With two impressive wins last weekend the Chico State men's basketball team moved to the preferred side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. But the Wildcats still have lots of work to do to make their resume as squeaky and clean as possible, beginning with road games at San Francisco State Friday night and Sonoma State Saturday night to wrap up the regular season.
 
The Wildcats moved from outside of the NCAA West Region Top 10 into the No. 7 spot this week after beating UC San Diego (No. 5 last week and No. 5 once again) and Cal State San Marcos (No. 8 last week and No. 9 this week) at home.
 
The champions of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and Pacific West Conference postseason tournaments will receive automatic berths into the NCAA Tournament. They will be joined by five at-large teams.
 
This weekend's games carry with them NCAA Tournament and CCAA Championship implications. The Wildcats need two victories and a Cal Poly Pomona loss to Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night to grab a share of the CCAA title. It would be their fourth in seventh seasons and third in the last four.
 
Chico State enters the weekend 18-6 overall and 15-5 in the CCAA, having won nine of its last 10 games to secure a first-round home game in the CCAA Tournament.
 
Friday's game at San Francisco State marks the second meeting between the teams this season. Chico State beat the Gators 62-56 on Dec. 9 in Chico. The Wildcats held the Gators more than 27 points below their season scoring average and limited them to one basket over their final 10 possessions.
 
Jalen McFerren finished with a game-high 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point land and 5-of-6 from the stripe. He also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out three assists, while committing just one turnover in 33 minutes. Isaiah Ellis had 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, a block, and two steals.
 
The Gators are in fifth place in the CCAA an overall record of 16-12 and conference mark of 12-8.
 
Chico State and Sonoma State, age-old rivals, will be meeting for the first time this season. The Seawolves, 9-15 overall and 7-13 in the CCAA, will open the weekend at home against Humboldt State Friday night needing two wins to have a chance to qualify for the CCAA Tournament.
 
The Wildcats will be searching for their first victory in Rohnert Park since the 2014-15 season.
 
Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY. Links to the online broadcast, live stats and streaming video are available on the men's basketball schedule page and in the calendar section on our homepage.