It has already been a history-making week for the Chico State men's basketball team. After beating 6^th-ranked UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino last weekend to become just the second team in the program's 101 seasons to start 20-3, the Wildcats rose to No. 8 in the Tuesday's National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll, matching the highest national ranking in the history of the program. Wednesday, the first NCAA West Region rankings were announced and the Wildcats were No. 3, matching the team's highest regional ranking ever.
 

Friday night, more history will be made when the ESPN3 television crew comes to town for the team's first ever appearance on the ESPN family of networks. The game will also likely mark the first recorded sellout of Acker Gym before game day. As of 3:30 on Wednesday, an estimated 100 general admission tickets were all that remained out of 2,057 originally for sale at the University Box Office on the corner of 3rd and Chestnut (530) 898-6333.
 
Chico State will take on 20^th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona on ESPN3. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30. Saturday, the Wildcats will tangle with long-time rival Humboldt State on Senior Night. Chris Magalotti and Tanner Giddings will be honored prior to the game.
 
A successful weekend would add to an already momentous week. Head Coach Greg Clink is one win away from the 150^th of his career. He would become the program's fifth coach to reach the milestone and first to do it within his first eight years.
 
The Wildcats also have an outside shot at clinching their second consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association title and third in five years. At 14-2 in the CCAA, they hold a half game lead on second-place UC San Diego. Two Chico State wins and a Tritons loss Thursday at Cal State San Marcos would clinch at least a share of the crown. That would mark the team's first back-to-back titles since the 1992-93 and 1993-94 Northern California Athletic Conference championship teams that Clink was a member of.
 
If any or all of that takes place, it won't come easily. Cal Poly Pomona – 19-5 overall and third in the CCAA at 12-5 – handed the Wildcats their worst loss of the season on Jan. 9 in Pomona, 69-56. And the Broncos have dominated the series since the Wildcats joined the CCAA in 1998-99, winning 28 of 40 meetings, including eight of the past 11.
 
The Broncos boast the nation's stingiest scoring defense at 59.4 points per game and CCAA Player of the Year candidate Jordan Faison, who joined Chico State's Robert Duncan on Monday's list of 50 finalists for the Bevo Francis Award, presented to the top player in small college basketball. Cal Poly Pomona is ranked No. 6 in the West Region.
 

Humboldt State, ranked No. 9 in the West, has the highest-scoring offense in the CCAA at 83.7 points per game. The Lumberjacks open the weekend in fourth place in the CCAA at 17-6 overall and 11-6 in conference.
 
Chico State held Humboldt State to its third lowest scoring output of the season in an 86-68 win Jan. 7 in Arcata. The Wildcats dominated the glass in the game, outrebounding the Lumberjacks 45-21. They had 18 offensive rebounds and scored 25 second-chance points.
 
Humboldt State is Chico State's second longest-running rival behind only San Francisco State. They have been playing since 1933 and Saturday will mark their 199th meeting. The Wildcats lead the series 123-75 and have won three of the last four meetings in Chico.
 
Every Chico State basketball game this season will be broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290 KPAY-AM. Links to streaming audio, video and live stats are available in the calendar section on the ChicoWildcats.com homepage and on the men's basketball schedule page.
 
Check back on ChicoWildcats.com on game day for a deep link to the ESPN3 broadcast.
 
ABOUT ESPN3        
ESPN3 is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The network is currently available at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
 

GAME NOTES
BACK TO BACK?: The Wildcats are attempting to win back-to-back conference crowns for the first time since joining the CCAA in 1998-99. The

last time Chico State won consecutive conference titles came during Head Coach Greg Clink's two seasons in the program, 1993 & 94.
 
GIVE THEM 5?: The Wildcats have made four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, which is the longest such streak in the program's history.
 
WINNING TIME: Much of the WIldcats' recent successes can be traced to their February results. Including this season's 4-0, the Wildcats have won 32 of 37 in February games since 2012, including 18 of 19 at home.
 
COACHING MILESTONE: Head Coach Greg Clink's next win will be his 150th at Chico State, making him the fourth in the program's history to reach that mark and the fastest to do so. No other coach reached 150 wins in his first eight years at the helm.
 
COMEBACK 'CATS: The Wildcats have won 5 games in which they trailed by double-figures.
 
STARTING STRONG: The Wildcats' 20-3 start matches the program's best record through 23 games. The only other team in 101 seasons of Chico State men's basketball to start 20-3 was the 1940-41 squad that finished its season with that record. No Chico State team has ever been 21-3 or better through its first 24 games.
 
SEEING 20-20-20 and 20: The Wildcats have now won 20 games in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991-93 and 20 in four of the past five seasons for the first time in program history.
 
STREAKING: The Wildcats' eight-game win streak is tied for the 9th longest in Division II.
 
DUNCAN DEEMED WORTHY...
Returning First Team All-CCAA and Second Team All-West Region guard Robert Duncan was one of two CCAA athletes to make the cut down to 50 on the Bevo Francis Award watch list Monday, joining Cal Poly Pomona's Jordan Faison. The award, in is first year in existence, will be presented annually to the player who has the finest overall season within small college basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
...AND DELIVERING
Duncan ranks among the CCAA's top 10 in six statistical categories: He's 2nd in steals, 3rd in assists, 6th in rebounding and assist-to-turnover ratio, and 7th in scoring and field goal percentage.
 
ELLIS ELEVATING HIS GAME
Sophomore Isaiah Ellis has been simply scintillating over the past two weekends, averaging 18.5 ppg. Tuesday he was named the CCAA Player of the Week for the first time after torching UC San Diego for a career-high 26 points. He scored 20 points in the second half. For the weekend, he averaged 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 65 percent and hitting 13-of-15 from the line.
 
SENIOR NIGHT SATURDAY
The two seniors on Chico State's team - Tanner Giddings and Chris Magalotti - will be honored prior to Saturday's game against Humboldt State in "Senior Night" ceremonies. Magalotti is in his fifth year in the program. Giddings is in his second season after transferring from Fresno State.
 
PACKING ACKER
The Wildcats lead the CCAA in average home attendance and rank 40th out of 314 NCAA Division II teams nationwide at 1,066 fans per game. Friday's game is expected to be a sellout. The capacity is 2,057, which would mark the highest attendance since seatbacks were installed on the north side of the gym in 1999 – that record is 1,941 set on Feb. 26, 2005 – and the highest attendance since 2,479 saw the Wildcats against then-rival UC Davis in 1993.
 
JOHNNY WAS HERE
Exactly 36 years ago to the night (Feb. 19, 1980), Johnny Cash played to a sellout crowd in Acker Gym that included assistant Sports Information Director Rory Miller.