UC San Diego is scheduled to begin its coronavirus- delayed men’s basketball season Tuesday evening against Saint Katherine University at RIMAC Arena, starting the four-season process of making the transition to NCAA Division I.
The Tritons’ initial plan was to open the season Nov. 10 by playing host to California. That plan was scrapped Aug. 11 when the Pac-12 Conference decided it would postpone its basketball season until at least January. The conference later decided that its men’s basketball season would start Nov. 25 with the rest of Division I.
UC San Diego was then scheduled to begin its season against San Diego Christian College on Sunday, but the game was canceled due to coronavirus testing concerns involving the Hawks.
After 20 seasons in NCAA Division II, UC San Diego’s entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
The Tritons are scheduled to play a Big West Conference schedule this season, beginning Jan. 1 at Cal Poly. However, they are not eligible to compete in Big West or NCAA postseason events and will not be included in the conference standings and did not appear in the preseason poll.
UC San Diego players will be eligible for individual Big West honors such as the all-conference team and Player of the Year.
The Tritons had a school-best 30-1 record in the 2019-20 season, winning their final 22 games, their longest winning streak in its NCAA Division II era, 2000-01 to 2019-20.
UC San Diego ended the season with a 76-62 victory over Cal Poly Pomona in the CCAA Tournament championship game March 7. The Tritons had qualified for the NCAA West Regional, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
UC San Diego returns one starter from last season’s team, guard Mikey Howell, who averaged 6.6 points and a team-high 6.9 assists per game. Two other starters opted out because of the coronavirus pandemic, guard Tyrell Roberts, who averaged a team-high 19.2 points, and forward Marek Sullivan, who averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
San Marcos-based Saint Katherine University is affiliated with the Orthodox Church. It competes on the NAIA level, but has faced six Division I opponents, and Dixie State, which like UC San Diego is beginning the four- season transition to Division I, losing all seven games by an average of 43 points.
The 6:02 p.m. game will be streamed on BigWest.TV.
The Tritons will also face the Firebirds Wednesday at 4:02 p.m. at RIMAC Arena, in a game that will also be streamed on BigWest.TV.
–City News Service
