To say that Brennan Wheeler has had to wait for his chance to make some on-court contributions to the Chico State men’s basketball team is putting it mildly. A redshirt year, an injury that wiped out a whole season, and the COVID pandemic prevented the Placerville native from accumulating any significant minutes for the ’Cats, but at the end of the 2021–22 campaign Wheeler got a chance to shine in the NCAA Championship Tournament. This season, he’s started every Chico State game, and last week put up some of the best numbers of his college career, making Wheeler the latest Wildcat of the Week.
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Against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino—two of the toughest teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)—Wheeler averaged 15 points a game, connecting of 56.3 percent of his field goal attempts (9-for-16) and burying a trio of 3-pointers. Wheeler also snared a combined 13 rebounds and grabbed four steals to help the Wildcats earn a split of the final two contest of the team’s four game home stand.
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Wheeler turned in a marquee performance Thursday against Pomona, hitting seven of nine shots—including three from beyond the 3-point arc—on the way to a career-high 22 points in Chico State’s 81-64 victory over the Broncos. He followed up Saturday with eight points, five rebounds, and three steals in the ’Cats’ 109-105 triple overtime loss to the Coyotes.
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On the season, Wheeler is averaging 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds a game, while ranking fourth among the Wildcats with 20 3-pointers. Â
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Wheeler and the Wildcats now get ready to play six of their next eight games on the road. Thursday Chico State will be in Seaside to take on Cal State Monterey Bay, followed by a Saturday afternoon showdown in the Bay Area against San Francisco State.
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