Last time the Chico State men's basketball team played UC San Diego, the Wildcats emerged with their biggest win of the season. The 77-71 victory in La Jolla put the 'Cats in sole possession of first place and propelled them to their second straight California Collegiate Athletic Association title. Friday they meet again. This time, the Wildcats are hoping another win will help propel them to their second NCAA Championship Tournament West Region title in three seasons.
 
Chico State and UC San Diego will play Friday at 2:30 in the first round of the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional in Monmouth, Oregon. The winner will advance to the regional semifinals Saturday night at 5. The losers' season will come to an end.
 
The first time they played, it was a showdown between top-10 teams. But both scuffled a bit down the stretch: Chico State lost three of its last five and UC San Diego four of its last eight.
 
That will all be in the rearview mirror for one team following Friday's game. The winner will be right where it hoped to be all along – playing for a spot in the regional title game.
 
The winner of the West Regional will advance to the Elite Eight March 23-26 in Frisco, Texas.
 
Every Chico State postseason game will be broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY, with the play-by-play simulcast on the Internet through the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available via links in the calendar section and men's basketball schedule page.
 
'CAT SCRATCHES
The 22-6 Wildcats received the No. 7 seed in the West Regional. UC San Diego is the #2 seed. The winner of Friday's game will face the winner of the first game of the day, which pits #3 seed California Baptist against #6 seed Cal Poly Pomona.
 
In the Wildcats' win on Feb. 12 in La Jolla, Isaiah Ellis scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the second half and Corey Silverstrom scored 15, including five in a row in the definitive sequence. The fight for first featured 15 lead changes and 12 ties before Ellis and Silverstrom stole the show, combining to score 21 straight points for the Wildcats during a six-minute stretch (Ellis 14 and Silverstrom 7).
The Wildcats held Tritons' leading scorer Drew Dyer to 13 points on 3-of-7 shooting (0-2 from 3).
 
The Wildcats have won two straight and 11 of the last 14 meetings in the series to take a 20-13 series edge. This will mark the first time they have met in the postseason.
 
The high fives handed out when the Chico State men's basketball team's name was called during Sunday night's NCAA Division II Selection Show carried extra significance: the Wildcats will be making their fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship Tournament! Chico State is making its 13th National Championship Tournament appearance, and up until last season, had never qualified more than three consecutive times.
 
Chico State is making its 13^th National Championship Tournament appearance, and up until last season, had never qualified more than three consecutive times. Senior center Christopher Magalotti now joins Mike Rosaroso, Jordan Barton and Jordan Semple as the only Wildcats to have advanced to the NCAA Championships four times. Magalotti does have a bit more to brag about, however. He was a redshirt on the team that qualified for the first time in seven years five seasons ago.
 
The Wildcats are 2-2 in first-round games during their current streak. They beat Humboldt State in the 2012 opener, lost to Cal Poly Pomona in the 2013 opener, beat California Baptist to start their run to the program's first ever West Regional Championship and Elite Eight trip in 2014, and then lost to the Lancers in the first round last season.
 
Chico State senior center Christopher Magalotti is the first player in the program's history to be part of five consecutive NCAA Championship Tournament teams. He was a redshirting member of the 2012 team and will now have been in uniform for four straight.
 
NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional Schedule
Monmouth, Oregon – New P.E. Building
Friday, March 11 (all times TBA)
Noon – #6 Cal Poly Pomona (22-7) vs. #3 California Baptist (27-6)
2:30 – #7 Chico State (22-6) vs. #2 UC San Diego (22-7)
5:00 – #5 Azusa Pacific (22-8) vs. #4 Seattle Pacific (22-8)
7:30 – #8 Humboldt State (21-8) vs. #1 Western Oregon (27-3)
Saturday, March 12
5:00 – Cal Poly Pomona/California Baptist winner vs. Chico State/UC San Diego winner
7:30 – Azusa Pacific/Seattle Pacific winner vs. Humboldt State/Western Oregon winner
Monday, March 14
7:00 – Championship Game
 
Winner advances to the…
NCAA Division II Championship Elite Eight
March 23-26 - Frisco, Texas

NCAA Division II Championship West Regional Tournament Homepage