STOCKTON – The Chico State men's basketball team will open the 2014-15 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament Friday night at 5:35 against the winner of Thursday's Cal State Stanislaus-UC San Diego showdown.
The Wildcats clinched the top seed in the tournament by winning the CCAA regular season title with a record of 18-4. The Wildcats are 21-6 overall and winners of 14 of their last 15 games.
Chico State is in the CCAA Championship Tournament for the sixth straight season. The Wildcats have yet to win it, but they've advanced to the final in each of the last three seasons. They're 7-5 in tournament games: 4-1 in the first round; 3-1 in the semifinals; and 0-3 in the final.
The last time the Chico State men's basketball team won a postseason conference tournament was in the 1993 NCAC Shaughnessy Playoffs. The Wildcats did the same in 1991 and 1992.
The winner of the CCAA Championship Tournament will receive an automatic invitation to the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The Wildcats have excelled away from home this season, winning 11 of 13 games.
Cal State Stanislaus, the No. 4 seed in the field, is 17-10 overall and finished 14-8 in conference play. The Wildcats split the regular season with the Warriors.
UC San Diego, the No. 5 seed, is 16-10 and finished 14-8 in conference. The Wildcats split the regular season series with the Tritons.
Cal Poly Pomona, 21-6 and 17-5 in the CCAA, is the No. 2 seed and received a bye on the other side of the bracket. The Broncos will play either sixth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino (12-13, 12-10) or third-seeded Humboldt State (21-7, 15-7) in Friday's other semifinal game, scheduled for 8:05 p.m.
CCAA Championship Tournament ScheduleThursday's Women's First Round Games12:05 – #5 Cal State San Bernardino vs. #4 UC San Diego
2:35 – #6 Cal State East Bay vs. #3 Cal Poly Pomona
Thursday's Men's First Round Games5:35 – #5 UC San Diego vs. #4 Cal State Stanislaus
8:05 – #6 Cal State San Bernardino vs. #3 Humboldt State
Friday's Women's Semifinal Games12:05 – #1 Cal State Dominguez Hills vs. UC San Diego/Cal State San Bernardino
2:35 – #2 Humboldt State vs. Cal Poly Pomona/Cal State East Bay
Friday's Men's Semifinal Games5:35 – #1 Chico State vs. UC San Diego/Cal State Stanislaus
8:05 – #2 Cal Poly Pomona vs. Cal State San Bernardino/Humboldt State
Saturday's Finals5:05 – Women's Final
7:35 – Men's Final
TICKETSTickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, over the phone at (800) 745-3000, or at the Stockton Arena box office or TicketMaster outlets. All purchases made online, at TicketMaster outlets, or over the phone are subject to a convenience fee. Ages 2 and older require a ticket for admission.
For groups of 10 or more there is a discounted rate of $2 per ticket. Group tickets can be purchased by contacting Crystal Huante at
chuante@smgstockton.com> or (209)
373-1485.
FOLLOW THE ACTIONEvery Chico State postseason game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY with Mike Baca calling the play-by-play. The audio broadcasts will also be streamed
HERE.
All 10 tournament games will be live-streamed on the
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL page, where fans can finde live stats as well. A live-stream announcement of the All-Conference Team, Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, will be available at that link Wednesday night at approximately 7:30 p.m.
CHICO STATE'S CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT HISTORYAll-Time Postseason Conference Tournament Record: 17-14
CCAA Championship Tournament Record: 7-5
2013-14 1st Round: Chico State 78, San Francisco State 66
Semifinals: Chico State 77, Cal Poly Pomona 73
Final: Cal State Stanislaus 82, Chico State 70
2012-13 1st Round: Chico State 80, Cal State Dominguez Hills 78
Semifinals: Chico State 80, Cal State San Bernardino 73
Final: Cal Poly Pomona 78, Chico State 64
2011-12 1st Round: Chico State 62, Cal State Dominguez Hills 45
Semifinals: Chico State 76, Sonoma State 74
Final: Humboldt State 89, Chico State 76
2010-11 1st Round: Cal State Dominguez Hills 75, Chico State 59
2009-10 1st Round: Chico State 63, Cal State Dominguez Hills 60
Semifinals: Cal Poly Pomona 80, Chico State 77
Northern California Athletic Conference Shaughnessy Record: 10-7
1994-95 1st Round: Chico State 113, Humboldt State 82
2
nd Round: Chico State 86, UC Davis 79
Final: UC Davis 102, Chico State 65
1993-94 1st Round: Chico State 80, Humboldt State 65
2
nd Round: San Francisco State 89, Chico State 76
1992-93 1st Round: Chico State 80, San Francisco State 77
2
nd Round: Chico State 86, Cal State Stanislaus 70
1991-92 1st Round: Chico State 101, Sonoma State 97 (2OT)
2
nd Round: UC Davis 71, Chico State 57
Final: Chico State 77, UC Davis 75
1990-91 1st Round: Chico State 97, Cal State Stanislaus 88
2
nd Round: San Francisco State 86, Chico State 77
Final: Chico State 76, San Francisco State 72
1984-85 1st Round: Humboldt State 55, Chico State 49
1983-84 1st Round: Chico State 95, Sacramento State 77
2
nd Round: San Francisco State 55, Chico State 51
Final: San Francisco State 74, Chico State 72
Far Western Conference Championship Tournament Record: 0-2
1982-83 1st Round: Humboldt State 72, Chico State 68
1981-82 1st Round: Sacramento State 62, Chico State 60
CLINK'S QUOTESHead Coach Greg Clink took part in Monday's morning's CCAA Championship Tournament conference call and this is a little of what he had to say:
"I'm really excited about how we've been playing the last five or six weeks."
"We're excited about the tournament. Any time you can get into the postseason it's something you can never take for granted. We couldn't be more excited to go down there and play."
"These guys are really fun to coach. The come in with a great attitude every day and work really hard to get better."
On differences between possible semifinal opponents Cal State Stanislaus and UC San Diego: "They're both really good teams. But they're very different teams. Stanislaus is so athletic and rebounds the ball very well. UC San Diego executes offense as good as anyone in the conference and shoots the ball extremely well."
On team's X-factor: "I don't know that we have one. One of the strengths of this year's team has been our depth. There have been different nights when different guys have stepped up for us. It's been a different guy on different nights that has really stepped up. If there is an X factor, it may be our bench play and how good we can be defensively."
