Fresh off one of its biggest wins of the season—a 67-63 victory against 3^rd-ranked Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night at Acker Gym—the Chico State men's basketball team would have liked nothing more than to keep right on rolling into Thursday night's game against Cal State Monterey Bay. Instead, due to COVID-19 protocols, the Wildcats will have to wait until Saturday's showdown against San Francisco State to get back to their pursuit of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title.
 
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. at Acker Gym. Fans planning on attending the games will be once again asked to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter Acker Gym. Admission will be capped at 750 fans, and the University's indoor mask requirement remains in effect. View all requirements HERE before purchasing tickets, which are available online via the link on the men's basketball schedule page, and at the door. Links to streaming video, audio and live stats can be found at www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section of the website's homepage, and on the men's basketball schedule page.
 
Chico State, Cal State Monterey Bay, and Cal State San Marcos all enter this week's action tied for second place in the CCAA at 10-3, one game behind conference leader Cal State San Bernardino (11-2), with three weeks of games remaining in the regular seasons. Both of Cal State San Marcos games this week are canceled. The other three teams are scheduled to play Saturday: Chico State is hosting San Francisco State; Cal State San Bernardino is at Cal State LA; and Cal State Monterey Bay is at Stanislaus State.
 
The Wildcats are 14-3 overall and ranked No. 14 in the nation. One of those wins came on January 20 at San Francisco State. The Wildcats bounced back from their first loss of the season to win 60-56 despite playing without starters Isaiah Brooks and Josh Hamilton. Chico State held San Francisco State to 35% shooting and turned 19 Gators turnovers into 22 points. Colby Orr led Chico State's offense with 18 points and Kevin Warren finished with 14.
 
Brooks is four assists shy of tying Jalen McFerren and becoming the sixth player in the history of the program to reach 300 career assists. He has a chance to do it Saturday, one week after teammate Malik Duffy reached 1,000 career points, becoming the 21^st Wildcat to do so, and the ninth with career totals eclipsing 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
 
Heading into its game at Stanislaus State Thursday night, San Francisco State has won three of its last five, improving to 10-11 overall and 7-7 in the CCAA. The Gators currently occupy the No. 6 spot in the conference standings. Assuming the conference tournament format remains the same, the top six teams based on winning percentage will advance to the CCAA Tournament in Arcata March 3-5.