Mar 16, 2025 - News

Four San Diego teams are dancing in March Madness

Kate Murphy

UCSD basketball player holds up a giant ticket to March Madness while celebrating with teammates on the court after a game. — UCSD's Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones celebrates after the Tritons won the Big West Men's Basketball Tournament. Photo: Ian Maule/Getty Images

San Diego college basketball teams are meeting the moment and making history.

State of play: The 2025 March Madness brackets were revealed Sunday, and four local teams are playing in the NCAA Tournament — a first for the city.

The men's and women's teams at UC San Diego and San Diego State learned their seeding and schedules for the tournament that starts this week.

Catch up quick: Both UCSD Tritons teams won the Big West tournament Saturday, earning automatic bids in their first year of eligibility as Division 1 programs.

The SDSU women secured a spot by winning the Mountain West Championship last week. The men's quarterfinal loss in the conference tournament left the Aztecs on the bubble, but the team has now made the bracket for five straight years.

What to watch: The 11-seed SDSU men face the North Carolina Tar Heels a play-in game on Wednesday. The winner will play No. 6 Ole Miss on Friday in the first round.

No. 12 UCSD men have a tough matchup against No. 5 Michigan Thursday.
The 14-seed SDSU women play No. 3 LSU on Saturday.
The No. 16 UCSD women will face Southern University in a play-in game on Wednesday, then the winner will see No. 1 UCLA in the first round on Friday.

Pro tips: Check out this cheatsheet for filling out a bracket this year.

Here's the men's tournament bracket and women's.

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Four San Diego teams are dancing in March Madness

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