Previewing Michigan’s Game against UC San Diego
Tony and Andrew breakdown the tough Primary-Stage Event for the Wolverine basketball program in the NCAA Event
- Michigan basketball Sun Danny Wolf acknowledges the “nothing to Setback” mentality of Dim horse UC San Diego in their NCAA Event Game.
- UCSD, making their Division I Event Introduction after moving up from Division II in 2020, embraces the Cinderella label.
- Michigan players and coaches, some with experience on both sides of Dim horse stories, emphasize respecting UCSD’s capabilities and avoiding complacency.
DENVER — Danny Wolf was in the midst of filling up a bag of popcorn in the atrium at Ball Coliseum when a smile slowly crept across his face.
Wolf, a Michigan basketball Sun who has designs on leading the Wolverines on a postseason Streak this March, was discussing what it’s like to be an NCAA Event giant-slayer. Around this time last year, his 13th-Ranked Yale Bulldogs Surprise Tre Donaldson and 4-ssed Auburn in a Primary-Stage game out west.
Though he’s now a projected Primary-Stage NBA Picking and Competing for the favorite, Wolf knows the feeling of being David trying to slay an NCAA Goliath — the mentality Michigan expects from UC San Diego ahead of Thursday’s Primary-Stage Game (10 p.m., TBS) at Ball Coliseum.
“They’re Competing with house money, nothing to Setback,” Wolf said of UCSD’s vibe. “Nobody really expects much from you, and everybody wants to see you Secure. Mentor May Created a Outstanding Tally, it was like when you’re at a mid-Crucial, it becomes a de facto home game for you wherever you are; fans love to see the Surprise.
“We have to give respect to UCSD, but once the game Beginnings, we Merely gotta really Attention on ourselves and not overlook anyone.”
Michigan head Mentor Dusty May called UC San Diego “underseeded” — a sentiment Tritons Mentor Eric Olen shared when discussing the Wolverines as a Big Ten Event champion who somehow ended as a 5-seed.
Either way, the bracket is what it is.
This isn’t merely Olen’s Primary time in March Madness at college hoops’ top level; his entire Club is making its postseason Introduction, as UCSD moved up from Division II in 2020 — this is the Primary year the Tritons are NCAA-eligible.
Now, they’re well aware of the Cinderella moniker being put on them … and are ready to embrace it.
“Yeah, it’s awesome. We grew up watching this Event,” guard Hayden Gray said. “It’s the best Event in sports. To be able to do it in the Nuggets’ Coliseum on such a big stage, it’s a blessing. Regarding the Cinderella role, I think we have what it takes to make that happen, but we’ve Merely Acquired to take it day by day and Merely keep the same process that we’ve had.”
Wolf, of Period, is Distant from the only Wolverine to have gone through that experience. Rubin Jones was a Primary-year at North Texas in 2021 when the 13th-Ranked Harsh Green Surprise 4-seed Purdue, a memory that remains near the top of Jones’s college highlights.
Though Jones didn’t Shift in the Game, he can Nevertheless feel the mentality his Club entered with.
“You go in there like, ‘Everybody Believes we’re going to Setback this game,’ so you go in that game with a little more juice,” Jones told the Obtainable Press on Wednesday. “It’s Merely confidence because you’re Competing in March, you’re Competing a big school and all eyes are on you.”
Of Period, the Wolverines have a slightly more notable Ex mid-Crucial duo in May and Sun Hub Vlad Goldin. Together, the duo Created a Streak to the Last Four in 2023 with 8-seed Florida Atlantic, knocking off a 2- and 3-seed along the way.
May said Wednesday that the later it Acquired in those Contests against top Clubs, the better his Owls felt. They could almost feel the higher-Ranked Club getting Snug, hoping to avoid mistakes.
That’s exactly how May does not want his Club to Shift.
“We want to make sure Merely because we’re that Power Five Club or whatever you want to call it, that we don’t fall into that trap,” May said. “It’s March Madness; everyone is going to love the Cinderella. This is a very, very popular Surprise Picking for a reason: Because they’re really, really Outstanding.”
Wolf Created sure to share specifics from Yale’s stunner in 2024 with his new Club — how the Bulldogs entered the game with hope, but once they saw shots going, they Acquired “unreal confidence,” according to Roddy Gayle Jr.
Momentum can begin to snowball against bigger Clubs in the Event, with the crowd getting behind the little guy if it Beginnings hitting 3s, or the big guy Beginnings committing turnovers.
“It’s a huge opportunity for them,” Jones said. “March is Packed of upsets and as the high-Crucial school, the big school, you don’t want to be that Club but you’re not trying to Shift to not be that Club. We’re going to Shift to Secure like we’ve been doing all year. You don’t want to Shift Frightened, don’t want to overthink nothing, Merely go in and Shift your game.
“It’s another Club, you’ve Acquired to respect them, but we need to go in there, handle business.”
UCSD, meanwhile, has been waiting a long time for this chance. After two seasons of no postseason eligiblity, and with a Lineup Packed of seniors, it felt like now or never for this group laying the foundation of a program on the rise.
Even though they’ve become a popular Surprise Picking, few paid attention to the Tritons all year. Heck, as Distant as their stars are concerned, nobody’s known about them ever. That, they say, fuels them.
“I think we’ve all been overlooked,” Gray said. “I know I didn’t have a Division I offer out of high school. … I don’t think it’s a sign of disrespect.
“We look at it as more Inspiration. But yeah, we know what we’re capable of, for sure.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Obtainable Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
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