SAN BERNARDINO – The Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball teams have already gone where none in the history of their programs have gone before. They'll meet in the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional final Monday night at 7 p.m. at Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino with a chance to reach the final frontier of Division II basketball – The Elite Eight.
The No. 4 seed Chico State (24-7) advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time with a remarkable 94-77 win against top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night.
Cal State Stanislaus (23-8) earned its first NCAA Tournament berth by beating Chico State for the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament title last weekend. The seventh-seeded Warriors knocked off No. 2 seed Seattle Pacific 80-72 in overtime Friday and No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona 75-69 in overtime Saturday.
The winner of Monday's game will advance to face the champion of the Southeast Region at the Elite Eight March 26 at The Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
Mike Baca will bring you all the action Monday night on AM-1290 KPAY beginning with the Pregame Show at 6:35. Links to live video, audio and stats are also available at www.chicowildcats.com.
The way these offenses have heated up, the West Region title game has the looks of a wild West shootout in the making. Cal State Stanislaus is shooting 50 percent over its last four games and even better from 3-point range where they've railed 24-of-45 attempts (53 percent).
Since falling behind by 15 against Cal Baptist Thursday night, Chico State has similarly sizzled. The Wildcats are shooting 61 percent (57-for-93) over their last 65 minutes on the court while outscoring their opponents 149-111. They're 16-of-34 from beyond the arc and have assists on 56 percent of their buckets.
The game might actually be won when the action slows way down, however. In their two wins against Chico State this season Cal State Stanislaus averaged 31 free throw attempts to Chico State's 18. In Chico State's win, the Wildcats shot 34 free throws and the Warriors only 18.
"I really feel from an offensive standpoint if we continue to stay aggressive and do the things that we did tonight (against Cal State San Bernardino) we're going to get good shots," said Chico State Head Coach Greg Clink. "It's really about defending and rebounding."
The Wildcats will need to follow the same script Clink has been trumpeting throughout the postseason – be the aggressor on both ends of the floor – to complete their mission.
2014 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament Bracket
