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DENVER — Michigan basketball is in the Mile High City and the vibes are just as high in March Madness.
The 5-seed Wolverines, fresh off a Big Ten tournament championship, extended their win streak to four games as they survived dangerous 12-seed UC San Diego on Thursday night in a hard-fought 68-65 victory at Ball Arena in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament.
Michigan led the whole way until UCSD’s Tyler McGhie went on a 9-1 run himself to take the first lead of the game, 65-63, for the Tritons with 2:29 to play.
It lasted 17 seconds, however, as Tre Donaldson drilled a deep 3 from the top of the key to put the Wolverines up 66-65 at 2:12.
Vladislav Goldin made two free throws with 19.3 seconds left after an offensive rebound before McGhie missed a 3 just before the buzzer to end the game.
The Wolverines opened the game with a 10-0 run and looked like they would never even potentially let this Cinderella try on a glass slipper. Coach Dusty May’s team led by at least five the whole first half and the lead ballooned to 41-27 when Goldin came away with a loose ball and finished an and-one with 1.7 seconds left in the half.
Out of the break, however, Michigan got punched in the mouth.
ANALYSIS: Michigan struggles vs UC San Diego's 2nd-half adjustments in a nail-biting win
The Tritons went on a 12-0 run in less than three minutes to make it a one-possession game and got as close as 45-44 with 14:40 to play. The Wolverines responded from some unlikely sources.
Will Tschetter and L.J. Cason hit four free throws in a row before Roddy Gayle Jr. made a lefty layup and then Rubin Jones canned a 3 to go back up by 10.
Goldin finished with 14 points and seven rebounds to lead a balanced effort from Michigan, while Danny Wolf scored nine points and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Donaldson finished with 12 points and seven boards and Gayle scored 11. Seven different players scored at least six points and Michigan had 14 assists on 24 made field goals.
Michigan will now prepare to play 4-seed Texas A&M, which knocked off 13-seed Yale 80-71, in the Round of 32 on Saturday (5:15 p.m.).
Get U-M's Big Ten championship poster
UCSD star Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the half, which felt like it may have been the end of the day for the Tritons. Instead, it sparked them. UCSD made four consecutive shots including an and-one layup, a scooping layup and back-to-back 3s to get within 42-39 just more than three minutes into the half.
A Tre Donaldson 3-pointer seemingly stymied the momentum, only for Nordin Kapic to drill a 3 and bring the crowd to its feet. Gray's layup made the score 45-44 Michigan, before the Wolverines responded on a 6-0 push as the Tritons missed five straight shots.
Michigan extend its lead to 10 a few times, on the 3-pointer from Jones, then again on a long ball from Tschetter, before Tait-Jones fouled out with just seven points. Again, the Tritons didn’t flinch, using a 7-2 run to get within five with less than six minutes to play.
Michigan left the door open, making 9 of 15 free throws after the break and UCSD capitalized.
McGhie, who led UCSD with 25 points, made it 63-60 Michigan with a midrange jumper with 3:47 to play before he drilled a 3-ball in Wolf’s face to tie the contest with 3:05 to play. Then his midrange floater gave the Tirtons their first lead.
It lasted 13 seconds as Donaldson drilled a 25-footer from the top of the key to go up one and the Wolverines survived the final few minutes with help from two free throws by Goldin after an offensive rebound.
It couldn’t have been a better start for U-M, which went up 10 less than four minutes into the contest with four baskets from four different players.
UCSD looked like a team that hadn’t been in the moment before, opening the game 0-for-5 from the floor with four turnovers before finally making its first bucket more than five minutes into the game.
Gayle drilled a 3 from the right wing, then after a pair of turnovers led to back-to-back UCSD layups, Michigan scored seven straight. It included a Nimari Burnett 3 from the left wing to go back up 10, before Wolf had a swat at the rim, then sprinted the court, received a pass and finished a finger roll to put U-M up 12.
Tait-Jones finished a layup to make it 28-21, before Michigan closed the half strong. Gayle and Cason both finished tough takes to the rim, then Goldin scored the final seven.
Michigan went 10-for-10 on layups in the first half while UCSD went just 4-for-8.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball score: Wolverines survive UCSD in March Madness
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The 5-seed Wolverines, fresh off a Big Ten tournament championship, extended their win streak to four games as they survived dangerous 12-seed UC San Diego on Thursday night in a hard-fought 68-65 victory at Ball Arena in the first round of the 2025 NCAA tournament.
