It took a nine-game winning streak for the Chico State men's basketball team to take over sole possession of first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. In order to stay there, the Wildcats will likely need to do what none of the six teams that have embarked on the challenging Cal State San Bernardino-Humboldt State road trip have yet to accomplish: win at least one game.
 
Cal State San Bernardino and Humboldt State are a combined 17-1 at home this season. The only blemish came when Cal State San Bernardino beat Humboldt State 77-70 way back in November.
 
Since then, six difference CCAA teams have made the three-day trip through Arcata and San Bernardino. All six have come home without a win.
 
However, the Coyotes and Lumberjacks have not faced a team with the road resume of the Wildcats during that stretch. Chico State, 16-5 overall and 13-3 in the CCAA, is 8-1 away from home this season. The Wildcats have won 11 of their last 12 conference road games and 18 of their last 21 away from Acker Gym overall.
 
All three teams are currently in position to qualify for the CCAA Championship Tournament March 5-7 at the Stockton Arena.
 
Chico State is a game clear of Cal Poly Pomona atop the conference standings with six to play.
 
The Wildcats start the trip in San Bernardino Thursday at 7:30. The Coyotes, 10-9 overall and 10-6 in conference play, boast the CCAA's second longest current win streak at four games. They're currently in fifth in the conference standings.
 
Chico State beat the Coyotes 75-73 in overtime on Jan. 10 in Chico to begin the current win streak. The Wildcats have now beaten Cal State San Bernardino eight times in the last nine meetings since the start of the 2011-12 season. Before that they had beaten the Coyotes just six times in 30 previous tries.
 
They'll travel to Oakland on Friday and drive up the coast to Arcata to tangle with the Lumberjacks Saturday at 7:30. Humboldt State is 15-7 overall and in sixth place in the CCAA with a 9-7 record.
 
The top six teams standing at the end of the regular season will advance to the CCAA Championship Tournament.
 
Allan Guei beat the buzzer and the Wildcats with a long jumper in overtime to lift the Lumberjacks to a 74-73 victory on Jan. 9 in Chico. Chico State had won six of the previous eight matchups in this rivalry that's approaching its 200^th occasion. The Wildcats lead the series 122-74.
 
Fans can follow the action of both Chico State games via Live Stats, available through the Wildcat Athletics website. Live streaming video will be available for Saturday's Chico State-Humboldt State contest.
 
The Wildcats have a chance to clinch their sixth consecutive postseason berth with any combination of wins and Sonoma State losses totaling two this weekend.
 
They have a chance to make some more history as well. The Wildcats' nine-game win streak is tied for the longest in the Greg Clink era and just two shy of the program's longest-ever conference win streak of 11, a run that began at the end of the 1953-54 and continued into 1954-55.
 
The program has seen six win streaks of 10 games or more, but none since the team won 10 straight spanning the final seven games of the 2002-03 season and the first three of 2003-04. Only two teams have won 11 in a row. The school record win steak is 13, set when the 1931-32 Wildcats won their final eight and then returned to win their first five of 1932-33.
 
The Wildcats' win streak has been built on the back of its defense. Saturday night's win against then conference co-leader Cal Poly Pomona marked the seventh time in eight games and 11^th time this season the Wildcats have held an opponent to fewer than 60 points. They've won all 11 of those games.
 
The Wildcats rank fourth in the nation in points allowed at 60.1 points per game. Humboldt State leads the CCAA in scoring at 77.4 points per game. Cal State San Bernardino is third at 68.9.