Thousands of shots in the gym when they could have been playing shoot-'em-up video games in their PJs. Midterms and finals in hotel business centers. Weights at 6:30 a.m. while their roommates slept. Ten hours on the bus while scrolling through stories of friends socializing. Elite student-athletes make many sacrifices. Count the members of the Chico State men's basketball team among those who made them all worthwhile.
The myriad of shared experiences—some good, some bad, eliciting emotions from elation to anger—that occur during years spent in a common pursuit of excellence has already yielded a lifetime's worth of memories for the 2021-22 Wildcats. Some experienced the disappointment of being left out of the NCAA Tournament field despite a 20-win season in 2017-18. More played their games under Butte Strong banners in Acker Gym following the horrifying Camp Fire mere miles from home. Even more had their NCAA Tournament title dreams ripped out from under them on the eve of the 2020 NCAA Tournament. They all lost to the entire 2020-21 campaign to COVID-19. Now they've all contributed to one of most magical seasons in program history, including last week's NCAA Championship Tournament West Region title.
This week, the Wildcats hope to top it off with an NCAA Championship trophy. They'll also soak up some special experiences along the way. On Sunday, they boarded a chartered jet at the Chico Airport to fly to Evansville, Indiana, where the NCAA Division II Elite Eight takes place. They took pictures and videos outside of the Saab 2000 high-speed turboprop with twin Rolls Royce engines before heading east.
The plane touched down in Evansville Sunday at 5:45 p.m. Central time and the team bussed to the Doubletree by Hilton which features a second-story skywalk that takes pedestrians over the street and into the Ford Center, where this week's Elite Eight will be played.
Following Monday's pre-tournament press conference, practice that evening, and shootaround Tuesday morning, the Wildcats will take on Augusta University in the final NCAA Championship Tournament quarterfinal of the day. When the lights go out in the Ford Center Tuesday night, only four teams will remain. Head Coach Greg Clink believes the Wildcats have a team with the confidence, talent, and maturity it takes to be among them.
"This team has the confidence and belief that they can beat anybody," Clink said during Sunday's flight. "You see it in big situations when things get tight, our maturity and confidence often carry us.
"They also have the desire to win. It's not often that the players want to win as much as the coaching staff. This team does. A lot of these guys stuck around for a chance to do something special this season. To leave a legacy."
They've certainly accomplished that. But one win or more this week would mark Chico State men's basketball's first NCAA Championship Final Four in 106 seasons.
There are several ways to follow Tuesday night's action. Fans can listen to it locally, or stream it, via AM-1290 and FM-102.9 KPAY. A live stream of the game will be hosted on NCAA.com. Links to listen, watch, and follow live stats are all available at
www.chicowildcats.com in the calendar section of the home page and men's basketball schedule page.
Thursday's semifinal games will be aired on the CBS Sports Network, and Saturday's championship game will be aired on CBS prior to coverage of the Division I Elite Eight.
Tournament schedule
All times Pacific
Quarterfinals, Tuesday, March 22
10:00 a.m. - (4) Bentley vs. (5) Northwest Missouri State
12:30 p.m. - (1) Nova Southeastern vs. (8) Black Hills State
4:00 p.m. - (2) IUP vs. (7) Hillsdale
6:30 p.m. (3) Augusta vs. (6) Chico State
Semifinals, Thursday, March 24
1:00 p.m. - Winner of No. 1/8 matchup vs. Winner of No. 4/5 matchup
3:30 p..m. Winner of No. 2/7 matchup vs. Winner of No. 3/6 matchup
Championship Game, Saturday, March 26
Noon - Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2
Wayne Cavadi of NCAA.com provided some notes about each of the eight teams in the field:
No. 1 Nova Southeastern: The Sharks are 31-0 and survived two very close affairs to reach Evansville, winning in the final seconds over both Union (TN) and Embry-Riddle by a combined four points. They are the top-scoring offense in the field at 95.9 points per game and lead DII in a wide array of categories, including assists, steals and turnover margin. Prior to head coach Jim Crutchfield's arrival in 2017-18, this was a six-win team. Now the Sharks are back in the DII Men's Elite Eight for the second time in the last three tournaments. It's a remarkable turnaround.
No. 2 Indiana (PA): The Crimson Hawks are no strangers to the DII Men's Elite Eight, but it has been a while. Last time IUP made it this far was in 2015, and it went all the way to the championship game before falling to Florida Southern. This is a very well-balanced team on both sides of the court with four scorers that reach double figures and the PSAC's top scoring defense. The way the Crimson Hawks clamped down on Cal (Pa) in the final minutes of the Atlantic Regional was impressive.
No. 3 Augusta: The Jaguars are back in the DII Men's Elite Eight in true March fashion (a last-second, game-winning 3-pointer). Augusta returns to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010 and it is its fourth trip to the DII Men's Elite Eight. Tyshaun Crawford is one of the best players in the field and one of 25 players remaining on the
Bevo Francis Watchlist, crowning the best player in small college basketball. He will need to be at his best for this team to advance.
No. 4 Bentley: Like Augusta, Bentley returns to the DII Men's Elite Eight for the first time since 2010. That season, the Falcons beat Augusta to reach the semifinals, where their run ended. This team is very balanced and handled the East Region very well. Offensively, they come at you in many ways with four players averaging at least 15 points per game, making the Falcons a defensive matchup nightmare.
No. 5 Northwest Missouri State: Diego Bernard and Trevor Hudgins are looking to add to their historic run with their third national championship in four years. Hudgins is having arguably the best season of his career, which is scary, and Bernard continues to be one of the most important players in all DII; his defense is vital to the Bearcats' success. If it isn't already, should the dynamic duo pull off another title, it will go down as arguably the best four-year run in DII men's basketball history.
No. 6 Chico State: The Wildcats are back in the DII Men's Elite Eight for the third time in recent history (nine years, but seven tournaments since 2020 was canceled and the CCAA never played last season). That is pretty impressive, but Chico State is trying to find that elusive quarterfinals win. This is a very gritty team that had to battle (and beat several times) two top-10 teams in Cal State San Marcos and Cal State San Bernardino just to get here. Don't sleep on this six seed.
No. 7 Hillsdale: History was made for the Chargers' program as they advanced to their first-ever DII Men's Elite Eight. They made it to the Atlantic Region finals last year as the No. 1 seed before succumbing to West Liberty, but this year, the Chargers left no doubt, winning both the Midwest Regional semifinals and finals by double digits. Patrick Cartier is a Bevo Francis finalist and will make Hillsdale a very tough seven seed.
No. 8 Black Hills State: More history was made in Spearfish, South Dakota as the Yellow Jackets are also making their first DII Men's Elite Eight appearance in program history. They swept through both the RMAC and South Central Region but will have their hands full in the quarterfinals matchup against Nova Southeastern. Joel Scott — a walking double-double and yet another Bevo Francis finalist — will be the focal point and has proven to be a real game-changer.
