The flip of the calendar to February for the college basketball fan gets the heart pumping. It means just one more month until March Madness. For their favorite team, it means one more month to make hay in the pursuit of the postseason.
 
Over the last four seasons, few teams in college basketball have made that push with more success than Head Coach Greg Clink's Chico State men's team.
 
The Wildcats have won 28 of 33 in February games since 2012, including 16 of 17 at home. They've used that February success as a springboard on their march to two California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles and four straight NCAA Championship Tournament bids.
 
Chico State, already off to one of its best starts in school history, opens its eight-game February slate this weekend at home against Cal State East Bay Friday and Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday.
 
Both games are scheduled to tip at 7:30.
 
The Wildcats have put themselves in position to contend for yet another CCAA title and NCAA Championship Tournament berth by putting together a record of 16-3, including 10-2 in the CCAA.
 
Boasting five players averaging double figures in scoring and the sixth-ranked scoring defense in the nation, the 2015-16 Wildcats are the first Chico State men's basketball team to win at least 16 of its first 19 since 1941, and the third ever.
 
In the CCAA Championship race, the Wildcats are percentage points behind conference leader UC San Diego, which they'll play in La Jolla one week from Friday.
 
But they would be making a mistake took look past this weekend.
 
Cal State East Bay is just 7-14 overall and 3-10 in the CCAA, but former Chico State assistant Gus Argenal, who now leads the Pioneers, would love nothing more than to beat the Wildcats and get his program trending in the right direction. The Pioneers also took Chico State to the brink in their first meeting of the season. The game was tied 43-apiece with 4:41 to play before the Wildcats squeaked out a 57-54 victory.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay, 9-10 overall and 7-6 in the CCAA, is coached by Rob Bishop, who was a long-time assistant to former Chico State Head Coach Puck Smith. The Otters are arguably the most talented offensive team in the conference. They've won six of their last nine games and dropped 97 points on Cal State San Marcos their last time out.
 
This will mark their only meeting of the regular season.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay beat the Wildcats in Chico two seasons ago, 73-72, on Alex Fertig's 3-pointer at the buzzer. That loss snapped the Wildcats' school-record 17 game home win streak.
 
Chico State enters this weekend having won 14 straight conference games in Acker Gym. The Wildcats have won 30 of their last 34 regular-season games overall, including 15 of 16 at home.
 
Two wins this weekend would match the program's best ever record through 21 games. The 1940-41 Wildcats, who finished the season 20-3, are the only team in the 100 prior seasons of Chico State men's basketball to win 18 of their first 21.
 
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.