The defending NCAA Division II West Region Champion Chico State men's basketball team officially opens the 2022-23 campaign Wednesday night with an exhibition game at Cal. Tipoff at Berkeley's Haas Pavilion is set for 7 p.m.
The game will be broadcast locally beginning at 6:45 p.m. on KPAY Sports 1290-AM, with Mike Wessels' play-by-play simulcast on the Internet. Live Stats will also be available online, with links available on the Wildcat Athletics website homepage and the women's basketball schedule page. There is no online video offered for Wednesday's game.
The Wildcats return two starters from last season's squad that finished 22-5 and won the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional title for the third time in their last eight full seasons. Kelvin Wright Jr. started 25 games for the Wildcats, averaging 7.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) best 1.5 blocked shots per game. Joshua Hamilton started 25 times, averaging 9.7 points and ranked second on the team with 56 assists.
Evan Oliver, Brennan Wheeler, Kaleb Carter, Dylan Belquist, and Isaiah Holm also return the team. They are joined by an influx of exciting talent: redshirt freshmen Max Walters, Trae Taylor, Miles Daniels, and Jack André; transfers Carter Mahaney (Northern Arizona University) and Justin Vigil (Cal State East Bay); and incoming freshmen Caden Harris, Ned Joyce, and Jojo Murphy.
The Wildcats are picked to finish third in the CCAA preaseason coaches poll, behind Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State San Marcos.
Cal, which is coming off a 12-20 campaign, is picked to finish 11
th in the Pac-12 preseason media poll.
The game marks a sort of homecoming for Chico State assistant coach Russ Critchfield, who was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2007.
