The most dominant decade of Chico State men's basketball, the 2010s, has made it more difficult than ever for its teams to accomplish something unique. The 2019–20 Wildcats have put themselves in a position to do make their way into the record book, however. Winners of six straight road games, the Wildcats can tie the program record for consecutive road wins with a victory at Cal State East Bay Thursday night. And should they do that, they will have a chance to break the record Saturday afternoon at Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
Thursday's tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's game is set for 3 p.m. Both games will be broadcast locally on FM 93.9. Links to streaming audio, streaming video (free Thursday and pay-to-view Saturday), and live stats are available on the top-right corner of this preview story, on the men's basketball schedule page, and in the calendar section on our homepage.
 
At 15-3, the Wildcats rose one spot to No. 18 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll. It marks the highest Chico State has been ranked since Nov. 28, 2017. And at 10-2 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action, the Wildcats enter this week's action in second place behind only 4^th-ranked UC San Diego (19-1, 13-1). The Tritons will host Humboldt State and Stanislaus State this week.
 
Chico State is riding a nine-game winning streak. A win Thursday would match the team's longest winning streak in the 11-plus-season Greg Clink era. The program record is 13 in a row.
 
A pair of wins this weekend would also set up a huge showdown on Feb. 6 in Acker Gym when UC San Diego comes to town.
 
But the Wildcats will need to remain focused on the challenges that awaits them this week to make that happen.
 
Cal State East Bay was picked to finish third in the preseason conference coaches' poll. Although the Pioneers have had an up-and-down season and enter Thursday's game at 11-11 overall and 7-7 in the CCAA, the Wildcats won't need any convincing about the Pioneers' talent. In fact, Chico State trailed Cal State East Bay by 10 with 6:11 to play in their first meeting this season on Nov. 23 in Chico before finishing the game on a 25-5 run.
 
Kevin Warren and Colby Orr sparked the rally that keyed Chico State's 81-71 win. Orr, who finished with 10 points, four assists, two steals, and no turnovers in 18 minutes of action, tied the game with two straight buckets, the second (his steal that led to a breakaway layup), knotted the score at 69 with 2:53 remaining. Warren scored seven of his 21 points during the decisive run.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay is 7-13 overall and 4-10 in the CCAA, but the Otters have been much better over the past three weeks, winning three of five. Their only losses during that stretch came down to the game's final possession.
 
The Otters will also be looking for payback after absorbing their most lopsided defeat of the season, 113-69, on Dec. 12 in Chico. The Wildcats tied the team record for most points scored against an NCAA Division II opponent and set a new program standard in the CCAA era with the win.
 
Led by Joshua Hamilton's perfect 5-for-5 night, the Wildcats knocked down 15-of-24 three pointers. They also scored 50 points in the paint, got 50 points off the bench and 33 points off Otters turnovers.
 
Three-point shooting, balanced scoring, and bullish rebounding have keyed the Wildcats' success. All five starters are averaging between 10.9 and 13.4 points per game and all five are shooting at least 41 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats rank sixth in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.4) and 10^th in rebound margin (+8.5).
 
Justin Briggs leads the way on the boards, averaging 7.3 per game, and enters Thursday's game with 615 in his career, only three rebounds shy of moving past Mike Harski into fifth on the school's career rebounds list. The senior center is also closing in on the program's career blocked shots record, needing five to break Jordan Semple's Chico State career record of 153.
 
Point guard Isaiah Brooks is also closing in on a milestone, needing 13 more assists to become the 16^th player in Chico State history to dish out 200 or more.