Twelve titles. Eleven years. Tense moments are what it all adds up to for the rest of the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s (CCAA) teams when their turn to face Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona comes up on their schedules. No, that wasn’t a typo. Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona boast a combined 12 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men’s basketball titles in the last 11 years. I’ll let you do the mind-boggling math. Starting with the 1999-2000 season, the Cal State San Bernardino has taken at least a share of the conference title seven times and turned out two CCAA Championship Tournament titles. Cal Poly Pomona has claimed the conference crown three times, all in the last six years.
Chico State Head Coach Greg Clink is among a group of young and up-and-coming coaches in the conference hoping to eventually halt the decade-long stranglehold the two-headed East L.A. assemblage has had on the conference. And he’s got a group of seniors leading an upstart 9-3 team for whom the time is now. Clink’s ’Cats will head for the hostile environments of Cal State San Bernardino’s Cousoullis Arena Friday and Cal Poly Pomona’s Kellogg Gymnasium Saturday. Tipoff for both games is scheduled for approximately 7:30 PM.
The Wildcats are 2-13 all-time at San Bernardino, including 0-3 under Clink’s care. They aren’t alone in their struggles there, where the Coyotes are 138-15 since the 1999-00 season. They’ve averaged 23 wins over the last 10 seasons. Cal Poly Pomona, averaged 21 wins a season during the last decade, which is the second best in the CCAA and well beyond the third-best team. The Broncos are 10-5 all-time at home against Chico State.
It seems silly to say, but if there was ever a “good” time to be making this trip, it might be now. Defending National Champion Cal Poly Pomona, the preseason favorite to win its third consecutive CCAA title, is only 4-6 overall and a shocking 1-5, putting them in 11th place in the 12-team CCAA. Cal State San Bernardino is also off to a bit of a slow start at 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the CCAA.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats are 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the CCAA thanks to the leadership of point guard Jay Flores, who ranks first in the conference and sixth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s part of a balanced offensive attack featuring four players averaging in double-figures and a defense ranked 10th in the nation in points allowed at 60.3 per game. That’s the lowest in a season for a Chico State team since 1950-51.
A pair of wins against the CCAA’s two winningest programs of the decade would put the Wildcats in prime contention for the first-round home CCAA Championship Tournament game that comes with a top-four finish in the CCAA, while moving them toward the top of the West Region’s list in the NCAA Championship Tournament berth discussion.
It would also make history.
The Wildcats have never beaten the Broncos and Coyotes on consecutive days in the eight seasons they’ve been travel partners. They’ve been swept nine times and managed to split the weekend seven times, going 7-25 overall, including 4-12 on the road.
Some time, some team will be the one to change things up the CCAA. The Wildcats hope they are the team and this is the season. We’ll all know whether they’ve got a shot when the dust settles on Saturday night.
Fans can follow every Chico State basketball game live on ESPN 101.7 FM and 1340 AM locally and online through the Wildcat Athletics website, with Mike Baca and Mike Wessels providing the play-by-play.
PREGAME NOTES
