Few opportunities the remain for Chico State men's basketball teams to do something that no team before them has accomplished. But there one thing right in front of the 2021-22 Wildcats: with two wins this weekend, they would become the program's first team to win a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament title. In the process, they would also put themselves in a strong position to host the NCAA Tournament West Regional for the first time.
 
Sounds pretty simple. But it will take the 19-3 and 11^th-ranked team in the nation's best basketball of the season to make it happen. Chico State will face the winner of Thursday's Cal State San Marcos-Cal Poly Pomona game on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Lumberjack Arena on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt with a berth in the title game on the line.
 
Saturday's tournament title game will take place at 8 p.m. The winner will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have reached the title game in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, but have never won it. They are 11-10 all time in CCAA Tournament games.
 
Every Chico State postseason game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 KPAY and streamed online. Fans can also follow the action on the CCAA Network, where for $9.95 per month, fans can access every Chico State game—home and away—along with all live and archived CCAA matchups. Links to broadcasts and live stats are available at www.chicowildcats.com on the men's basketball schedule page and calendar section on the homepage.
 
Chico State enters the weekend ranked No. 1 in the West Region. The top team when the NCAA Tournament field is announced during Sunday night's 7:30 p.m. selection show will have the right to host the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional—what amounts to the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament. They aren't the only team heading to Arcata with eyes on that prize, however. Cal State San Bernardino, the CCAA's regular-season champion and the tournament's top seed, is ranked No. 2 in the West. Cal State San Marcos is No. 3. Two more teams in the field are also ranked regionally: No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 10 Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
If the Wildcats can get it done, it will not be the first history they've made this season. This group has already risen to the highest national ranking in program history at No. 4, and is the first to be ranked No. 1 in the West. Their 19-3 record matches two other teams for the best record through 22 games in program history. Those two teams also got to 20-3, but lost their 24^th games. This team could be the first ever to win at least 22 of its first 25 games with two wins this weekend.
 
Five Wildcats were named to the All-CCAA team Tuesday night. Malik Duffy is the CCAA's Player of the Year and joins Kevin Warren and Isaiah Brooks in earning First Team All-CCAA. Joshua Hamilton and Colby Orr each received All-CCAA honorable mention.
 
Fans planning to attend can find information about ticketing and venue policies by visiting the CCAA Tournament Central page.
 
Giving Day is here!
Wednesday is Chico State Giving Day! The support of our Wildcat Family over the years has helped propel our student-athletes' excellence. CLICK HERE TO GIVE
 
During our short time back together in 2021–22, Chico State's student-athletes are already back to blowing us away on every front. They've generated video companions aimed at encouraging all fellow Wildcats as part of their Scratch the Stigma initiative, re-launching with an enhanced version in March. They've earned six postseason berths, highlighted by CCAA and West Regional Men's Cross Country championships and the men's basketball team's highest-ever national and regional rankings. And they've exceled in the classroom, combining for 27 perfect 4.0 GPAs, while 217—more than two-thirds of them—earned GPAs of 3.0 or higher.
 
Since the very beginning, Chico State Athletics has been a special program. And that continues today. Since joining the CCAA—the nation's premiere NCAA Division II conference— in 1998, Chico State's student-athletes have continued to:

• Excel academically.
• Contribute in the community.
• Conquer in competition.
  • 80 CCAA titles.
  • 37 West Region Championships.
  • 16 NCAA Champions.  

Your gift to Athletic Training, Strength and Conditioning, 'CatsSkills, the Wildcat Athletic Fund (which provides for the department's greatest overall needs), and/or your favorite program, gets us a crucial step closer to the next special moment for our Wildcat Family. We go farther together than we do alone. Thank you!