Michigan led the whole way until UCSD’s Tyler McGhie went on a 9-1 run himself to take the first lead of the game, 65-63, for the Tritons with 2:29 to play.
It lasted 17 seconds, however, as Tre Donaldson drilled a deep 3 from the top of the key to put the Wolverines up 66-65 at 2:12.
MICHIGAN RIPS THE LEAD BACK
BACK AND FORTH WE GO IN DENVERhttps://t.co/Cw7PWdG3Nq#MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/5SNVJ7nOGb
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2025
Vladislav Goldin made two free throws with 19.3 seconds left after an offensive rebound before McGhie missed a 3 just before the buzzer to end the game.
The Wolverines opened the game with a 10-0 run and looked like they would never even potentially let this Cinderella try on a glass slipper. Coach Dusty May’s team led by at least five the whole first half and the lead ballooned to 41-27 when Goldin came away with a loose ball and finished an and-one with 1.7 seconds left in the half.
Out of the break, however, Michigan got punched in the mouth.
ANALYSIS: Michigan struggles vs UC San Diego's 2nd-half adjustments in a nail-biting win
The Tritons went on a 12-0 run in less than three minutes to make it a one-possession game and got as close as 45-44 with 14:40 to play. The Wolverines responded from some unlikely sources.
Will Tschetter and L.J. Cason hit four free throws in a row before Roddy Gayle Jr. made a lefty layup and then Rubin Jones canned a 3 to go back up by 10.
Goldin finished with 14 points and seven rebounds to lead a balanced effort from Michigan, while Danny Wolf scored nine points and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Donaldson finished with 12 points and seven boards and Gayle scored 11. Seven different players scored at least six points and Michigan had 14 assists on 24 made field goals.
Michigan will now prepare to play 4-seed Texas A&M, which knocked off 13-seed Yale 80-71, in the Round of 32 on Saturday (5:15 p.m.).
Get U-M's Big Ten championship poster
How Michigan defeated UCSD
UCSD star Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the half, which felt like it may have been the end of the day for the Tritons. Instead, it sparked them. UCSD made four consecutive shots including an and-one layup, a scooping layup and back-to-back 3s to get within 42-39 just more than three minutes into the half.
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A Tre Donaldson 3-pointer seemingly stymied the momentum, only for Nordin Kapic to drill a 3 and bring the crowd to its feet. Gray's layup made the score 45-44 Michigan, before the Wolverines responded on a 6-0 push as the Tritons missed five straight shots.
Michigan extend its lead to 10 a few times, on the 3-pointer from Jones, then again on a long ball from Tschetter, before Tait-Jones fouled out with just seven points. Again, the Tritons didn’t flinch, using a 7-2 run to get within five with less than six minutes to play.
Michigan left the door open, making 9 of 15 free throws after the break and UCSD capitalized.
McGhie, who led UCSD with 25 points, made it 63-60 Michigan with a midrange jumper with 3:47 to play before he drilled a 3-ball in Wolf’s face to tie the contest with 3:05 to play. Then his midrange floater gave the Tirtons their first lead.
It lasted 13 seconds as Donaldson drilled a 25-footer from the top of the key to go up one and the Wolverines survived the final few minutes with help from two free throws by Goldin after an offensive rebound.
First-half frenzy
It couldn’t have been a better start for U-M, which went up 10 less than four minutes into the contest with four baskets from four different players.
UCSD looked like a team that hadn’t been in the moment before, opening the game 0-for-5 from the floor with four turnovers before finally making its first bucket more than five minutes into the game.
Gayle drilled a 3 from the right wing, then after a pair of turnovers led to back-to-back UCSD layups, Michigan scored seven straight. It included a Nimari Burnett 3 from the left wing to go back up 10, before Wolf had a swat at the rim, then sprinted the court, received a pass and finished a finger roll to put U-M up 12.
Tait-Jones finished a layup to make it 28-21, before Michigan closed the half strong. Gayle and Cason both finished tough takes to the rim, then Goldin scored the final seven.
Michigan went 10-for-10 on layups in the first half while UCSD went just 4-for-8.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball score: Wolverines survive UCSD in March Madness
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