Mar 15, 2026 - News

SDSU misses March Madness, but UCSD is dancing

March Madness is coming to San Diego this year, but only one local team will be dancing.

The big picture: The San Diego State University men's basketball team missed the cut for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, a day after losing the Mountain West title game. It's the first time the Aztecs didn't make the bracket since 2019.

The SDSU women were also left out after getting upset in the Mountain West tournament. The UC San Diego men's team's loss in the Big West tournament kept them out, too.

Yes, but: The UCSD women's team won the Big West Championship to punch their ticket to the tournament for a second straight year. The No. 14-seed Tritons play No. 3-seed TCU on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Flashback: All four San Diego teams were invited to the Big Dance last year.

State of play: SDSU will still host the first and second rounds of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena March 19-22.

Top college teams, including No. 1-seed Arizona, No. 4-seed Kansas, No. 5-seed St. John's and No. 8-seed Villanova, will play on Friday. The winners of their matchups will then play on Sunday at Viejas.
Fans can get tickets for those games and attend practices on Thursday for free.

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