No. 5 seed Michigan holds off UC San Diego 68-65 in March Madness nailbiter
DENVER (AP) — Vladislav Goldin and Michigan proved a bit too much for UC San Diego when the Russian center scored 14 points Thursday night and the fifth-seeded Wolverines overcame Tyler McGhie's 25 points to escape with a 68-65 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
McGhie's 3-point attempt at the buzzer with 7-footer Danny Wolf in his face hit the back iron and the Wolverines and their fans finally exhaled.
Michigan advanced to face fourth-seeded Texas A&M in the South Region. The Aggies turned away Yale 80-71 at Ball Arena earlier in the evening.
McGhie's bucket with 2:29 left gave the 12th-seeded Tritons their only lead at 65-63. Tre Donaldson, who was on the Auburn team that was upset by Yale in last year's NCAA Tournament, responded with a 3-pointer to restore Michigan's lead.
Goldin, who picked up his fourth foul at the 8:25 mark, grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled with 19.3 seconds left. He sank both to make it 68-65.
The Tritons (30-5), who moved up from Division II in 2020, won the Big West regular-season and tournament titles and earned the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid in their first season of Division I eligibility.
The Tritons brought the nation's longest winning streak into March Madness, having won 15 straight since their last loss on Jan. 18.
But the Big Dance, the big stage, the bright lights — not to mention coach Dusty May's talented Wolverines (26-9), who made an unlikely run to the Big 10 Tournament title, looked like they would be too much for the Tritons.
UC San Diego settled in, however, after a slow start and put a scare into Michigan.
The Tritons didn't score for more than five minutes to start the game — they didn't even get a shot off for more than two minutes. Michigan reeled off the first 10 points before McGhie drove to the hoop and scored UC San Diego's first basket at the 14:55 mark.
Goldin's three-point play with 1.8 seconds left sent Michigan into halftime with a 41-27 lead and he opened the second half with a free throw for a 15-point cushion.
He picked up his fourth foul at the 8:25 mark and wouldn't score again until the final seconds.
The NCAA required UC San Diego to wait five years to be eligible for March Madness following its move to Division I. Coach Eric Olen built the team with help from the transfer portal by bringing in three D-II stars — guards Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, McGhie and Hayden Gray.
Tait-Jones averaged 19.5 points but was held to seven by Michigan.
Remember him?
Two years ago, Goldin was a key player on FAU's Final Four team. When Michigan fired coach Juwan Howard and hired May away from FAU a year ago, the new coach brought his old center with him to Ann Arbor.
Together, they orchestrated the Wolverines' turnaround from an 8-24 campaign in Howard's final season to finish second in the Big Ten before dispatching Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin in the conference tournament.
Missed call
Will Tschetter's 3-pointer that made it 59-49 shouldn't have counted because he was out of bounds when he caught the pass. The officials missed it.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
40 minutes ago
- USA Today
Iowa baseball star earns Perfect Game All-American honors
Iowa baseball star earns Perfect Game All-American honors After a stellar junior campaign with the Hawkeyes, Iowa baseball ace pitcher Cade Obermueller has been named a Perfect Game third-team All-American. The left-hander is the Hawkeyes' first All-American honoree since Brody Brecht and Keaton Anthony earned it in 2023. The Iowa City, Iowa native earned the third-team All-America distinction after going 5-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 15 starts. He posted five quality starts and fanned 117 batters over 83.1 innings. His 117 punchouts rank second all-time in program history for strikeouts in a season. The highlight of Obermueller's 2024-25 season was his complete-game performance at Northwestern on March 4. In that game, he recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts while giving up only one hit, one run, and one base-on-balls in a 12-1 Hawkeyes run-rule win. Obermueller's third-team All-American honors add to his growing list of accomplishments from the past season, which now includes a 2025 All-Big Ten Tournament team and an ABCA/Rawlings NCAA All-Midwest Region first-team selection. While Obermueller could be in line for more honors following the conclusion of the 2025 College World Series later this month, a potential return for his senior season with the Hawkeyes could be vital to the program's success as they hope to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Michigan football secures 9th commit, beats Notre Dame for Alister Vallejo
