UC San Diego Tritons vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 3/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UC San Diego Tritons vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: UC San Diego (+2)

Ball Arena is the location where the Michigan Wolverines (25-9) will compete against the UC San Diego Tritons (30-4) on Thursday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan opens this matchup as 2-point favorites. The total is set at 142.

The UC San Diego Tritons took the court against UC Irvine and went home with a win by a final score of 75-61 in their last game. UC San Diego ended having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (27 out of 55) and buried 12 out of their 29 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the Tritons converted 9 of 13 attempts for a percentage of 69.2%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 32 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 22 assists in the game while forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When discussing defense, UC San Diego allowed the other team to go 35.1% from the field on 20 of 57 shooting. UC Irvine earned 14 dimes and had 9 steals for the matchup. Additionally, UC Irvine totaled 25 rebounds (4 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. UC Irvine finished 100.0% when shooting free throws by converting 13 of 13 shots. They also made 8 of 29 attempts from beyond the perimeter. When talking about fouls, the Tritons finished with 13 while UC Irvine recorded 12 fouls.

Hayden Gray is a guy who was a major contributor in this game. He scored 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting. He played for 37 minutes and collected 3 boards. He ended up going 80.0% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes.

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UC San Diego heads into this one with a mark of 30-4 for the season. They currently have an average of 79.8 points per outing (44th in college) while connecting on 46.6% from the floor. The Tritons are shooting 36.6% on 3-pointers (368 of 1005) and 74.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, UC San Diego is pulling in 33.9 boards per game and has accounted for 542 assists for the season, which is 31st in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 8.7 times per game and as a unit they are committing 16.4 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Tritons are able to force 16.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 55th in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 379 relinquished for the season. The Tritons defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 39.6% (719 of 1,816) and they relinquish 34.1 rebounds per game as a group. They concede 32.9% on shots from distance and they are ranked 6th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (61.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Michigan Wolverines took home the win by a final score of 59-53 against Wisconsin. The Wolverines snagged 32 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 37 in this game. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while earning 3 steals in the matchup. Wisconsin committed 14 fouls in the game which got the Wolverines to the charity stripe for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to knock down 12 of them for a percentage of 92.3%. When talking about 3-pointers, Michigan made 9 of their 33 attempts (27.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Wolverines finished the game shooting 19 for 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.2%. The Wolverines permitted Wisconsin to bury 15 of 68 tries from the field which had them shooting 22.1% for the contest. They shot 17.9% from beyond the arc by connecting on 7 out of 39 and ended up shooting 16 out of 18 from the free throw line (88.9%). With respect to team rebounding, Michigan permitted Wisconsin to pull down 41 in all (12 offensive).

Tre Donaldson was important for the Wolverines in the matchup. He made 2 of 7 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 28.6%, and accumulated 3 rebounds. He tallied 11 points in his 31 mins on the court and accumulated 8 dimes for this game.

Michigan has a win-loss mark of 25-9 on the year. As an offense, the Wolverines are connecting on 47.4% from the field, which ranks 46th in the nation. Michigan has accounted for 2,661 pts on the campaign (78.3 per game) and they grab 38.2 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 16.1 times per game (36th in the nation) and they are turning it over 14.1 times per contest. The Wolverines are responsible for committing 17.1 fouls per game and they hit 72.8% from the free throw line.

The Wolverines on defense are ranked 158th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 71.2. They are forcing 11.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.2% from the floor (22nd in D-1). The Michigan defense surrenders 31.3% on 3-point shots (260 of 830) and opponents are knocking down 73.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 11.4 assists and 33.5 rebounds every game, which ranks them 41st and 124th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UC San Diego (+2)

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