Michigan vs. UC San Diego Prediction, Odds & Preview Tonight: Best Picks for NCAA Tournament First Round
The No. 5 seed Michigan Wolverines (25-9) and No. 12 seed UC San Diego Tritons (30-4) are set to embark on their NCAA Tournament run, but which will prevail in tonight's first-round March Madness contest?
Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver (TBS), and our Michigan vs. UC San Diego predictions, odds, and preview - part of our March Madness predictions - analyzes the chances of San Diego covering or pulling off the upset.
🏀 Michigan vs. UC San Diego prediction & picks for Thursday
Here are my best Michigan vs. UC San Diego predictions for the first round of the NCAA Tournament; use our parlay calculator to get the best odds for any same-game parlay:
✅ Against the spread pick: UC San Diego +2.5 (-110 via DraftKings) vs. Michigan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔥 Best player prop bet: Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones Over 3.5 assists (-115 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎯 Exact score prediction: UC San Diego 65, Michigan 63 (+16000 via DraftKings)
👉 Want more picks? Check out our latest college basketball picks and the rest of our March Madness first-round predictions.
🤖 See our March Madness AI bracket predictions for every game through Monday, April 7
🔢 Michigan vs. UC San Diego updated betting action
- 54% of bets are on Michigan to advance (BetMGM)
- 53% of bets are on the Over (BetMGM)
- Michigan opened as 2.5-point betting favorites, which is where they stand hours before tipoff
🏆 Best Michigan vs. UC San Diego pick, player prop bet & score prediction
Our NEW college basketball player prop odds tool can help you find the best odds for any March Madness market across legal sportsbooks in your area!
✅ UC San Diego to cover the spread: +2.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Wolverines went on an incredible run through the Big Ten tournament, knocking off three ranked opponents in three days. However, they’re only favored by 2.5 points over UC San Diego, a team making its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
UC San Diego has four players that average at least 10.6 points per game. Their leading scorer, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, averages 19.5 per game, and he does almost all of his damage from inside the three-point arc.
UC San Diego has the fifth-largest scoring margin, outscoring opponents by 15.1 points per game. Only March Madness odds contenders Duke, Gonzaga, Florida, and Houston win by more.
UC San Diego allows just 62.8 points per game, which could spell trouble for a Michigan team that has been inconsistent offensively this season. The Wolverines are averaging 78.3 points per game, but they scored just 59 in the Big Ten championship, and they ended the regular season scoring 65 or less in back-to-back games. Take UC San Diego outright in this game.
📊 Best odds: -108 via DraftKings ($10 to win $9.26)
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🔥 Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones Over 3.5 assists ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tait-Jones leads UC San Diego in points, rebounds, and assists. He’s averaging 3.7 assists per game and was incredible at finding his teammates in the Big West tournament. He had eight assists in the championship game, with nine in the semifinal.
Tait-Jones has dished out at least four assists in 10 of his last 12 games and didn't record fewer than three assists in any of those contests. Sure, he’s about to take a massive step up in competition, but he’s also entering this game with a high floor.
The Wolverines only allow 11.4 assists per game, which ranks 36th in the nation. But everything about this offense runs through Tait-Jones. Against a defense that he may struggle to score against, look for him to get his teammates involved, just like he’s been doing all season long.
📊 Best odds: -115 via bet365 ($10 to win $8.70)
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🎯 Score prediction: UC San Diego 65, Michigan 63
The Wolverines are hot entering this tournament, but I worry that having four days off between the Big Ten championship and their first-round game against UC San Diego will cool them off. This team lost four of six to end the regular season, including an ugly 20-point loss to Illinois.
It’s fair to be concerned about UC San Diego battling a Big Ten team, especially when they didn’t play a ranked opponent all year. But they did win at Utah State, and they’ve won 13 of their last 15 by double digits.
Average teams don’t do that, no matter who they’re playing.
📊 Best odds: +16000 via DraftKings ($10 to win $1,600)
🤖 Michigan vs. UC San Diego AI prediction
For entertainment purposes, we asked ChatGPT to analyze historical trends and live NCAA Tournament stats before predicting the winner and exact score for Michigan vs. UC San Diego. Our AI prediction projects a final score of Michigan 73, UC San Diego 72.
🖥️ AI score prediction: Michigan 73, UC San Diego 72
- UC San Diego excels in defensive pressure, ranking second nationally in forcing turnovers, which could disrupt Michigan's offensive flow.
- Michigan is ranked 25th in KenPom, while UC San Diego sits at 36th, indicating a relatively narrow gap in overall efficiency.
- UC San Diego's momentum, defensive prowess, and the historical propensity for upsets in this matchup suggest it will be a closely contested game.
🤔 Betting takeaway: ChatGPT's AI prediction would mean UC San Diego covering the spread (+2.5) and a total of Over 141.5 points. ChatGPT is not a dedicated sports betting model, but it can identify data that March Madness bettors might overlook.
📊 Live Michigan vs. UC San Diego odds
Follow the latest live March Madness college basketball odds and real-time NCAA Tournament scores for the first round.
Latest Michigan vs. UC San Diego odds
Our updated Michigan vs. UC San Diego odds are via BetMGM.
Spread
Michigan is the 2.5-point favorite before tipoff. The odds are juiced at -110 on both sides of the ledger.
Total
The total opened at 141.5 but has since increased to 144.5 in the lead-up to tipoff.
Moneyline
Michigan opened as -150 favorites. That line lengthened to -135, implying a 57.45% probability. UC San Diego's odds shortened from +125 to +115, carrying a 46.51% probability.
🔢 Michigan vs. UC San Diego opening odds
- Spread: Michigan -2.5 (-115) | UC San Diego +2.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Michigan -155 | UC San Diego +125
- Over/Under: Over 141.5 (-110) | Under 141.5 (-110)
📅 Check out the full March Madness first-round schedule and opening odds.
🔮 South Region expert picks
Here are our experts' best predictions for every game in the South Region
- South Region betting preview
- Auburn vs. Alabama State prediction
- Louisville vs. Creighton prediction
- UC San Diego vs. Michigan prediction
- Texas A&M vs. Yale prediction
- Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction
- Iowa State vs. Lipscomb prediction
- New Mexico vs. Marquette prediction
- Michigan State vs. Bryant
📺 How to watch Michigan vs. UC San Diego: NCAA Tournament first round
📅 Date: Thursday, March 20
🕗 Time: 10 p.m. ET
📍 Location: Ball Arena, Denver
📺 TV: TBS
💻 Streaming: March Madness Live
💰 March Madness betting odds pages
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