SAN DIEGO — UC San Diego's pursuit of a basketball conference championship is as exciting as it is aggravating. The Tritons are vying for a Big West regular season title, but even if they win out, they will not be eligible for postseason play - until next season.
The team is in the fourth and final year of its reclassification process from the transition to the NCAA Division I level before being eligible for NCAA tournaments.
A similar situation happened with the UC San Diego baseball team in June. In just their 3rd year since making the jump from the Division II level, they won the Big West Conference baseball championship. The Triton's impressive accomplishment was tempered by the fact they didn't get to advance to postseason play as they were also still in the probationary transition period for moving up to the top NCAA level.
CBS 8's John Howard spoke to the men's basketball head coach, Eric Olen to find out more about the team's excitement - and its anguish.
John: Coach, your thoughts on this basketball team that has been doing very well. Are they surprising you? Or is this what you expected out of them this year?
Coach Olen: I don't think anyone in our locker room was surprised. I think we felt like we had a good team. And I think our group felt like, you know, we had a chance to compete every night in the Big West. And, you know, we've been fortunate to play good basketball and put ourselves in a pretty good situation.
John: I heard a player say that the team is connected. Is that another word for chemistry?
Coach Olen: I think our guys are connected on and off the court. You know, I think it's got a couple of meanings there. But certainly, it's a fun group to coach and be around. I think our guys are having a good time competing together. And, you know, I think everybody is pretty comfortable in their roles. And everybody's executing at a high level, and also think they enjoy each other's company. And they like playing together. And yeah, we got smart, funny, guys who are fun to be around. So it's easy to have a connected group in that situation.
John: How frustrating is it, with this group playing as well as they're playing, that you're not eligible for postseason play?
Coach Olen: Most days, I don't even think about it until somebody asks. Or you know, they're like, 'Yeah, that would be nice to go', you know, to have the opportunity because we, absolutely have a team right now that's capable of winning a Big West tournament. But it's really encouraging for our program, to not even be out of the transition (period) and have a team that is at a level that they could win the Big West tournament, they could win the Big West regular season. So you can have the frustration really resonate with you all the time and have it affect you in a negative way, or you can just really appreciate what we have and kind of try not to take this group for granted.
The Tritons play next on Thursday, Feb 22 at UC Riverside then have their big game at home, hosting first-place UC Irvine. For more information on the schedule and ticket, click here.
As part of the transition rules, UC San Diego basketball is not eligible for the Big West, NCAA or NIT tournaments this year. They are eligible for the CIT Tournament, if they get invited, because it is not sanctioned by the NCAA.
WATCH RELATED: UC San Diego Tritons win Big West Conference in baseball (June 2023)