prediction:

The Wolverines are riding the momentum of defeating Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin en route to winning the Big Ten Tournament championship. And although Michigan looked impressive in Indy, there are still concerns about which Wolverine squad will show up in the NCAA Tournament. Are we going to get the version of Michigan that plays clean, confident, and aggressive? Or do we see the version of Michigan that looks timid, is careless with the ball, and struggles to hit shots from beyond the arc?

UC San Diego is a veteran team that's currently riding a 15-game winning streak. Given the fact that UCSD excels at creating turnovers and taking care of the ball, it could spell trouble for the Wolverines if the fall back into old habits from the regular season.

Ultimately, I think Michigan's size - primarily with the 7-foot duo of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin - creates too many issues for the Tritons on Thursday night. Michigan slows down the game, wins the rebound battle, and limits costly turnovers.

Michigan 71, UC San Diego 67

Jerred's Prediction:

The UC San Diego Tritons possess key elements that many past Cinderella teams have also utilized to make storied runs in the NCAA Tournament: veteran leadership, three-point shooting and a lower seed with lower expectations. They lack height and bench depth, and are one of the lowest rated offensive rebounding teams in the field. But they do shoot almost 50 threes a game at a rate of over 36 percent, which looks scary on paper.

The Wolverines need to come out ready for the Tritons to turn things into a track meet. Racing up and down the floor looking for transition three-point shots, while avoiding the lane and the length of Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf. In the end, the Wolverines have more talent and depth. They will wear the Tritons down and I think they will ultimately punch their ticket to the round of 32.

Michigan 81, UC San Diego 72.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.

Jerred Johnson
JERRED JOHNSON

Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration.

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