2024-25 Big West Men’s Basketball: Schedule | Standings | Stats | NCAA Tournament Notes

 What 2 Watch 4 
The UC San Diego Tritons, winner of the 2025 Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by Credit Union 1, are going dancing and headed to Denver, Colo. The Tritons earned the No. 12 seed and will face No. 5 seed Michigan of the Big Ten in the first round of the South Region on Thursday, March 20 at Ball Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT. The advancing team will move on to the second round to face the winner of No. 4 seed Texas A&M and No. 13 seed Yale, Saturday.

UC San Diego (30-4) earned its place in the big dance as The Big West’s automatic qualifier after defeating UC Irvine 75-61 in The Big West Championship title game, Saturday night at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. Michigan (25-9) is also an automatic qualifier after winning the Big Ten Tournament with a 59-53 win over Wisconsin as the third seed.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Michigan and UC San Diego in men’s basketball.

UC San Diego is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in its inaugural year of being postseason eligible after a four-year reclassification period from NCAA Division II.

As a team, UC San Diego has the best turnover margin in the country at +7.2, committing only 8.7 per game (second nationally) and forcing opponents to 15.97 per contest (eighth nationally). The Tritons are also second nationally in steals per game (8.7), second in scoring margin (+18.1), third in assist to turnover ratio (1.82), sixth in scoring defense (61.6) and 11th in field goal percentage defense (.396).

The Tritons are led by senior guard/forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, the Big West Player of the Year and the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, who averages 19.5 points, on 57.6 percent shooting, with 5.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Tait-Jones leads the nation in free throw makes (222) and attempts (293).  Senior guard Hayden Gray has the most steals in the country, logging 3.2 per contest, to go along with 11.2 points and 3.3 assists per game. Senior guard/forward Tyler McGhie makes 3.35 3-pointers per game, the eighth most in NCAA, for a 16.4 points per game average.

 NABC All-District 
Four student-athletes from Big West men’s basketball teams have been selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 2025 Division I All-Pacific District Teams, as voted by NABC member-coaches across the Division I landscape. Additionally, UC San Diego’s Eric Olen was named the district’s Coach of the Year.

UC Irvine senior center Bent Leuchten and UC San Diego senior guard/forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones were first-team selections. Second-team honors went to UC Riverside redshirt sophomore guard Barrington Hargress and UC Irvine senior forward Devin Tillis.

Olen has helmed UC San Diego to a 30-4 record overall with an 18-2 conference mark. The Tritons won the league’s regular season and championship titles, and qualified to the NCAA Tournament. The Tritons were ranked 35 in the latest NCAA NET rankings. Tait-Jones is averaging a league third-best 19.5 points per game, on 57.6 percent shooting, to lead UC San Diego to the regular season and championship titles. The senior also adds 5.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per contest, and leads the country in free throws made (222) and attempted (293). The New Zealand native has garnered several awards already this season including All-Big West First Team, The Big West Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the championship.

Leuchten leads UC Irvine with a 15.4 scoring average and 9.0 rebounds per game, topping the Big West with 17 double-doubles this season which ranks seventh nationally. He has eight 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles on the season, just one of seven players in the nation to complete eight or more. Tillis is second on the Anteaters in points (13.2 PPG) and rebounds (7.6 RPG). The forward posted 22 double figure scoring performances on the season, six of those ending with 20 points or more. Both Leuchten and Tillis were named All-Big West and to the championship’s All-Tournament Team.

Hargress amasses 20.6 points and 4.0 assists per game, and led the Highlanders to a 21-12 overall record, going 14-6 in conference play. The guard from Inglewood, Calif. was an All-Big West First Team honoree.

NABC Release

 All-Big West Awards 
The Big West is proud to announce its 2024-25 men’s basketball all-conference team and individual award winners.

Big West regular season champion UC San Diego were rewarded with five individual awards. The Tritons boast The Big West Player of the Year in senior guard/forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, Coach of the Year in Eric Olen, Best Defensive Player in senior guard Hayden Gray, Best Hustle Player in junior guard Chris Howell and Best Sixth Player in junior guard Justin Rochelin. Freshman of the Year went to UC Irvine guard Jurian Dixon and Newcomer of the Year to Cal State Bakersfield junior guard Jemel Jones.

Tait-Jones started all 32 games and averaged a league third-best 19.7 points per game, on 58.0 percent shooting, to lead UC San Diego to the regular season title. The senior also adds 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest, and leads the country in free throws made (210) and attempted (274). Tait-Jones is the first ever Player of the Year from UC San Diego.

In a 12th year at the helm, fifth in The Big West, Olen has been voted by fellow colleagues as Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. UC San Diego was The Big West’s biggest success story, finishing atop the standings with an 18-2 league record (28-4 overall). The Tritons’ success was recognized nationally, receiving votes in the AP and USA Today Coaches polls, and are 35th in the latest NCAA NET rankings.

Gray led the conference and NCAA in steals at 3.3 per game to earn the reputation of being the top defensive standout. Howell leads the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.9 and is third in steals at 2.2 per contest. The two were catalysts in UC San Diego’s defense that led The Big West in scoring defense (62.0) and turnovers forced (16.3). Gray and Howell are the first Tritons to be named Best Defensive Player and Best Hustle Player, respectively.

Rochelin came off the bench for the Tritons, playing in all 32 games, averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per outing. Rochelin is the second consecutive Triton to win Best Sixth Player after Tyler McGhie earned the accolade last season.

Dixon started 22 of 32 games for UC Irvine, logging 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest. With the rookie’s help, the Anteaters went 27-5 overall and finished second in the conference with a 17-3 record. Dixon is the seventh Anteater to win Freshman of the Year and first since Dawson Baker in 2020-21.

Jones averaged a league fourth-best 19.1 points 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. The CSUB guard has had several offensive outbursts this season including a 45-point performance against CSUN and a 37-point effort including the game-winning buzzer beater at Long Beach State. Jones is the first Roadrunner to win Newcomer of the Year.

Joining Tait-Jones on the 2024-25 All-Big West First Team are UC Riverside redshirt sophomore guard Barrington Hargress, UC Davis senior guard TY Johnson, CSUN senior forward Keonte Jones, UC Irvine senior center Bent Leuchten and UC San Diego senior guard/forward Tyler McGhie. The second team features Gray, Jemel Jones, CSUN sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr., UC Santa Barbara graduate guard Stephan Swenson and UC Irvine redshirt senior forward Devin Tillis.

Johnson finished the regular-season atop the conference’s scoring leaderboard at 21.2 points to go along with 2.7 assists and a league second-best 2.3 steals per game. Hargress was second behind Johnson in scoring at 20.6 points and was fourth in the league with 4.0 assists per game. Keonte Jones topped the conference in rebounds at 9.1 boards, to go along with a conference third-best 4.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Leuchten led The Big West with 16 double-doubles, averaging 15.4 points, on .546 shooting from the floor and .472 from behind the arc, and 9.1 rebounds per contest. McGhie made the most 3-pointers in the league with 111 (3.5 per game) and averages 16.7 points per game.

Along with a defensive prowess, Gray was also stellar on offense averaging 10.9 points and 3.4 assists per contest. Marcus Adams Jr. was the top scorer for the Matadors at 16.5 points, shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from deep, with 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Tillis was the third-leading rebounder in the league behind Leuchten and Keonte Jones at 7.6 boards to go along with 13.1 points per contest at a 53.5 percent clip. Swenson logged 13.0 points, shooting a league second-best 45.1 percent from deep, with 3.6 rebounds and a conference second-most 4.4 assists per game.

2024-25 Men's Basketball All-Big West Team & Award Winners