The preseason prognosticators have had their say. And though all of the acclaim the Chico State men's basketball team has received has surely been nice to hear, it's time for the Wildcats do their own talking.
 
Ranked No. 11 in the nation and the conference's coaches' overwhelming favorite to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association title for the third season in a row, the Wildcats will open the season at the Concordia Invitational in Riverside this weekend.
 

Chico State will face Concordia Friday at 12:30 and then Biola Saturday at 1. Links to streaming audio, livestats, and streaming video for both games are available in the calendar section on the homepage at www.chicowildcats.com, and on the men's basketball schedule page.
 
The Wildcats return 10 letterwinners from last season's 22-7 squad that advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament for the fifth straight season.
 
Reigning CCAA Player of the Year and preseason All-American Robert Duncan leads the way. The 6-foot-3 senior led the Wildcats in scoring (career-high 15.2 ppg), rebounds (172), assists (107) and steals (44) last season, and stands just 177 points away from becoming the 16^th player in the program's history to reach the 1,000-career points plateau. Meanwhile, he needs just 22 more assists to become the 13^th to reach 200, and 12 more steals to become the eighth with 100. Deon Robinson is the only player in the history of the program currently on all three of those lists.
 
Fellow 2015-16 All-CCAA selections Isaiah Ellis, Corey Silverstrom and Jalen McFerren return as well.
 
McFerren, Silverstrom and Duncan give the Wildcats one of the nation's most experienced and explosive backcourts.
 
Silverstrom eclipsed 15 points a dozen times last season despite coming off the bench for more than half of the season. The Second Team All-CCAA selection knocked down a team-high 58 threes last season while leading the team by making more than 41 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. He also finished third on the team with 60 assists.
 
McFerren averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 assists per game in his first season as a full-time starter. And despite standing just 5-foot-10, McFerren finished 18^th in the CCAA in rebounding, at 5.3 per game.
 
Senior transfer Michael Bethea, Jr. and returners Nate Ambrosini, Joseph Lynch, and Jesse Holmes give the team good depth at the guard/wing spots.
 
Ellis, a First-Team All-CCAA selection last season despite starting just four games, and Marvin Timothy, give the Wildcats a big and athletic starting frontcourt.
 
Ellis averaged 12.3 points per game on 56-percent shooting and pulled down 5.1 rebounds per game last season. He also led the team with 27 blocked shots.
 
Backups Justin Briggs and Keith Datu have also improved dramatically over the summer, according to Clink. Briggs is a 6-foot-9-redshirt freshman shot blocker and was the team's top rebounder during the exhibition season. Datu, who is 6-foot-7, boasts exceptional range for a big man.
 
Along with their No. 11 ranking by the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC), the Wildcats are also ranked: No. 11 in the D2SIDA Media Poll, No. 18 by Basketball Times, and No. 6 by Division II Bulletin.
 
Duncan was named Preseason All-America by Basketball Times, an honorable mention Preseason All-American by The Sporting News, and a Division II Bulletin Super 16 selection (Two players are selected from each of the nation's eight regions.).
 
Friday will mark Concordia's season opener as well. The Eagles were 21-6 last season and finished in a four-way tie atop the final conference standings at 15-5. Senior guard JT Roach, who averaged 16.7 points per game and knocked down 83 three-pointers despite playing fewer than 25 minutes per game last season, was named to the preseason All-PacWest Team.
 
The PacWest's coaches picked Concordia to finish fourth in the conference this season.
 
Biola, already 4-0 this season, is playing its final season as a member of the NAIA and Golden State Athletic Conference. After this season, the Eagles will join the PacWest Conference and the NCAA Division II. They are ranked No. 4 in the NAIA and the preseason favorite to win the GSAC for the second year in a row.