The Chico State men's basketball team won the NCAA Championship Tournament West Region and advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history since the last time it played a home game at Acker Gym.
 
This week, the Wildcats' fans will get their first opportunity to see them since. They'll open their 2017–18 home campaign against Dominican University of California Wednesday night at 7:30 and then play their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) home game against Stanislaus State Saturday at 7:30. Both games will follow Chico State women's games, which will tip at 5:30.
 
Chico State, favored by CCAA coaches to win its fourth conference title in seven seasons and ranked No. 16 in the nation, is off to a 2–1 start. The Wildcats were beaten by Concordia-Irvine in the season opener, but bounced back with a pair of resounding wins: 80–58 against Biola the following night; and 77–67 at Humboldt State Saturday night on ESPN3.
 
The home fans hope to see Isaiah Ellis make history. The senior forward needs just five more points to become the 17^th Wildcat to reach the 1,000-point milestone, and Corey Silverstrom is only 51 points shy of the mark. He is also only one blocked shot shy of passing Amir Carraway into sixth on the career blocked shots list. He enters the week with 64. Jalen McFerren, meanwhile, needs only one steal to move past Sean Park into 10^th on the all-time steals list. He enters the week with 92.
 
Dominican, picked to finish eighth in the preseason PacWest Coaches Poll, is just 1–4. But its first three losses came by a combined seven points, and the Penguins are coming off their first victory of the season, a 72–71 thriller at Sonoma State Saturday night. They are led by 6-foot-4 senior Jeremiah Gray, who is averaging 23.6 points, 2.4 3-pointers, and 6.6 rebounds per game.
 
Stanislaus State, which is playing at Fresno Pacific Tuesday, enters that matchup with a record of 3­­–1, including 1-1 in the CCAA. Andy Cleaves, a 6-foot-2 junior transfer from Riverside Community College, leads the Warriors in scoring at 15 points per game.
 
The teams played three times in 2016-17 with Chico State winning all three to extend its streak over Stanislaus State to six games. Chico leads the all-time series 25-17.
 
Both games will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Links to the local radio broadcast, stats, and the video stream are available in the links above, the calendar section of the homepage, and men's basketball schedule page at www.chicowildcats.com.