While there was a lot of consternation from Michigan football fans about the 2026 recruiting class just a week (or less) ago, that has to be dissipating at this point. The Wolverines managed to secure a big commitment on Monday with Chicago (Ill.) Simeon four-star edge rusher McHale Blade spurning Notre Dame for the maize and blue. Just 24 hours later, the question was: could Michigan upset the Irish yet again with a commitment that was supposed to end up in South Bend? Advertisement On Tuesday morning, Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore put out the proverbial bat signal, indicating a commitment was nigh. And one target set to decide on Tuesday evening who appeared Notre Dame-bound might just end up in a winged helmet instead. Alister Vallejo commits to Michigan football Somewhat of a Mason Graham clone, Michigan actually offered 2026 Liberty Hill (Tx.) four-star defensive tackle Alister Vallejo one day before Notre Dame, on April 13. However, he appeared to be a strong Irish lean throughout much of the process. And, given that he has not yet visited Ann Arbor (his official visit is set for June 13), would he pledge to the amzie and blue sight unseen? It appears the answer is yes, as he made the announcement for Michigan over Notre Dame and Kansas on Tuesday night. 247Sports is the sole service that has Vallejo as a four-star, while ESPN is the one recruiting site that has yet to give him a rating altogether. He is the first interior defensive line commit for Michigan this cycle. Michigan has two edge rushers pledged in Tariq Boney and the aforementioned McHale Blade. Scouting report The scouting report via 247Sports' Gabe Brooks: Verifiably big with requisite frame to survive and potentially thrive in the trenches at the high-major level. Checks multi-sport box with encouraging shot put data. Excellent production for an interior D-line projection with 18 sacks, 26 hurries, 5 kick blocks across past two seasons (sophomore-junior). Serious forward juice with impressive linear closing speed relative to mass. Shows promising redirecting ability. Moves around with some role flexibility in a primarily odd front. Big/strong enough to back up traffic, athletic enough to penetrate and make plays on the ball. Can get caught flat-footed. Still room to improve balance and body control i.e. eliminating wasted motion upon disengagement and pursuit initiation. Potentially scheme-versatile iDL with dominant high school tape against solid comp. Projects as a quality high-major D-line piece who could develop into an NFL Draft candidate down the road. Advertisement Vallejo checks in at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds going into his senior year. Junior film The 2026 class Vallejo is the ninth commitment of the 2026 class. He's the 443rd-rated prospect according to the 247Sports Composite and the second pledge from the state of Texas in the class. Using these metrics, here is the class thus far: Newbury Park (Calif.) four-star QB Brady Smigiel (No. 82 overall, 7th QB, 11th in California) Chicago (Ill.) Simeon four-star EDGE McHale Blade (No. 169 overall, 21st EDGE, 5th in Illinois) Billings (Mont.) West four-star TE Matt Ludwig (No. 220 overall, 11th TE, 1st in Montana ) Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin four-star CB Brody Jennings (No. 275 overall, 23rd CB, 42nd in Florida) Cartersville (Ga.) Cass four-star IOL Bear McWhorter (No. 399 overall, 33rd IOL, 48th in Georgia) Liberty Hill (Tx.) three-star DL Alister Vallejo (No. 443 overall, 48th DL, 61st in Texas) Denver (Colo.) Mullen three-star TE Mason Bonner (No. 593 by 247Sports Composite; 30th TE, 5th in Colorado) Dallas (Tx.) Parish Episcopal three-star WR Jaylen Pile (No. 702 overall, 103rd WR, 113th in Texas) Washington (D.C.) St. John's three-star EDGE Tariq Boney (No. 783 overall, 71st EDGE, 4th in D.C.) This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football lands 9th commit in 2026 class in DT Alister Vallejo
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Diversity in College World Series field reminds us what college sports is all about
Diversity in College World Series field reminds us what college sports is all about Show Caption Hide Caption Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams on cover of EA Sports College Football '26 EA Sports chose Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Alabama's Ryan Williams to be on the cover of College Football '26. We talk to the athletes about what this moment means to them. This week, with the approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement, college sports officially split into two. The power conference schools are going to pay their athletes, make their own rules and take the responsibility of enforcement and punishment from an NCAA that was never very good at it in the first place. Is there fear and resentment across the rest of the college sports landscape about where this is all headed? Of course there is. Schools at the lower end of Division I see a power grab led by the Big Ten and SEC and wonder if the clock is ticking on their conference's automatic access to NCAA championships and perhaps even a full divorce. To many folks in the smaller conferences, it feels like they're paying the price for a problem they didn't cause. But in a world where it increasingly feels like the new financial realities of the Big Ten and SEC are driving a land grab for postseason bids, starting with the College Football Playoff but undoubtedly trickling down to every sport in the future, this year's College World Series shows why some traditions are worth preserving. The eight teams that advanced to Omaha over the last few days represent seven different conferences: The SEC (LSU and Arkansas) The Big 12 (Arizona) The ACC (Louisville) The Big Ten (UCLA) The Sun Belt (Coastal Carolina) The Missouri Valley (Murray State) The Pac-12 (Kind of. Oregon State played as an independent this season but was crucial in the effort to resurrect a new Pac-12, which will begin play in the 2026-27 academic year.) Is such a huge conference spread a bit of an anomaly? Absolutely. In recent renditions of the CWS, you'll see a whole lot of SEC and ACC representation, some strong Big 12 and Pac-12 programs (before it imploded) and your occasional interloper from outside the power conferences. But this year's field underscores a very simple point that the SEC and Big Ten would be wise to remember as they go about the business of remaking college sports: At the end of the day, competition is what this is all about. And even if that means you come up on the short end some years, it's nothing to be afraid of. That's just sports. Though we can find a thousand things the NCAA has done wrong on its journey toward the professionalization of college sports, it did one thing that was really genius. In constructing its format for national championship tournaments, it ensured that all Division I conferences would be represented by an automatic qualifier. This means that when the men's basketball players at SIU-Edwardsville began last season, they could dream of playing in March Madness. Was there a realistic chance to win a national championship? Of course not. Were they even likely to win a game? Heck no. Were they better than dozens of basketball teams who missed the tournament? According to the computers, they weren't even in the top 200. But they won their conference, earned their moment on the big stage and got blown off the court by Houston. That's what usually happens. But every now and then, you get an upset everyone remembers. Either way, the possibility of that moment keeps those programs viable and those communities invested in college basketball. Overall, it's a pretty great system. Folks at those lower levels have good reason to wonder if they'll keep those automatic bids going forward, not just in basketball but a variety of sports. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, in particular, has made public comments that could be considered threatening to the notion of equal access regardless of conference size or strength. Meanwhile, there was talk a few weeks back that the SEC and Big Ten could be interested in a 16-team CFP format where they get four automatic bids each, with the ACC and Big 12 getting two apiece and one going to the top-ranked Group of Five champion. It seems as if that idea has subsequently died down. Even though the ACC and Big 12 locking in two bids each might have been tempting on the surface, formalizing an existence as second-class citizens would not have gone over well with those fan bases. If you were to construct the CWS on the same kinds of principles that the Big Ten and SEC have been flirting with this year in their CFP expansion discussions, you'd never have seven conferences involved like this year. And the reason it's such a timely development for college sports is that it should remind people in the industry why they do this in the first place. Everyone understands that a true level playing field is impossible, but competition is about more than revenue on a spreadsheet. And when it comes to the structure of Division I, giving an automatic bid to every conference underlines that they are partners in an enterprise whose mission is to deliver a good product – even if a lot of those partners can't stack up competitively to the mighty SEC. You can't deliver as good of a product for the sport – the entire sport – by stacking the deck and using historical performance to engineer future outcomes in your favor. You can only do it by making the postseason possibility available to everyone and letting the chips fall where they may. Even in a more complicated and professionalized world, you don't need to apologize for the outcome when you just let sports do its thing.
